Kim Jong Il praised abroad
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Shuhachi Inoue, director general of the International Institute of the Juche Idea, on a visit to Korea to congratulate General Secretary Kim Jong Il on his birthday was interviewed by the KCNA. Praising Kim Jong Il's greatness, he said all things follow the sun for its shine, and all people look up to a great man for his idea.
He went on: The leader Kim Jong Il, the sun of Korea and the world, is a great man whom all peoples look up to irrespective of difference in country and nationality, system and political view, idea and race. The immortal Juche idea fathered by the President Kim Il Sung and the ideas and theories of General Secretary Kim Jong Il, who has developed it in depth, give humankind the aim, faith and orientation of life. It is glory and fortune of the world to have General Secretary Kim Jong Il, the greatest of great men who is attracting all peoples with his idea, philosophy, faith and virtues. As long as led by him, socialism, the people's cause of independence will always emerge victorious.
National seminar held
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- A national seminar was held on Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of General Secretary Kim Jong Il's proclamation of a program on modeling the whole society on the Juche idea. Speakers said Kim Jong Il formulated the President Kim Il Sung's revolutionary idea as the systematized Juche idea, theory and method by releasing his famous work on February 19, Juche 63 (1974) and that he declared the modeling of the whole society on the Juche idea the Workers' Party of Korea's maximum program.
After the declaration revolutionary parties and people could find the correct way of accomplishing the cause of socialism and communism, they said, and went on: The revolutionary idea of the President is the only one guiding idea for the revolution and construction in the age of independence and an immortal banner of guidance it is an almighty ideology that is worthy to be tackled throughout the revolutionary struggle for independence of the popular masses.
Ideological and moral traits of the people have changed remarkably as a result of vigorous party ideological work under the energetic guidance of Kim Jong Il. All the people are replete with the spirit of defending the leader devotedly which serves as a source of inexhaustible potentials of Juche revolution. Present at the seminar were Ri Jong Ok and other senior party and state officials.
Seoul citizens see Kim Jong Il's revolutionary activities
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Seoul citizens have seen one after another a video tape on the revolutionary activities of General Secretary Kim Jong Il since early February on the occasion of his birthday, according to a report of the Seoul-based radio Voice of National Salvation quoting an information of the Seoul City Committee of the National Democratic Front of South Korea.
In the first scene the tape shows General Secretary's portrait and letters "congratulations on 57th birthday (1942-1999). Warm congratulations to the great leader Kim Jong Il on his birthday. February 16 Fellowship Society" against the background of a picture of Jong Il Peak and his native home in the secret camp on Mt. Paektu. It introduces his brief biography with "Song of General Kim Jong Il."
It also gives a documentary film on Kim Jong Il's inspection of units of the Korean People's Army and on-the-spot guidance to Jagang and north Phyongan provinces and different parts of the country last year and a scene on the launch of the artificial satellite "Kwangmyongsong 1." Viewers have expressed respects for Kim Jong Il.
Ozawa urged to be prudent
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- We cannot but take a serious note of the fact that Ozawa of the Japan Liberal Party, in a television appearance, again argued about "missile attack" by the DPRK, insisting on the need for anti-DPRK military counterattack, says Rodong Sinmun today. It describes his remark as an outspoken provocation and challenge to the DPRK.
The loudmouthed "counterattack" represents an aggressive stand and intention of the Japanese reactionaries, including Ozawa, the news analyst says, and goes on: His outburst is aimed to incite "awareness of crisis" and strong antagonism towards the DPRK among the Japanese, create a social climate for military reinvasion and set up a wartime system.
We don't care about such a provocative remark at all. The sworn enemy, Japan, is in the range of our strike. If the Japanese reactionaries dare attack us, with a poor knowledge of our potentials and will to take revenge upon Japan, they will meet unimaginable retaliatory punishment and disaster. They should ponder over this and act with discretion.
S. Korea-Japan "working-level negotiation" denounced
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- The South Korean rulers meekly accepted brigandish demands of the Japanese side for drastically reducing joint fishing waters at a "working-level negotiation" with the Japanese reactionaries which was recently held in Seoul as a follow-up of the "fisheries pact." Commenting on this, a news analyst of Rodong Sinmun today says: The South Korean "people's government" puts its preceding dictators in the shade in selling the interests of the nation to the Japanese masters.
