NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 34 (December 18, 2008)

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- The following is a chronological review of major developments related to North Korea from Dec. 11-17, 2008.

December
11 Four days of six-party talks on scrapping North Korea's nuclear program end in
Beijing with no agreement, with the North refusing to document procedures for
verifying its past nuclear activities, including taking samples from its main
nuclear complex.
11 Pak Ui-chun, minister of foreign affairs, sends a congratulatory message to
Austria's newly appointed foreign minister Michael Spindelegger.
12 The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) says North Korean leader Kim
Jong-il made an on-site guidance tour to Sariwon Chicken Farm, Migok Cooperative
Farm and a folk village in Sariwon, North Hwanghae Province. The news agency
says, in a separate report, that Kim sent a handwritten letter dated Dec. 10 to
members of the cooperative farm.
12 A friendship delegation of the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by Li
Jiheng, deputy secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the CPC, flies
into Pyongyang.
13 A delegation of the Maritime Administration headed by its Vice Director Jon
Ki-chol returns home from Britain where it attended the 85th meeting of the
Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization from Nov. 26
to Dec. 5.
13 A delegation of the Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission headed by
Chairman Pak Hak-son returns home, wrapping up a visit to Laos.
15 A friendship delegation of the CPC led by Li Jiheng returns home. Choe
Thae-bok, secretary of the Workers' Party, confers with the delegation before its
departure.
15 A delegation of the Egyptian telecoms giant Orascom Telecom Holding, led by
its chief executive Naguib Sawiris, arrives in Pyongyang to attend a ceremony and
a news conference to mark the launch of third-generation mobile phone service by
the company in North Korea.
15 Premier Kim Yong-il meets with a delegation of Orascom Telecom.
15 Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly,
sends a message to King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa congratulating
him on a national holiday of the country.
16 Ora Bank, a joint venture between Orascom Telecom and North Korea's
state-owned Foreign Trade Bank, opens in Pyongyang with a ceremony.
16 Kim Jong-il receives a letter of New Year's greetings from Chinese President
Hu Jintao.
16 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il inspected an electronics lab, a library and a
pharmaceutic factory in Kanggye, Jagang Province.
16 Kim Jong-il receives a letter of thanks from Chief Executive of Orascom
Telecom Naguib Sawiris. The company's delegation led by Sawiris leaves Pyongyang
to return home on the same day.
16 Education ministries of North Korea and the Czech Republic sign an 2008-2011
agreement on exchange and cooperation in education.
16 Kim Yong-nam sends a congratulatory message to Hans Rudolf Merz on his
election as president of Switzerland.
16 Choe Thae-bok attends a New Year's banquet hosted by Chinese Ambassador to
North Korea Liu Xiaoming.
17 Kim Yong-nam sends a message to Nigerian President Mamadu Tandja in
celebration of the country's 50th founding anniversary.
17 Kim Yong-nam sends a congratulatory message to the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad
bin
Khalifa Al-Thaini on the nation's Independence Day.
17 The KCNA says Kim Jong-il visited the February General Steel Enterprise in
Jagang Province.
(END)