Farmers' Day celebrated in Korea
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- The agricultural working people across the country celebrated their holiday on Thursday.
The farmers laid floral baskets and bunches of flowers before statues of President Kim Il Sung, boards of his on-site teachings and monuments to his revolutionary activities.
They saw performances of art circle members and held production competitions and sports games and amusement, mixing with cadres.
The cadres went round self-reliant bases on farms, conversed with innovators and called at their houses.
They called upon the farmers to make successes in all farm work including preparations.
Rodong Sinmun on anger against occupation army
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today comments on the anti-U.S. struggle going on in Kunsan, South Korea.
The struggle was ignited by the U.S. demanding a threefold or fourfold increase of the U.S. Kunsan Air Base rent by civil aviation and a 50 percent increase of the cost of equipment repair.
Over 20 organizations including the Kunsan Federation for Democracy and National Reunification inaugurated a citizens' gathering for the withdrawal of the rent hike, issued a statement and dispatched a delegation to the U.S. base to protest against the demand.
They marched into the air base and staged a protest, the first of its kind in the U.S. base.
They have staged a demonstration in front of the gate of the U.S. Base on Friday every week. Joining them, the mayor and many other people in the city have urged the U.S. Forces side and the South Korean puppet authorities to withdraw the unwarrantable demand and to completely revise the agreement on the use of the U.S. Air base in Kunsan.
The commentary says:
The anti-U.S. struggle of the Kunsan people, which has come when the U.S. crimes are increasing numerically, is an expression of strong protest against the U.S. aggressors, who have illegally occupied south korea and are engaged in plunder, an eruption of the South Korean people's pent-up anti-u.s. Sentiments and manifestation of their firm will and patriotic resolution to retake the dignity and sovereignty of the nation.
The United States is neither a "friend" nor "protector" of the South Korean people, nor any "war deterrent", but the ringleader of aggression and plunder.
Foreign Ministry spokesman calls for international justice, impartiality
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea today said the international court of justice's decision that it would deal with the Lockerbie incident makes it possible to facilitate a fair solution to the incident and withdrawal of the UN sanctions against Libya.
Responding to questions over the incident, the spokesman told KCNA:
The decision has ended the diplomatic dispute concerning jurisdiction over the incident and provided the possibility of technically capping the seven years of the UN sanctions.
The experience clearly shows what is useful for solution to international problems is not confrontation and arbitrariness of some countries but dialogue and the international community's demand and will.
We have always called for solution to all the disputes on the principle of international justice and impartiality.
This is the demand of all the progressive people in the world and also a universal trend towards peace and detente.
Construction businesses go bankrupt in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- 933 construction businesses went bankrupt in South Korea in three months from December last year when the South Korean puppet regime received bailout fund from the International Monetary Fund, a Seoul-based radio reported.
The figure is four times that in the same period until February last year.
The bankruptcies were attributable to a serious financial shortage caused by the economic failure, high interests and restricted bank loans by the IMF pressure.
Korean people are sure to win victory
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- Robert Williams, Chairman of the Guyanese national committee for the study of the Juche idea of comrade Kim Il Sung and General Secretary of the Good Green Guyana, made public a statement on Feb. 25 in support of the measures adopted at a joint meeting of the political parties and organisations of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
In the statement he said that the letter to political parties and organisations of south korea reflected most reasonable proposals for opening a new ephocal phase in inter-Korean relations and hastening independent and peaceful reunification of the country.
The struggle of the DPRK government and people for opening a new phase of national reunification with concerted efforts of the nation will enjoy full support from the Guyanese people and other progressive people of the world, he added.
K. L. Kapur, General Secretary of the All-India Newspaper Employer Federation, in a press statement said that the demand of the joint meeting for policy switchover in South Korea is entirely just.
He stressed that the efforts for hastening reunification process should be based on the three principles of national reunification and that the proposal for reunification by means of confederacy put forward by President Kim Il Sung should be the main agenda item of inter-Korean dialogue and negotiations.
The Korean people are sure to win victory in their struggle to build a reunified state, the Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo, in Korea under the tested guidance of General Kim Jong Il, he said.
Uday Pratap Singh, member of the parliament of India, said in a press statement that to reunify devided Korea is the will of all the Korean people and the desire of the world people and that the South Korean authorities should sincerely accept the proposal for reunification by means of confederacy though a bit late.