Last year, the South Korean rulers signed the treacherous "fisheries pact" with Japan in return for "promising cooperation" in the anti-DPRK campaign and thus sold off the inviolable territory and territorial waters of the country. Even according to conservative data, the South Korean fishermen have to suffer annual losses of 1,072.5 billion won under the "pact." The sycophantic attitude taken by the South Korean rulers at the recent "working-level negotiation" is a flagrant infringement upon the vital rights of local fishermen.
This misdeed glaringly reveals once again the sycophantic nature of the present South Korean rulers who are as treacherous as "5 traitors of 1905." They had better give up their servile flunkeyist and traitorous misbehaviour before facing stern punishment by history and people and rescind the treacherous "pact" at once. The DPRK will never pardon the Japanese reactionaries who are depriving South Korean fishermen of their vital rights in conspiracy with pro-Japanese flunkeyists and traitors instead of liquidating the crimes committed against the Korean nation in the past.
Great sun of 21st century
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Eduardo Fernandez, international secretary of the October 8 Revolutionary Movement of Brazil who visited Korea as a representative of the movement, stressed that the leader Kim Jong Il is the great thinker and theoretician, statesman, strategist and center of the revolutionary movement of the world, who will lead the 21st century. He said: I deeply felt again Kim Jong Il's unparalleled authority, outstanding leadership ability and noble popular charisma through grand celebrations of his birthday.
He has led the Korean people to victory with his extraordinary wisdom and outstanding leadership. As a result, Korea and its people could become such powerful country and dignified people as today. The launch of an artificial satellite demonstrated to the world that the DPRK has wisdom and technology enough to do anything, which gave great encouragement and confidence to the world progressives. Kim Jong Il is a defender of the socialist cause and the great leader of the forces of the world advocating independence. Now aspiration and desire of the world progressives following his idea and praising his exploits become stronger. The world has seen a great sun of the 21st century, the respected Kim Jong Il.
Foreign state and party leaders on Korean issue
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- State and party leaders of different countries referred to the Korean issue when they met DPRK ambassadors to their countries. Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov said on Feb. 11 that the wise leadership of the respected Kim Jong Il is a basic guarantee for the Korean people with rich experience to overcome temporary difficulties and achieve progress and prosperity. He hoped that Korea would be reunified peacefully without outside interference.
Equatorial Guinean President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Feb. 10 pointed to the achievements made by the Korean people in socialist construction. And he declared that the government and people of Equatorial Guinea would fully support the Korean people in the struggle for national reunification in the future, too.
General secretary of the National Council of the Communist Party of India A.B. Bardhan said on Feb. 18 that all the achievements made by the Korean people in socialist construction and revolutionary struggle have been great encouragement to the Indian communists. And he expressed the firm belief that the relations between the Workers' Party of Korea and the Communist Party of India would continue to strengthen and develop.
S. Korean authorities' proposal for dialogue rejected
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- The South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and the Federation of South Korean Trade Unions (Hangukrochong) on Monday resolutely rejected the proposal of Kim Jong Pil for dialogue aimed at retaining the deceptive "labour-management-government committee", a Seoul-based radio report said. The organizations declared the "dialogue with 'government' would be meaningless" because the present chief executive in his "dialogue with people" distorted the reality arbitrarily by claiming the lay-off system "does not force workers to sacrifice themselves." Therefore, feud between trade unions and the "government" is expected to be aggravated, said the report.
Grand People's Study House
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- The Grand People's Study House in the capital city of Pyongyang is being stocked with new books and materials. General Secretary Kim Jong Il, who has paid deep attention to the development of Korea's science and technology, sent it 3,900 books of 970 kinds and 73 video tapes on 16 occasions this year. Last year, he sent it 12,088 books of 3,684 kinds on 41 occasions. It has received 200,000 new books on an annual average.
