Sri Lankan preparatory committee for celebrating 57th birthday of Kim Jong Il
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- A Sri Lankan preparatory committee for celebrating the 57th birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il was inaugurated at a joint meeting of the Sri Lanka-People's Korea Friendship Association, the Sri Lanka committee for supporting Korea's reunification and the Sri Lankan Society for the Study of the Juche Idea on January 8.
At the meeting honorary chairman, chairman and secretary general of the committee were elected.
Mass rallies to hasten general march in Korea
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Mass rallies have been held throughout the country for the whole party, the entire army and all the people to hasten a new general march, upholding the slogan "Let this year mark a turning-point in building a powerful nation " at the rallies working people of Korea expressed their firm determination to carry out the tasks set forth in the New Year's Joint Editorial and open a new era of prosperity.
The participants resolved to be honorable victors in the noble struggle of this year to build Korea into an ideologically, militarily and economically powerful state upholding the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il with loyalty and filial piety.
Especially, young people vowed to take the lead in all difficult domains of the national economy to make a breakthrough in the general march.
And it was stressed at the rallies that the general march should be stepped up by the Korean way of revolution, that is, strengthening political work among the masses and solving all problems by themselves.
S. Korean workers vow to struggle for vital rights
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Employees of the South Korean L.G. Semi-Conductor Company on January 9 formed an emergency measure committee against the authorities' unilateral "restructuring" and vowed to struggle for the right to existence, according to a radio report from Seoul.
They called a press conference and exposed what the authorities seek in "restructuring" under the pretext of "exchange of entities" and expressed their determination to struggle for workers' "independent existence."
South Korean ruler restarts absorption of opposition "National Assemblymen"
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The "National Congress for New Politics" led by the present South Korean ruler decided to absorb at least 16 "National Assemblymen" from the "Grand National Party" by the middle of next month as the first-stage operation for absorbing opposition "lawmakers," according to a radio report from Seoul.
The "NCNP's" consistent operations for disintegrating an opposition party and expanding its influence increased its seats in the "National Assembly" to 105 till the end of November of 1998 from 78 in December 1997 when the "Presidential Election" was held.
What the conservative ruling party seeks is to block Kim Jong Pil from calling for the "constitutional revision for the parliamentary cabinet system" for the present and make a monopoly of power in the future. To this end, it is hell-bent on taking the position of the No. 1 party within the "National Assembly."
Moreover, the present ruler and the "NCNP" seek to absorb even the "United Liberal Democrats", its "ally," under the pretext of merger, thus straining Kim Jong Pil and other opposition forces.
Rodong Sinmun calls for pushing ahead with building@of powerful nation
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The Joint New Year Editorial of the party, army and youth league papers calls upon all the Korean people to push ahead with a second grand march of Chollima under the guidance of Kim Jong Il, as they built a socialist country, independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in national defence, on the ruins through the grand march of Chollima under the guidance of the President Kim Il Sung.
Rodong Sinmun today carries an editorial titled "Let us reach high peak of powerful nation through second grand march of Chollima". It calls for reopening the history of the grand march of Chollima on this land in order to adorn this year as the most brilliant year of the 20th century and demonstrate the heroic spirit of Juche Korea all over the world.
It further says:
Through the grand march of Chollima started in the 1950s by President Kim Il Sung, the Korean people could build a powerful socialist country in a short period of 14 years, thus demonstrating the honour of Korea as the country of Chollima to the world.
To push ahead with the second grand march of Chollima under the guidance of the great party is a fruitful struggle to exalt the immortal exploits of the President in state building and to make a new turning-point in building a powerful nation.
Only when all the party members and other working people make a general advance in the spirit with which they laid firm foundations of socialist industrialization on the ruins and took ten or hundred steps when others took one step, a revolutionary turning-point will be brought about in socialist construction and the grand objective of building a powerful nation will certainly be accomplished.
As there is the guidance of Kim Jong Il, there are today's second grand march of Chollima based on the tradition of the grand revolutionary march and a bright future when the DPRK will be powerful and prosperous.
It is his unwavering resolution and will to build a powerful nation of Juche without fail by vigorously pushing ahead with the second grand march of Chollima.
