Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week

SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Yonhap) — The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.

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(LEAD) N. Korea completes construction of general hospital in Pyongyang, eyes its opening in Oct.

SEOUL — North Korea has completed the building of a general hospital in Pyongyang after five years of construction and plans to open it in October to mark the 80th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), according to state media Friday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited the Pyongyang General Hospital the previous day, expressing his satisfaction that a “solid springboard” has been laid for developing the public health sector, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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(2nd LD) N. Korea launched strategic cruise missiles this week to prove nuclear deterrence: KCNA

SEOUL — North Korea said Friday it launched strategic cruise missiles in waters off its west coast earlier this week, with its leader Kim Jong-un calling for thorough war preparedness with the country’s nuclear forces and readiness for their use.

A missile unit of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) in western areas conducted the launch drills Wednesday morning, overseen by Kim, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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Ruling parties of N. Korea, Russia agree to expand cooperation: KCNA

SEOUL — A high-ranking official from North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party has held talks with the secretary general of Russia’s ruling United Russia party and signed a protocol to expand cooperation between their parties, the North’s state media reported Thursday.

Ri Hi-yong, a member of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee Politburo, and Vladimir Yakushev, the secretary general of the Russian party, held talks Tuesday in Moscow, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

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N. Korea’s Kim stresses ‘actual experiences in modern warfare’ during visit to military academy

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a military academy in Pyongyang, emphasizing the need to educate soldiers on “the actual experiences of modern warfare” and master rapidly advanced weapons, state media reported Wednesday.

Kim inspected the Kang Kon Military Academy, the most prestigious commanding officers training center, the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, marking his second consecutive day of visiting a military education institution.

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(LEAD) N. Korea’s Kim stresses ‘ideology-first’ principle for military during university visit

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a military and political university and emphasized the “ideology-first” principle and loyalty in building a powerful military, the North’s state media reported Tuesday.

Kim visited the Kim Il Sung University of Politics the previous day and gave a speech to faculty and students, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, describing the university named after North Korea’s founder and the leader’s grandfather as the supreme military and political school of the armed forces.

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(LEAD) N. Korean party delegation visits Moscow: KCNA

SEOUL — A high-ranking delegation from North Korea’s Workers’ Party has arrived in Moscow for a visit at the invitation of Russia’s ruling party, state media reported Tuesday.

The delegation, led by Ri Hi-yong, a member of the party’s Central Committee Politburo, landed in Moscow the previous day at the invitation of Russia’s United Russia Party, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

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N. Korea denounces Japan’s naval drills with U.S., France as revived invasion ambition

SEOUL — North Korea on Tuesday denounced Japan’s recent joint naval exercise with the United States and France as an attempt to revive their militaristic invasion ambitions.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued the criticism in a commentary, citing a joint naval exercise conducted by Japan, the U.S. and France earlier this month in waters near the Philippines, which involved American and French aircraft carriers and a Japanese warship.

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(LEAD) N. Korea warns of ‘resolute’ action against multilateral sanctions monitoring group’s activities

SEOUL — North Korea threatened Monday to take “resolute” action after a South Korea-led monitoring group implementing U.N. sanctions against the North over its nuclear and missile programs has launched official activities.

The North’s threat came as the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team (MSMT), established by South Korea and 10 other countries in October, pledged to ensure the full implementation of U.N. sanctions against North Korea at the inaugural meeting of its steering committee last week.
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