Those newly received are books on science and technology such as computer, laser and solar battery manufacture, on designing of construction structure, soil microbiology, electronics, architectural engineering and medicine and books on social science. The new video tapes include "Industry and Agriculture," "Electronics," "Biology," "Special Issues of Science and Technology" and others. The new books and data are being widely used by many readers at home and abroad.
The house is the largest Korean-style building in the DPRK. It can accommodate over 12,000 persons every day. It has a total floor space of nearly 100,000 square metres and the capacity of housing 30 million volumes. It has more than 600 rooms including 13 reading rooms and 15 lecture rooms. There are data on social science, technology and basic science, patent books, microfilmed data, translated and recorded data, video tapes on science, films, and other types of study data.
It is equipped with modern facilities needed for simultaneous translation of 5 foreign languages for international meetings. Now it has friendly and cooperative relations with over 600 units of more than 120 countries and libraries of 8 international organizations including UNESCO.
Unconverted long-term prisoners must be sent back
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Yun Song Sik, who has come over to the North Korea, was interviewed by the KCNA on Feb. 24 upon hearing the news that the South Korean "judicial" authorities announced they were examining the repatriation to the north of those unconverted long-term prisoners who would be set free in accordance with the "March 1 special amnesty". He said: If it is true that the South Korean authorities, though belated, are going to send unconverted long-term prisoners back to the north, it is a good news. But I hope their move will not end in empty words and deception.
Pointing out that Kim Dae Jung raised collateral conditions at a press conference held to mark the first anniversary of his assumption of office, the defector said it cannot be construed otherwise than a trick to create an artificial obstacle to such move. He went on to say: The present "government" of South Korea should not attach any collateral condition to the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners of the north origin and send all of them, including Kim In So, Kim Yong Thae and Ham Se Hwan already released, back to the north unconditionally and immediately.
If the South Korean authorities refuse or delay the repatriation of the unconverted long-term prisoners to the north, posing unexpected danger to their lives, they will commit an indelible crime against the nation and history as the chieftain of human rights violation and will be held entirely responsible for the consequences arising therefrom. If they repeal the anti-reunification "National Security Law" and send the unconverted long-term prisoners back to the north, it will open a bright prospect for reconciliation between the north and south and improvement of inter-Korean relations.
Consultative Council for Reunification of Tangun Nation meets
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- The 4th plenary meeting of the Consultative Council for the Reunification of the Tangun Nation was held here on Thursday. The meeting summed up last year's activities of the council and discussed the tasks to be fulfilled in realizing the proposal adopted at the joint meeting of the DPRK government, political parties and organizations. Chairperson Ryu Mi Yong delivered a report which was followed by speeches.
The reporter and speakers called for materializing contacts and dialogues with personages of the South Korean religious groups Taejonggyo and "Council for One Tangun Nation" in order to make this year a year of independence and great unity of the nation. They vowed to make a positive contribution to the great unity of the nation through actions to see the three principles of national reunification honestly implemented, the "National Security Law" abolished and the freedom of activities of pro-reunification organizations and personages guaranteed in South Korea. A working plan of the council was adopted at the meeting.
Romanian party representative visits Pyongyang mission of NDFSK
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Amusa Stefan, first vice-chairman of the Socialist Party of Romania who is its representative, visited the Pyongyang mission of the National Democratic Front of South Korea (NDFSK) on Feb. 25. Chief of the mission Pak Kwang Gi informed him of the activities of NDFSK and the South Korean people's struggle for anti-U.S., independence and abolition of the "National Security Law".
Amusa Stefan expressed the belief that the Korean people rallied close around General secretary Kim Jong Il would certainly achieve national reunification in the near future. He stressed that his party would always send support and solidarity to the struggle of NDFSK, a patriotic vanguard of the South Korean people.
Japanese reactionaries keen on overseas expansion
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- Minju Joson today exposes an ulterior intention of the crafty Japanese reactionaries to legalize overseas expansion for aggression under the pretext of "coping with emergency on the Korean peninsula." The news analyst goes on: They underscore the necessity for constitutional amendment, saying the sphere of the activities of the "self-defense forces" should be broadened "to cope with emergency on the Korean peninsula" and that in the "event of emergency" "SDF" should be called out without prior approval of the diet.
