NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 24 (October 9, 2008)

North Korea-weekly review-6
*** CHRONOLOGICAL REVIEW
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronological review of major developments related to North Korea between Oct. 2-8, 2008.

October
2 A national exhibition on North Korea's staple foods closes, according to
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), after kicking off at the
Grand People's Study House in the capital on Sept. 30.
2 A seminar is held Pyongyang to mark the first anniversary of the historic Oct.
4 declaration, a result of the second inter-Korean summit last year.
2 Working-level military talks between the two Koreas are held on the southern
side of the Panmunjom truce village on the inter-Korean border, the first since
President Lee Myung-bak's inauguration.
2 The KCNA says a fine art exhibition is being held at the Taehongdan County
Cultural Hall in Ryanggang Province to mark the 10th anniversary of the
publication of Kim Jong-il's famous work, "On Making a Revolution in Potato
Farming."
2 North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui-chun sends a congratulatory message to
Arvin Boolell on his appointment as head of Mauritius' Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade.
3 The KCNA says Pak Ui-chun sent a congratulatory message to Bedouma Alain Yoda
on Sept. 30 on his appointment as Burkina Faso's minister of State and minister
of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation.
3 The KCNA says Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's
Assembly (SPA), sent a message of greetings Oct. 1 to Letsie III, king of
Lesotho, to mark the 42nd anniversary of his country's national independence.
3 Kim Yong-nam sends a message of greetings to German President Horst Kohler in
observance of Germany's national day.
3 A national meeting is held in Pyongyang to mark the first anniversary of the
publication of the Oct. 4 declaration.
3 U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill and his party leave
Pyongyang after arriving in the North on Oct. 1.
3 An event is held to celebrate the Korea's Foundation Day in front of King
Tangun's Mausoleum in Pyongyang.
3 A spokesman for Pyongyang's Ministry of Education issues a statement assailing
the Lee Myung-bak administration for allegedly revising South Korean high school
history textbooks to serve its pro-U.S. and "anti-communist purpose," under the
banner of "eradicating the leftover of the left wing" and "intensifying education
for security against communism."
4 The KCNA says Jong Song-il was appointed as DPRK ambassador e. p. to Singapore.
4 A friendship delegation of the North's Korean Committee for Cultural Relations
with Foreign Countries, headed by its Vice Chairman Jon Yong-jin -- also the vice
chairman of the Korea-Mongolia Friendship Association -- leaves Pyongyang by
train to visit Mongolia.
4 A delegation of the Russian Railways Company headed by its president, V.I.
Yakunin, arrives in Rason by train to participate in a ground-breaking ceremony
for the reconstruction of the Rajin-Khasan railway and Rajin Port. The ceremony
is held in front of the DPRK-Russia Friendship House near the Tuman (Tumen) River
Railway Station in the city of Rason. The city is located in a free economic zone
in the northeastern region of the Korean peninsula.
4 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il watched a student football match marking the 62nd
founding anniversary of Kimilsung University, the highest institution of the
North's Juche (self-reliance)-based education, without specifying the date. The
report is apparently issued to quell recent speculation about the leader's
failing health.
6 The KCNA says a documentary film, "Educators in the era of Songun
(military-first) bringing up future pillars," was recently produced by the
North's Korean Documentary and Scientific Film Studio.
6 A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, led by Minister Le
Hong Anh -- a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Vietnam -- arrives in Pyongyang.
7 Talks between the delegations of the DPRK Ministry of People's Security and the
Vietnam Ministry of Public Security are held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in
Pyongyang, prior to the parties' signing of a mutual cooperation agreement.
7 Dermot Hudson, chairman of the British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea,
arrives in Pyongyang by plane.
7 Cuban Ambassador to the DPRK Jose Manuel Galego Montano gives a briefing at his
embassy to mark the 140th anniversary of the start of Cuba's war for
independence.
7 Ahmed Abo Seri Auf Mohamed, military attache of the Egyptian embassy in
Pyongyang, hosts a reception at the Taedong River Club for the Diplomatic Corps
in Pyongyang on the Egyptian army's national holiday.
7 Kim Yong-nam meets with the delegation of the Vietnam Ministry of Public
Security at the Mansudae Assembly Hall.
8 The KCNA says the Workers' Party of (North) Korea Publishing House released
collection of "reminiscences," titled "Among the People, Vol. 76."
8 The KCNA says the (North) Korean Documentary and Scientific Film Studio
released a film titled "My Country Has Triumphed by Dint of Single-Minded Unity."
8 The KCNA says Pyongyang was chosen as the venue for the 17th World Taekwondo
Championships to be held in 2011.
8 The 10th national exhibition of invention and new technology, which kicked off
on Oct. 1, closes with due ceremony at Three-Revolution Exhibition Hall.
8 North Korea fired two short range missiles into the West Sea adjoining China on
Oct. 6 as part of its routine military training, a defense source in Seoul says.
(END)