Korea's spring food

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- Korea is now in spring. From old times the Korean people have cooked and eaten various kinds of food in spring. Typical of them are Songphyon, Hwajon, Hwamyon and Sumyon. Songphyon, rice cake, is eaten on the first day of the second lunar month. On the morning of the beginning day of the year's farming, farmers used to be served with as many rice cakes as their age in the hope of harvesting bumper crops. Songphyon is made by kneading rice flour with hot water, rolling dough into flat and round pieces, stuffing them with boiled red-beans, honey-spiced jujubes minus seeds and other materials and steaming crescent-shaped rice cakes on a laver of pine needles. Songphyon is characterized by pine needle smell. Hwajon, Hwamyon, Sumyon and other dishes are taken on the third day of the third lunar month in a sense of stepping on spring grass. Hwajon is fried glutinous rice cake with flowers symbolic of season. Typical of such cakes is azalea Hwajon. Visitors are usually served with Hwajon. The seasonal dishes are still popular in Korea.


Book "Kim Jong Il, Bright Star of Korea" published in Nepal

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- A book "Kim Jong Il, Bright Star of Korea" was brought out by the Baktapur, Nepal, solidarity committee for supporting Korea's reunification on the occasion of the 55th birthday of Secretary Kim Jong Il. A ceremony for publishing the book took place at Baktapur City Hall on Feb. 14. Edited in the book are a photo of the great leaders President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il going round Kim Il Sung Square and a photo of Secretary Kim Jong Il waving to the cheering masses and other photos. The book carries articles titled "Kim Jong Il, Bright Star of Korea", "Invincible Weapon", "Leader and Youth Movement" and "Ties of Kinship between Army and People."


Secy. Kim Jong Il's portrait hung in Mongolia

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- A ceremony of hanging a portrait of Secretary Kim Jong Il was held at the Mongolia-Korea "Goimo" Joint Venture Company on February 4 on the occasion of his 55th birthday. The portrait was hung in a company office room. In his speech at the ceremony, the President of the company said Secretary Kim Jong Il is an outstanding thinker and theoretician and a great statesman who is adding lustre to the era of independence and a genuine leader of the people who is possessed of noble virtues. He is creditably carrying forward the cause of President Kim Il Sung and developing in depth the Juche idea so as to show the road of the present era, the speaker stressed.


DPRK books donated to Jordan

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea donated DPRK books to the Arab Defenders' Party of Jordan. The DPRK Ambassador to Jordan handed famous works of President Kim Il Sung and Secretary Kim Jong Il and other books to the General Secretary of the party on February 8. The General Secretary said that he will use the books as a guide in the activities of his party, make efforts to further develop the friendly relations with the WPK and support the just cause of the Korean people.


Sophism of Kim Young Sam under fire

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- Kim Young Sam released a "statement to the people" on February 25, according to a radio report from Seoul. In a nutshell, this statement is nothing but a deceptive and hypocritical rigmarole made by the very one who is on the verge of death to cover up his dirty color as the main culprit of the Hanbo scandal, calm down the resentment of the people and extricate himself from judicial proceedings at any cost. In the statement, Kim Young Sam prattled he has lived only in a "moderate and self-restraining" manner in four years of his office so that he feels "inveigled" by the Hanbo scandal. This is the height of shamelessness. Turning to the crime of his son, Kim Young Sam said that "The misdeed of my son is precisely a fault of his father" and that it was caused by the lack of his attention. What is in his mind is to shift the responsibilities for his crimes onto his son and offer him in sacrifice. This eloquently proves that he is the scum of the world without an equal. In the statement, Kim Young Sam cried that he would "liquidate irregularities and corruption" and exert all efforts on "economic revival". This shows that he admitted the total failure of his four-year-old government. It also indicates that he would as ever be indulged in irregularities and corruption under the pretext of "reforms and economic revival" and exploit the workers and other South Korean people more cruelly. It must not go unnoticed that he openly declared an anti-national confrontation policy again with outcries for "full-scale security readiness". It is none other than the Kim Young Sam group who have hurt "security". The United States also is to blame for the catastrophic crisis gripping South Korea and for such extra-large financial scandals as the Hanbo incident. The U.S. has given tacit consent to the treacherous acts of Kim Young Sam, the kingpin of irregularities and corruption. This encouraged him to do whatever he liked. As a result, all social evils and irregularities and corruption are now prevalent in South Korea. Kim Young Sam must answer for the Hanbo scandal and step down at once before his "term" expires. And the United States would be well advised no longer to deal with Kim Young Sam, the very one that the people are fighting to overthrow.