South Korean authorities' crackdown on students condemned
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issued its information bulletin No. 778 on January 12, condemning the South Korean ruling quarters for their crackdown on patriotic students.
The South Korean authorities arrested fourth-year student Pak Song Su and graduate Kang Ho Sok of Ulsan University on the charge of violating the "National Security Law" for the mere reason that they formed an organisation called "ranks of innovation." And they imposed punishments on 16 students who had participated in an anti-American demonstration of the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils.
The inauguration of an organisation by students and their anti-U.S., anti-"government" struggle, reflecting the unanimous desire of the South Korean people for the democratization of society and national reunification, cannot be a crime at all, the information bulletin said, and went on:
The crackdown on the students is no more than a desperate effort of those in a dilemma.
The South Korean ruling quarters should stop suppressing students, unconditionally release all the arrested patriotic students and pro-reunification democratic figures and immediately abolish the "National Security Law," an anti-reunification fascist law.
S. Korean authorities' suppression of students denounced
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The South Korean authorities are launching repressive campaigns against patriotic students from the beginning of the New Year.
Commenting on this, a news analyst of Rodong Sinmun today says:
The South Korean authorities on Jan. 8 arrested Pak Song Su, a student of Ulsan university, and its graduate Kang Ho Sok on the strength of the "National Security Law" for the reason that they formed an organization called "Hyoksin ranks" and led its activities.
Earlier, they also arrested O Sung Hun, ex-chairman of the General Student Council of the University of Foreign Studies, and 33 students of Hanyang University.
Their frantic suppression of the patriotic students are part of the planned offensive to suppress and destroy the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils.
There is no reason to incriminate the hot-blooded patriotic students, who struggled in accordance with the desire and wishes of South Korean people for independence, democracy and reunification.
The very ones who must be arrested and punished in South Korea are the ruling quarters who have plunged the economy into a crisis through flunkeyism and submission and are bringing greater misfortune and sufferings to the working people by engaging in all sorts of misrule, scrambling for power within the "National Assembly."
The fascist suppression is not a way out for the South Korean rulers. It will only hasten their destruction.
Martyrs remain immortal
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Images of revolutionary and patriotic martyrs, heroic soldiers and officials of meritorious services remain immortal in Korea.
Anti-Japanese revolutionary martyr Choe Yong Jin, former chief secretary of the DPRK cabinet secretariat party committee Jo Se Ung and some 20 other martyrs, who rendered meritorious services in different sectors of society and the people's army were recently laid to rest at the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery.
Stone images of the deceased have been attached to their gravestones.
The images of martyrs and heroic soldiers remain immortal thanks to the scrupulous and energetic leadership of Kim Jong Il, the paramount incarnation of noble moral obligation.
In late April last year, he visited a research institute and saw a scanner and sample stone images produced by it.
While carefully examining them, he proposed attaching stone images to the gravestones of the martyrs.
He said that the bereaved families would be glad to see the stone images and it should be done before the 50th anniversary of the DPRK (September 9, 1998).
This was how hundreds of stone images were added to the gravestones of the martyrs, with their images represented as vividly as if they had been alive.
Korean people of different social standings, servicemen and students and schoolchildren visit the Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery to follow their exploits and mental world for the party and the leader, the country and the people, learning about Kim Jong Il's noble sense of moral obligation for the revolutionary forerunners.
Peaceful reunification of Korea supported@in Nepal
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The Nepalese solidarity forum for supporting South Korean people's movement made Public a statement on January 5 in support of the peaceful reunification of Korea.
The statement said that the cherished aspiration and desire of the Korean people have not been realised and the peace of the world is threatened owing to the huge U.S. armed forces and weapons of mass destruction deployed in South Korea, particularly in the area along the Military Demarcation Line.
"We, fully supporting the peaceful reunification of Korea and the struggle of the South Korean people for the democratic rights and stability, will continue to strengthen solidarity with the Korean people," it noted.
It strongly urged the South Korean authorities to abolish the "National Security Law" and all other "laws" which violate the human rights, to respect the democratic rights of the people, to get the U.S. troops and military equipment withdrawn from the Korean peninsula and to work for an early peaceful reunification of Korea.
