NK weekly-domestic news
Summary of domestic news in North Korea this week
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of domestic news in North Korea this week.
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(LEAD) N.K. leader calls for stronger military power in photo session with parade participants
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for bolstering the country's military strength at an unprecedented pace, during a photo session with the participants of a military parade held earlier this week, Pyongyang's state media reported Friday.
Speaking on Thursday, Kim stressed that the prosperity of the North depends on a "powerful army" and noted "one can demonstrate one's dignity and honor only when one is strong," according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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(4th LD) N. Korean leader attends military parade; ICBMs on display
SEOUL -- North Korea has staged a massive military parade in Pyongyang to mark the 75th founding anniversary of its armed forces, its state media confirmed Thursday, describing intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) on display as representing the country's "maximum nuclear attack capabilities."
Its leader Kim Jong-un attended the nighttime event, held Wednesday, along with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and apparent second child, Ju-ae, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). There has been no report on whether he delivered a public speech.
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N. Korea's top diplomat sends condolence message to quake-hit Turkey
SEOUL -- North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has sent a letter of condolence to her Turkish counterpart over a devastating earthquake that struck the nation, Pyongyang's state media reported Thursday.
In the message sent to Mevlut Cavusoglu the previous day, Choe expressed her condolences for the victims and their families, and voiced hope for the country's speedy recovery from the quake, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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N. Korean leader sends condolences to Syria over quake
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has sent a message of condolences to his Syrian counterpart over the latest earthquake that has claimed more than 7,800 lives in Turkey and Syria, according to state media Wednesday.
In the message sent to President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday, Kim voiced his condolences to victims of the powerful quake that struck the northern region of Syria, according to the state-run radio network Korean Central Broadcasting Station.
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(LEAD) N. Korean leader visits barracks with his daughter to mark army founding anniv.
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the barracks of the country's general-grade officers together with his daughter to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces, according to state media Wednesday.
In a speech at a banquet Tuesday following his visit, Kim praised the Korean People's Army (KPA) as "the strongest troops in the world," according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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(2nd LD) N. Korea calls for 'perfecting' war readiness posture in meeting chaired by leader Kim
SEOUL -- North Korea has convened a meeting of the ruling party's central military commission to discuss ways to expand operational combat drills and "more strictly perfect" its readiness posture for war, according to its state media Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over an enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Monday, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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(LEAD) N. Korea to hold ruling party plenary meeting on agriculture this month
SEOUL -- North Korea plans to hold a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in late February to discuss issues related to agricultural development, its state media said Monday.
At a politburo meeting of the WPK's Central Committee held the previous day, the North unanimously decided to convene the seventh enlarged plenary meeting of the party late this month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
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