country's political rival which is forbidden under the National Security Law in South Korea (R.O.K.).
July 16, 2012 - High ranking North Korean military official, General Ri Yong Ho, is dismissed from office and relieved of all Government posts "after suffering from ilness". Ri, 69, is considered to have helped Kim Jong Un consolidate power in the first months after the death of Kim Yong-Il. Kim Yong Un and Ri Yong Ho and several other top officials led the funeral procession for Kim Jong Il in December.
As well as serving as army chief, Ri held several key government posts, including that of vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea.
July 18, 2012 - North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announces that the title of Marshal of the Army was bestowed upon its young leader, Kim Jong Un, the latest in a string of moves to reconfigure the top ranks of the military.
Kim, who was already referred to as "supreme commander" of the Korean People's Army, was been awarded the title of marshal by the reclusive regime's most powerful political and military bodies.
July 25Th, 2012 - North Korean state TV reportes that North Korea's youthful leader, Kim Jong Un, has married a woman identified as Ri Sol-Ju, a message which is repeated by South Korea's Unification Ministry. Later on it is revealed that North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un married 23-year-old Ri Sol Ju in 2009.
July 30, 2012 - International media report that a week of heavy rain across large swathes of North Korea has caused widespread flooding and killed dozens of people. North Korean State media also reported on the issue, with warnings of more damage still to come.
August 3, 2012 - A guideline published in the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un calls for building a “prosperous country” in a major policy guideline, a day after he told a visiting Chinese delegation that he was focused on “developing the economy and improving people’s livelihoods.”
A Day earlier Kim Jong-un, spoke with Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, saying (according to China’s Xinhua news agency.) that “Developing the economy and improving livelihoods, so that the Korean people lead happy and civilized lives, is the goal the Workers’ Party is struggling towards”.
The statements were the latest in a series that Mr. Kim has issued in which he sounded more focused on tackling North Korea’s moribund economy than his father, Kim Jong-il, who championed a “military-first policy” that lavished resources on the armed services.
August 17, 2012 - Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Chief of the central administrative department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, met in Beijing with President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China (P.R.C.), indicating his growing influence as a crucial adviser to the young Mr. Kim. Officially the subject of the talks were mainly economic issues. Earlier in the week, the North Korean delegation signed several agreements with China (P.R.C.) on the development of special economic zones in Rason, on North Korea’s northern tip, and in Hwanggumpyong, a North Korean island in the Yalu River that marks the southwestern border with China (P.R.C.).
August 18, 2012 - According to State Media in the D.P.R.K. during a visit on Mu Island New North Korean leader Kim Yong Un warns troops to prepare for 'sacred war' during upcoming US-South Korea exercises.
August 21, 2012 - United States and South Korea start their annualy held joint "Ulchi Freedom Guardian" training exercises to conclude by August 31.
August 20, 2012 - South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party overwhelmingly selected Park Geun-hye, the daughter of ex-military dictator General Park Chung-Hee, as its presidential candidate during its political convention on this day. In comments made after her selection, Park said that, if elected, she would focus on welfare policies and would engage with North Korea if the leadership of that Nation abandons its nuclear weapons program.
Friday, August 31, 2012 - Japan and North Korea end their first direct talks in four years with an agreement to meet again as early as next month, apparently in a sign of the North’s desire to reduce tensions with Japan, and by extension, the United States.
September 1, 2012 - Iran, North Korea ink deal to cooperate in science and technology, saying countries 'share common enemies'. The two countries will cooperate in research, student exchanges and joint laboratories, and in the fields of information technology, engineering, biotechnology, renewable energy, the environment, sustainable development of agriculture and food technology.
September 2, 2012 - The Rev. Sun Myung Moon - founder of the Unification Church, which gained fame worldwide decades ago for its mass weddings, as well as the Washington Times died in South Korea.
