Foreign Ministry spokesman on "quad talks"
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said today that success in "four-way talks" depends largely on how the equality of each side's position and the atmosphere of confidence are ensured.
In an interview with KCNA over "four-way talks" held in Geneva, the spokesman said:
We took part in "four-way talks" in the hope that the talks would contribute to achieving durable peace and security in the Korean Peninsula.
If confrontation is to be uprooted in the peninsula, it is imperative to put an end to the U.S. military intervention and, for this purpose, it is necessary to have a peace agreement concluded between the DPRK and the United States and U.S. troops withdrawn from South Korea.
As our delegation made clear at the talks, this is one of the main and essential matters we want to have solved through the talks.
It is our principled stand that its solution will make it possible to solve other matters smoothly.
At the talks the United States and South Korea asserted that the implementation of the inter-Korean agreement is the most important thing and the whole. If they attempt to turn aside from the point of the matters and disperse the discussion, the matters can never be solved.
As for the inter-Korean agreement, its implementation is apparently an internal issue of the Korean nation and it depends on the attitude of the South Korean authorities.
From this point of view, we consider that the DPRK and the United States have something to solve and the two parts of Korea have other things to solve.
But the U.S. and South Korean sides maintained the stand that the U.S. troops cannot be withdrawn because of the DPRK's "military threat". Their preposterous assertion is an uncourteous act towards their dialogue partner. Such an act will only result in increasing distrust, not in building confidence.
Success in the talks involving the longtime belligerents and parties concerned depends largely on how the equality of each side's position and the atmosphere of confidence are ensured.
We will do all we can to this end.
G.S. Kim Jong Il meets model Public Security workers
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, met and congratulated the participants in the national conference of active Public Security workers on Thursday.
General Kim Jong Il had a picture taken with the conference participants after warmly congratulating them for having firmly defended the blood-cost gains of the Korean revolution and the lives and property of the people on the forefront of the class struggle with intense loyalty to the party and the leader and the spirit of devoted service for the people.
He highly praised the public security workers for having performed great feats in the efforts to defend the gains of the revolution and safeguard the socialist country of Juche, conscious of their mission as the executors and defenders of laws. He expressed expectation and belief that they would creditably discharge their mission and duty as political defenders of the Workers' Party of Korea in the future, too.
Cocktail party given by special representative of UNICEF
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- Omawale Omawale, special representative of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in the DPRK, gave a cocktail party on December 11 to mark the 51st founding anniversary of the UNICEF.
Present on invitation were Choe Su Hon, Vice-Foreign Minister, and other officials concerned.
Invited to the party were diplomats of member nations Of the UNICEF executive council
and representatives of international organisations in the DPRK.
Speeches were exchanged at the party.
Kindergarteners gave an art performance at the party.
National competition and exhibition of computer programmes
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- The national competition and exhibition of computer programmes was held in Pyongyang from December 8 to 10, which marked an important occasion in the development of the nation's computer programme technique and technical revolution.
Many new and efficient computer programmes were presented.
Changdok 5.0, a programme of editting documents in Korean letters from the Pyongyang Programme Centre, Sindong, a programme of memorising Korean characters from Kim Chaek University of Technology, memory pen, a programme of directly-related Korean characters from the Unbyol Computer Technical Trading Centre took the first place in the competition.
The computer general system of information service and the early diagnostic device from the Korean Computer Centre and magnetic field survey data, a system of collecting placer deposite prospecting data from Kim Chaek University of technology finished first in the exhibition.
New documentary film and stamps
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- The Korean Documentary and Scientific Film Studio produced a documentray film "Gun reports by the mother will be everlasting" to mark the 80th birth anniversary of Kim Jong Suk, a great communist revolutionary fighter.
The film vividly shows with historical materials that the gun reports made by Kim Jong Suk in the whole period of the struggle to accomplish the Juche revolutionary cause since she took a gun of revolution before the sacred Red Flag, are everlasting in the hearts of the Korean people who are making a general onward march for socialism, defending General Kim Jong Il at the risk of their lives.
The DPRK Ministry of Post and Telecommunications published memorial stamps to mark the anniversary.
Among them were a sheetlet printing a picture of Kim Jong Suk, an anti-Japanese heroine, against white apricot flowers and a stamp showing her native home in Hoeryong.
Written on every stamp are letters reading "the 80th birth anniversary of comrade Kim Jong Suk, a great communist revolutionary fighter, Juche 6 (1917)--Juche 86 (1997)."
Souvenir postcards and envelopes were brought out.
Serious lessons from developments after Cold War
Pyongyang, December 12 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today comes out with a signed article on serious lessons from developments in international relations after the Cold War.
The author of the article says:
Negative phenomena as well as affirmative changes have taken place for six years since the Cold War came to an end.
The end of the Cold War brought on the surface the contradictions, which had been in embryo or had been temporarily covered by the iron curtain among countries and political forces all over the world during the cold war era.
It has worsened contradictions between capitalist countries and developing nations.
It is conspicuous that the aggressive and predatory nature and policies of the imperialists remain unchanged and their dominationist ambition has grown.
The front of their world military strategy has been moved from Europe to Asia.
Regarding the Asian region as the front of major attack, they pursue a strategic purpose to destroy the bulwark of socialism in this region with strength and actualize their Korea, Asia strategy.
This is why they are attaching the importance of their military strategy to Asia, directing its spearhead against the Korean Peninsula.
It is their final target to bring the Korean Peninsula under their control and, with it as a military strategic point, establish domination over promising Asia and, furthermore, control the world.
The ever undisguised craftiness and knavishness of the imperialists is characteristic of their aggressive foreign policy after the end of the cold war.
Vociferating about "security", "mediation" and "cooperation", they intend to create illusions about imperialism, dull the awakening of the people against imperialism and for independence and competitively interfere in internal affairs of regions and countries and infiltrate into them.
They are forcing other nations to accept western-style "prescription", claiming that it is "remedy" and "capital idea."
Under the cloak of such a dominationist dogma of a new type as the current of global "integration", they are trying to westernize and monopolarize the world.
What is noteworthy in the international life after the Cold War is that new complicated matters have been raised among nations and regions because economic competition has been intensified as never before with primary attention to the economic affair.
The most serious lesson given by the post-Cold War happenings to the world people is that neither independent development of countries and nations nor global independence can be achieved unless they should preserve the Juche character and the national character and intensify the struggle against imperialism and dominationism.