Hunmin Jongum, treasure of Korean nation
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Korea has a lot of cultural heritage which greatly contributed to the history of development of human culture.
One of them is Hunmin Jongum, the Korean alphabet which was created on January 15, 1444, 555 years ago.
The scholars who were involved in research into new letters in those days opened to the public the peculiar Korean alphabet called "Hunmin Jongum".
Hunmin Jongum means teaching people correct language. At the time of its creation, it had 28 letters.
The letters were the first phonetic alphabet (vowels and consonants) in the world as they were imitated from shapes of vocal organs.
With these letters one could pronounce Korean and other languages as well.
The basic letters of Hunmin Jongum were made by imitating shapes of the tip and root of tongue, teeth, lips and throat -- main vocal organs. Then, strokes were added or put together according to changes of their characters when pronounced. On the basis of this, Hunmin Jongum was perfected.
Its characteristics is that it has a small number of letters and it is simple in shape and easy to learn.
The national classic "Hunmin Jongum" (published in October, 1446) comprehensively introduces linguistic theories and knowledge gained by scholars as well as other theoretical and practical problems on new letters.
Today, this has been increased to 40 letters (21 vowels and 19 consonants).
The production of Hunmin Jongum brought about a new development of national culture as a whole including chronicle, press and print, literature and art and spoken and written language.
Great leadership gives full demonstration of@national dignity
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- It is thanks to the wise guidance of General Secretary Kim Jong Il that the Korean people are fully demonstrating the dignity and honor of the nation without vacillation in grim trials of history.
Rodong Sinmun today stresses this in a signed article.
Under his wise guidance the national sovereignty has been reliably defended and a bright prospect opened for building a powerful nation, the paper says, and goes on:
The DPRK is not large in territory and population. But in the international arena its people do not read other's face, but proudly exercise national sovereignty with their own fixed principle and faith.
The Workers' Party of Korea has firmly ensured its political leadership over the whole society, resolutely rejecting "political pluralism." and the DPRK government has consistently maintained socialist ownership and the principle of unified and planned economic management by the state, opposing "reform" and "opening." this is a result of the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il.
Though the enemies persistently slander the WPK's policy of attaching importance to military affairs as "bellicose offensive" the marshal continues his journey on inspection mission to People's Army units, adhering to the great politics of giving priority to the army. Under this politics, the People's Army has demonstrated its might as the pillar and main forces of revolution and an invincible army.
The U.S. imperialists are now resorting to a reckless military adventure, having failed to carry out the "appeasement strategy" aimed at inducing the DPRK to "reform" and "opening." however, the Korean people are dynamically advancing toward socialism, determinedly meeting the enemies' challenge together with the People's Army which has grown to be an invincible army.
Marshal Kim Jong Il's distinguished ability of politics is to work miracles and changes, cheerfully breaking through ordeals.
He unfolded the grand plan of building a powerful nation, instilling the Korean people with confidence in and optimism about the future and clearly indicated the best way for overcoming the present difficulties and bringing about a turn in socialist construction.
The realities eloquently show that his wise guidance enables the Korean nation to defend its sovereignty and fully demonstrate its dignity all over the world.
Minju Joson urges U.S. to compensate for@DPRK's economic losses
Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- The DPRK will certainly obtain compensations for its losses from the United States which has violated the DPRK-U.S. agreed framework reached in Geneva and from the South Korean authorities and the Japanese reactionaries who have conspired with the U.S., stresses Minju Joson in a signed commentary today.
The news analyst says:
In a little over four years after the signing of the Geneva agreement, the DPRK has faithfully implemented all of its obligations but the united states has violated the agreement with delaying tactics in which the South Korean authorities and the Japanese reactionaries have been involved.
The United States is wholly to blame for delays in the implementation of the Geneva agreement, and those who conspired with the U.S. cannot escape their responsibility as accomplices.
The U.S. must make due compensations for the economic losses it has inflicted upon the DPRK in violation of the Geneva agreement. And the South Korean authorities and the Japanese reactionaries must pay for its criminal act of putting brakes on the implementation of the agreement.