Joint statement issued on west sea incident
Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- 27 Arab political parties and national liberation movement organizations including the Palestine National Liberation Movement (FATAH), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Communist Party of Syria (Bagdash), the Communist Party of Syria (Youssef), the Nasser People's Unity Organization of Yemen and the Iraqi Communist Party released a joint statement on July 4 in connection with the armed conflict in the West Sea of Korea.
The statement noted that the U.S. Continues to pursue a war against the DPRK.
It said that the recent armed conflict at sea caused by South Korean battleships against the North Korean ones, escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula, was part of the U.S. new war provocation moves to destroy the system in North Korea.
Withdrawal of "integrated broadcasting bill" urged
Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- The trade unions of the "Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation" and the "Korean Broadcasting System" in South Korea which had been in strikes for nine consecutive days held a solidarity meeting in Seoul on July 21 and demanded the authorities withdraw the "integrated broadcasting bill", a Seoul-based radio reported.
The trade unions said that provisions calling for autonomy of the broadcasting committee are essential for a broadcasting reform and demanded that the authorities institute a reform-oriented broadcasting law at an early date.
At the end of the meeting they marched along streets, explaining to citizens the content of the poisonous provisions of the "integrated broadcasting bill" and inevitable strike.
"Relief loan" of imperialist's financial capital to S. Korea
Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun on Saturday carried a signed article on the issue of the "relief loan" of the imperialist's financial capital to South Korea and its catastrophic consequences.
The imperialist's financial capital, above all, forced a sweeping reform upon the South Korean ruling quarters with "relief loan" as a bait, the article said, and went on to say:
The IMF has forced the South Korean ruling quarters to carry out "restructuring". This is aimed at reorganizing the economic structure of South Korea as required by the United States in a bid to reduce it to a mere appendage of U.S. monopoly capital.
The "relief loan" of the imperialist's financial capital has brought catastrophic and serious consequences to South Korea.
The South Korean economy is, above all, far from relieved of stagnation, beset with ever more acute contradictions.
The rate of growth of the South Korean economy was minus 7 percent last year. Entering this year, it is still going downhill.
The export of South Korea last year was down 2.2 percent as compared with the previous year.
Foreign debts of South Korea reached 176.7 billion dollars as of the end of last January.
A drastic reduction of export, continued instability of stock market and snowballing foreign debts have resulted in wholesale bankruptcy of businesses. More than 15,000 enterprises, large and small, went bankrupt in South Korea till the end of last year, an all-time high in history.
According to data released by the "Ministry of Finance and Economy" of South Korea, foreign capital that had found its way to South Korea from early 1998 right after the enforcement of the IMF mandate to march 1999 bought the rights to management of 600 enterprises of 27 categories in South Korea at low prices.
The South Korean people live in the worst destitution in history and the number of the unemployed is on a steady increase in South Korea.
The "relief loan" of the imperialist's financial capital to South Korea only resulted in an unprecedented economic collapse under the mandate, ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, while it brought excessive profits to specified big businesses and foreign monopoly capital.
Japanese reactionaries warned
Pyongyang, July 25 (KCNA) -- The Korean people can clearly see the true colors of Japan as their sworn enemy in the Japanese reactionaries' attempt to make an air raid on the DPRK's "missile base", says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
Recalling that the Korean people's resentment against Japan has been pent up for generations, the commentary continues:
The DPRK will settle accounts with the Japanese who committed indelible crimes against the Korean people during their 40 odd year-long colonial rule over Korea.
It will also make Japan pay for dividing Korea, for what she committed while participating in the Korean War, as well as for the harm done by her to it through her anti-DPRK hostile policy after the cease-fire.
Since Japan is unwilling to make an apology and compensation for all these crimes, the DPRK can not but settle accounts with it by every conceivable means and methods.
There has been no opportunity for the DPRK to do so.
But Japan is providing the DPRK with such an opportunity by herself.
Because the Japanese reactionaries are about to launch into reinvasion.
Worse still, they have made the DPRK-Japan relations those between the two warring parties. Therefore, the DPRK is determined to fight, if Japan wishes.
The DPRK will never miss the chance to revenge upon Japan.
The DPRK will root out the evil being, who has tormented the Korean people for such a long time nearby Korea and threatened the peace of Asia.