Photo exhbn. and film show to mark Bulgarian Nat'l Day

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- A photo exhibition and film show were sponsored by the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the Korea-Bulgaria Friendship Association here on Wednesday to mark the National Day of Bulgaria. Invited there were Bulgarian Ambassador to Korea Yordan Mutafciev and embassy officials. Vice-Chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Mun Jae Chol, who is also Vice-Chairman of the Korea-Bulgaria Friendship Association, and officials concerned and people in the city were present there. They went round photos on display before seeing a Bulgarian feature film.


KCTU holds meetings against evil laws

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- The "Korean Confederation of Trade Unions" (KCTU) in South Korea held meetings in front of the puppet national assembly building and the building of the "New Korea Party" on Feb. 26 in protest against the retrogressively revised "Law on the Agency for National Security Planning" and "Labour Law", according to a radio report from Seoul. The organization declared that all the leading members above deputies of trade unions under its affiliation would go on a strike against the evil labour law from Feb. 27. At the end of the meetings more than 760 leading members under the KCTU called at the building of the "National Congress for New Politics" to encourage some 100 people under the "National Teachers Union" (Jongyojo) on a sit-in strike. They demanded the puppet clique ensure the labour rights of teachers and government officials including the legitimation of Jongyojo. And the KCTU decided to enter into the fourth-stage general strike from Feb. 28 to push their demands including the withdrawal of the system of allowing businesses to lay off workers, the reamendment of the "Labour Law" and the legitimation of Jongyojo.


Kim Young Sam's anti-north campaign under fire

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- U.S. news media have criticized Kim Young Sam of South Korea for intentionally worsening the north-south relations for his political purpose. International Herald Tribune dated Feb. 22 said Washington suspects that South Korea is recklessly worsening the north-south relations and artificially obstructing possible solution of issues, in a bid to divert elsewhere public attention from the irregularities and political problems which affect the regime and to solve the internationally raised political problems. The Washington Post dated Feb. 22 said that the U.S. officials have criticised South Korean "President" Kim Young Sam for putting a brake on the measures for the improvement of relations with Pyongyang and showing over-reaction to North Korea's "provocation" because of internal political reasons. The CNN on February 18 quoted U.S. State Department officials as saying that extremely unpopular Kim Young Sam is overstating "military threat" from North Korea.


Anti-DPRK campaign denounced

Pyongyang, February 27 (KCNA) -- The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland on February 26 issued information no. 730 denouncing the vicious anti-DPRK campaign in South Korea. On the 19th of February, the chairman of the "New Korea Party" told an "extraordinary plenary meeting of the national assembly" that pro-north elements should be removed from within and that the revision of the "Law on the Agency for National Security Planning" was inevitable in view of the security situation. The information says that his utterances are part of the premeditated anti-DPRK campaign of the Kim Young Sam group to divert elsewhere the attention of the people who are enraged by the retrogressive revision of the laws and the Hanbo loan scandal and to emerge from the present ruling crisis. By talking about the "pro-north elements" and "terrorism", the Kim Young Sam group seek to distort the fact and find a way out of the ruling crisis in the anti-DPRK campaign, the information says, and goes on: Their campaign will only precipitate the destruction of Kim Young Sam. The Kim Young Sam group should put an immediate halt to the reckless anti-DPRK campaign, mindful that those who were hell-bent on anti-DPRK campaign met a miserable end.



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