Whatever difficulties may lie ahead, the Korean people will surely achieve the reunification of the country in accordance with the three charters of national reunification formulated by comrade Kim Jong Il, he emphasized.
Rodong Sinmun on U.S. old game
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- U.S. warhawks have raised outcries over the DPRK's "military threat," alleging that its missile deployment has been confirmed.
Papers here today comment on the ulterior purpose they are pursuing in spreading the rumor.
Rodong Sinmun says their purpose is to justify the U.S. arms buildup in South Korea and find a pretext for another war in Korea.
The daily notes:
The U.S. military has sent new aerial and maritime operation forces to South Korea, talking about "security vacuum" in South Korea caused by the Iraqi crisis and about the DPRK's "possible surprise attack."
The reinforcement is part of the U.S. military strategy for strengthening its military occupation of South Korea,
Stifling the DPRK by military force with the U.S. force in South Korea as the main attack force and putting the whole of the Korean Peninsula under its domination.
The warhawks' trite outcries over the DPRK's "military threat" are necessary to justify their military buildup in South Korea and make a military adventure against the DPRK.
They intend to contain the DPRK militarily with South Korea as their operational and attack base and realise their aggressive design on Asia with the Korean Peninsula as the main front.
What is needed for this goal is to reinforce the U.S. combat forces in South Korea, escalate military exercises and aggravate military confrontation and tension on the Korean Peninsula.
They want to ignite a war on the Korean Peninsula in such a way as rendering military tension extremely acute.
Minju Joson says the U.S. warhawks should clearly see the situation and stop reckless aggressive war preparations.
Kirigocha, nation's cultural legacy
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- From old times, the Korean nation has contributed greatly to the development of human culture with scientific discoveries and inventions.
Kirigocha, invented in mid-15th century, is one of the nation's cultural legacies showing the wisdom and ability of the nation.
It tolls a bell and beats a drum according to how many times the wheels roll.
It has three cogwheels linked with each other above wheels. If the first cogwheel makes 15 rotations, the second makes one, and if the second makes ten rotations, the last makes one.
If the wheels go ten Ri (four kilometres) the first cogwheel rolls 150 times, the second ten times and the last one time.
The ancestors measured or confirmed distance with Kirigocha.
Distances measured at that time are little different from those measured now.
LWR provision is U.S. obligation= DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesman
Pyongyang, March 6 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in a statement today said the provision of light-water reactors (LWR) is an obligation the United States must fulfil under the DPRK-U.S. agreed framework.
He continued:
It is high time the united states showed its sincerity toward the implementation of the agreement in practice. We will closely watch what the U.S. is doing.
The DPRK-U.S. framework agreement of October 1994 is a joint document for improvement of bilateral ties. It is a landmark that aims to put a period to the deep-rooted hostile relations of scores of years and move toward the normalisation of their ties.
Under the agreement, the U.S. is obliged to renounce its hostile policy through relaxation of embargo on the DPRK, provide two light-water reactors each with a million kw generating capacity to the DPRK by 2003 and supply heavy oil to the DPRK until that time in order to make up for the DPRK's electric power shortage, while the DPRK is obliged to freeze its independent nuclear facilities based on graphite moderated reactor.
We lost no time to freeze our independent nuclear power facilities we had built with colossal funds and labor. We are promoting the safe storage of spent fuel in the final stage. Thus, we have sincerely fulfilled our obligations under the agreement, which the u.s. Administration has officially confirmed.
This shows our sincere and responsible attitude and position to implement the framework agreement and improve the bilateral relations through confidence-building.
However, the U.S. fulfilment of its obligations is lagging behind our sincere efforts.
The U.S. has not taken substantial measures to ease its sanctions but made empty talk for years. And it has made little progress in the construction of light-water reactors under the pretext of internal problems within the KEDO such as sharing of funds, though it is more than two years since the LWR supply agreement was adopted.
We cannot but express deep concern over this insincere attitude of the U.S. toward the implementation of the framework agreement.
Now, our competent department demands that the DPRK no longer lend an ear to the empty promises of the U.S. Such as the easing of sanctions and construction of light-water reactors but do as it originally planned, because it does not make any sense to victimise our independent nuclear power industry continuously with hopes pinned on the light-water reactors that are not sure to come.
Nobody can predict what will happen unless the U.S. seeks new practical measures and takes decisive action to implement its obligations under the agreement as scheduled.