U.S. will take responsibility for consequences@of nuclear confrontation
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK made public a statement today in connection with the fact that U.S. military bosses have openly revealed their design to unleash a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.
The statement said:
During recent tours of South Korea, the U.S. Secretary of Defense and the U.S. chairman of joint chiefs of staff held the 20th "military committee" meeting and the 30th "annual consultative meeting on security" with the South Korean military bosses. At the joint confabs, they, raising again "the DPRK's suspected underground nuclear facility," "missile issue" and "issue of biological and chemical weapons," made public a "joint statement" replete with violent remarks that the DPRK is continuously posing threats to the U.S. national interests and that the U.S. will make a strong "chastisement" with the mobilisation of all means including nuclear weapons in case of emergency.
At the confabs, they also agreed on setting up a "South Korea-U.S. joint psychological warfare command" intended to conduct a "psychological warfare" in case a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula, intensifying a joint lookout for possible overall war or limited provocation by someone and quickly deploying U.S. patriot missile batteries in South Korea to cope with the DPRK's "missile attack."
The recently held confabs were very aggressive and bellicose ones without an equal in history, the spokesman said, and continued:
This is a declaration of war that a second Korean war being prepared by the United States is none other than a nuclear war.
The U.S. utterances about "nuclear chastisement" are a wanton violation of the DPRK-U.S. agreed framework.
It is a mistake for the United States to think that it can "win over" some people through a "psychological warfare" in case a war breaks out.
Since we have lived exposed to U.S. constant nuclear threats for scores of years, we are fully ready for a nuclear war, too.
It is the will and faith of the Korean People's Army and people that they never avoid a war but will certainly win if they fight.
If the U.S. finally takes the road of nuclear confrontation, we cannot but adopt an appropriate countermeasure. The United States will be held 100 percent responsible for its consequences.
Kim Jong Il's birthday to be celebrated abroad
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- Preparatory committees were formed in different countries to celebrate the 57th birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il at an inaugural meeting held in Guinea, the chairman of the Guinea-Korea Friendship Association said that February 16, the birthday of Kim Jong Il, is a common holiday of the Korean people and the progressive humankind of the world.
The chairman said that Kim Jong Il is the supreme leader of the Korean people who has strengthened the Korean People's Army into invincible revolutionary armed forces and built the DPRK into a powerful nation with strong self-defence capabilities.
The meeting elected the chairman of the association chairman of the preparatory committee.
An inaugural meeting held in Austria elected the secretary general of the society for the promotion of the relations between Austria and the DPRK chairman of the preparatory committee and discussed a programme of events to significantly celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday.
Dangerous war confabs against DPRK
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The U.S. and the South Korean authorities recently held the 30th "annual consultative meeting on security" and the 20th "military committee" meeting for a war against the north.
Papers here today carry commentaries in this regard.
Warmongers at home and abroad published a "joint statement", the keynote of which is filled with "strong warning to the north," and U.S. Secretary of Defence William Cohen threatened to "punish" the north with "all means, including nuclear weapons," the news analyst of Rodong Sinmun says, and goes on: The "joint statement" and Cohen's remarks make it a fait accompli to unleash a war against the north. They are an open threat and blackmail and declaration of a nuclear war against the DPRK.
The issues of "underground nuclear facility" and "missile development" the warmongers raised in the war confabs against the north aim to invent an excuse for igniting a nuclear war according to the "operation plan 5027".
Answering "punishment" with punishment, a total war with total war and an aggressive war with liberation war is the character and mode of counteraction pertaining to the DPRK.
If the U.S., their henchmen and followers dare unleash a war against the DPRK, the Korean people and revolutionary armed forces will never miss the opportunity to plunge the provokers into a sea of fire and to reduce them to ashes.
Minju Joson says that if warmongers unleash a war against the DPRK, it will annihilate the aggressors in reliance upon the invincible might which it has cultivated for scores of years and achieve the historic cause of national reunification.
Joint New Year Editorial studied abroad
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The Joint New Year Editorial of Rodong Sinmun, Joson Inmingun and Chongnyon Jonwi of the DPRK has been studied and disseminated in Russia, Tunisia, Madagascar and Guinea.
At a seminar held in Moscow on Jan. 16 a reporter and speakers referred to last year's successes and this year's task, saying that this year will be a year of fresh turn in advance towards the building of a powerful nation in the DPRK.
They pointed out that the monolithic unity of the leader, party and masses in the DPRK with the Juche Idea as its guideline will be further strengthened and the second grand march of Chollima will be sped up this year.
Meanwhile, seminars, lecture meetings and reading sessions on the Joint Editorial were held in different countries.
The participants stressed that as General Secretary Kim Jong Il leads the Korean revolution and the Korean people have the solid independent national economy and strong self-reliant defence capabilities, the DPRK will exalt itself as a powerful nation without fail.
Hanchongryon declares anti-U.S. independence, anti-"government" struggle
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The South Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) elected its interim chairman and executive committee and decided on the action programme to stage a full-scale struggle against the fascist suppression which is committed from the beginning of the year, according to a radio report from Seoul.
Student Ri Ki Jun, chairman of the General Student Council of Myongji University, was elected interim chairman of the 7th-term Hanchongryon at a recent session of its central committee.