They, overheated with overseas expansion, have gone the length of underlining a need for enactment of a "law" which grants sweeping powers to the Japanese Prime Minister and others allegedly to cope with "emergency on the peninsula". It is not difficult to guess that in case militarist Japan whose ambition has grown wilder than ever before is allowed to go abroad, it will seriously jeopardize peace in Asia and the rest of the world. Their attempt to realise their old dream of "greater east Asia coprosperity sphere" that they failed to do, with backing of their master, is a mere delusion. They should ponder over what disastrous consequences their reckless overseas expansion will entail.
KCNA on "crisis management project team" in Japan
Pyongyang, February 26 (KCNA) -- A string of very improper remarks are heard from among members of a "crisis management project team" which was newly inaugurated within the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan under the pretext of coping with "missile threats" from the DPRK, according to news reports. They said they wanted to "make North Korea suffer from starvation for several years" and that it would "be better to destroy its system."
These utterances are not only a revelation of their sinister intention to stifle the DPRK which has suffered from the shortage of food caused by years of natural disasters but also a frontal challenge to food aid rendered by different countries and international organizations to it in the noble idea of humanitarianism. We take a serious view of the fact that such remarks were made by young dietmen of the Liberal Democratic Party at a meeting of the "crisis management project team" and that the head of the organization is Fukushiro Nukaga, former director-general of the Defense Agency who took the lead in the anti-DPRK campaign over the "DPRK's launch of an artificial satellite" last year.
The rightwing reactionaries of the team are now getting overheated with the campaign to hurt the DPRK under the pretext of the so-called "missile threats" from the DPRK. In fact, their outcries over "threats," "crisis" and "security" are nothing but a smokescreen to cover up their ulterior intention. What they truly seek is to disintegrate the DPRK from within, isolate and stifle it and pave a way for reinvasion of Korea at an early date.
This is more glaringly evidenced by their provocative remarks that it would "be better to destroy the system of North Korea." All this goes to prove that "improved relations between the DPRK and Japan," "resumption of talks" and "humanitarian assistance" clamored about by the Japanese government officials whenever an opportunity presented itself are nothing but a sheer lie and a wicked double-dealing tactics to deceive public opinion. It also proves that the rightwing reactionary forces of Japan tainted with deep-rooted antagonism toward the DPRK are tenaciously trying to push the DPRK-Japan relations to the phase of confrontation of strength, military confrontation, and thus attain their design to stage a comeback to Korea.
Japan must clearly know that its sustained hostile policy toward the DPRK and its pushing the DPRK-Japan relations to a showdown, military confrontation will only heighten stronger our hatred and the spirit of revenging upon and annihilating the enemy a hundred and thousand fold.
Despicable anti-reunification sycophantic treachery
Pyongyang, February 16 (KCNA) -- The South Korean authorities nowadays peddle a proposal for "5-way talks" as preliminaries to "6-way talks," allegedly to debate on "security" and "peace" in northeast Asia. This is nothing but a despicable anti-reunification sycophantic and treacherous move to prolong the remaining days with the backing of outsiders. Therefore, this does not deserve even a passing note.
A priority for peace and security in northeast Asia is to preserve peace on the Korean peninsula and pull the U.S. forces out of South Korea. The Korean issue needs a negotiated settlement between the DPRK and the U.S. in the light of its origin and character. That is why multi-channel negotiations between 2 countries are now under way. Under this situation their outcries over "6-way talks" and "5-way talks" which defy the quintessence of the issue, order of priority and relationship between parties concerned cannot be construed otherwise than a red herring to lay obstacles in the way of the settlement of the issue.
It must not go unnoticed that the Japanese authorities echo the "6-way talks" program. They try hard to interfere in the issue in a bid to block its settlement in every way. Japan has sought to stage a comeback to Korea and Asia. It is an open secret that Japan employs every conceivable crafty stratagem to poke its nose into the issue under the cloak of "security" and "peace" in northeast Asia and catch fish in troubled waters. The facts are indicative of the anti-reunification, anti-national nature of the colonial stooges who work to maintain power in conspiracy with the forces that are trying to attain their sinister geopolitical interests through permanent division of Korea.