The U.S. is aggravating the danger of war on the Korean peninsula, Hanchongryon said, defining the anti-U.S. independence and anti-"government" struggle as its action programme for this year.
It declared an "emergency of 100 days", saying that it will conduct intensive propaganda activities during this period.
Copies of literature wishing Kim Jong Il long life in good health scattered in S. Korea
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- Copies of literature wishing General Secretary Kim Jong Il a long life in good health were scattered in different parts of South Korea, according to the Seoul-based radio Voice of National Salvation.
Copies of literature in the name of the Sobaeksu society were scattered in the Seoul subway and those in the name of Saeppyol Fellowship Society in Phohang.
Copies of literature in the name of different underground ideology study organisations were also found in Taegu, Kyongju and Kimchon.
14th National Festival of Science and Technology
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The 14th National Festival of Science and Technology is going on.
Broad sections of masses including scientists and technicians across the country are participating in the festival which opened at the end of last year.
The participants presented data on achievements they made in research last year true to the Workers' Party of Korea's idea on attaching importance to science.
They scientifically and technologically solved knotty problems in stabilizing and improving people's living conditions including food problem and in shoring up power, coal, metal and other key industries of the national economy and railway transport.
Death of chairman Paek In Jun
Pyangyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- Paek In Jun, member of the C.C., the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK and chairman of the C.C., the Korean Writers Union, died of an incurable disease on Jan. 20, Juche 88 (1999), at the age of 78.
The obituary published in the name of the C.C., the WPK and the SPA presidium of the DPRK said that Paek In Jun energetically worked for the strengthening of the people's government and the development of literature and art and for the accomplishment of great national unity and independent reunification of the country as chairman of the north headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification.
Kim Jong Il sends wreath to bier of Paek In Jun
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) - General Secretary Kim Jong Il today sent a wreath to the bier of Paek In Jun, member of the C.C., the Workers' Party of Korea, deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK and chairman of the C.C., the Korean Writers Union, expressing deep condolence over his death.
Revolutionary spirit of soldiers
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The Korean people are firmly determined to achieve greater success in socialist construction by displaying the revolutionary spirit of soldiers this year, too.
The Joint New Year Editorial emphatically calls for building up the revolutionary ranks with the People's Army as the hard core and pushing ahead with socialist construction in this spirit.
The revolutionary spirit of soldiers means devotedly defending the leader by unconditionally carrying through the order and instruction of the party and the leader through thick and thin.
The spirit was created by soldiers during the building of the Anbyon Youth Power Station called a miracle of the '90s.
The soldier-builders carried out by themselves the vast and difficult project unprecedented in history which was twice that of the west sea barrage in the total amount of work.
General Secretary Kim Jong Il highly appreciated the exploits of soldier-builders and appealed to the whole party, country and people to learn from their revolutionary spirit.
Firmly determined to undertake both the defence of the fatherland and socialist construction, they fully displayed this spirit in building the Mt. Wolbi Power Station, the pleasure grounds of Mts. Jongbang and Kuwol, the April 25 Hotel and September 9 Street.
The vitality of the spirit has been vividly proved in Korea in the years of "arduous march."
All achievements scored by the Korean people last year were a result of the spirit. Among them are the building of more than 5,000 minor power stations, readjustment of over 3,000 km-long riversides and 29,000 hectares of fields, the construction of railroads between Haeju and Ongjin and between Singangryong and Pupho and new looks of Jagang Province and Taehongdan county.
The spirit serves as the source of strength in the struggle of the Korean people to let this year mark a turning-point in building a powerful nation.
S. Korean workers' struggle supported abroad
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- The Austrian Federation of Leftist Trade Unions released a resolution on Jan. 12 in support of the South Korean Trade Unions and workers in the struggle for the improvement of living and working conditions.
The resolution stressed that in South Korea the workers went on a general strike in protest against the worsening working conditions and increased unemployment. Their struggle is winning public support in South Korea, it said.
U.S. aggression moves denounced in Pakistan
Pyongyang, January 21 (KCNA) -- Pakistani political figures including Tazhi Haider, member of the Central Executive Committee of the Pakistan People's Party, the chairmen of the Sind Provincial Committees of the National Awami Party and the Pakistan Democratic Party published a joint statement on Jan. 12 in support of the statement of the spokesman for the general staff of the Korean People's Army which was issued in connection with the fact that the U.S. aggression moves against the DPRK has reached the dangerous stage.
The joint statement denounced the U.S. aggression moves as a grave challenge to the regional and world peace.
It noted that the U.S. has deployed tens of thousands of its troops and more than 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea, intentionally aggravating the situation of the Korean peninsula.
Korea still remains divided entirely due to the U.S. troops' occupation of South Korea and the separatist moves of the South Korean authorities, it said, adding that if the U.S. sincerely hopes for the reunification and peace of Korea, it should renounce its hostile policy toward the DPRK and accept the DPRK's proposal to replace the armistice agreement with a peace agreement.
The statement stressed that they will more vigorously conduct the international solidarity movement for withdrawal of the U.S. troops and nuclear weapons. It called upon the world's peaceloving people and democratic forces to extend support and solidarity to the just struggle of the Korean people.