Preparatory committee formed in India
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- An Indian national preparatory committee for celebrating the 58th birthday of General Secretary Kim Jong Il was formed with due ceremony on January 12.
P. Shiv Shankar, former Indian Minister of External Affairs and chairman of the all India Indo-Korean Friendship Association, was elected chairman of the committee at the meeting.
Its action program was discussed and a letter to Kim Jong Il was adopted there.
An appeal adopted at the meeting noted that Kim Jong Il is the lodestar of unity of the world progressives and peace-loving people and General Secretary leading the cause of independence of the whole world to the victory.
It called on the world progressive people who love peace and uphold justice to jointly celebrate the auspicious February holiday.
Science and technology accounted much of in DPRK
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- the spirit of attaching importance to science and technology will more firmly be established in the DPRK this year.
Science and technology is one of the three pillars along with ideology and the military in building a powerful nation.
It is an important task to bring science and technology on to the world standard in a shortest span of time and solve the scientific and technological matters which are urgent in building a powerful nation.
It is the resolute stand of the Worker's Party of Korea to build socialism in reliance upon science.
The great leader Kim Jong Il visited the academy of sciences on the first leg of his on-the-spot guidance last year.
He said that science and technology is the propelling power in building a powerful nation and the prosperity and development of the country depend on scientists and technicians.
There are about 1.8 million intellectuals including scientists and technicians in the DPRK.
They are the treasure of the nation and the valuable foundation for the eternal prosperity of the country.
Although the national economy is not booming and people's living is hard, the government shows particular concern to the working and living conditions of scientists and technicians so that they may devote themselves to scientific and technical research.
And the government organizes festivals of science and technology, invention and new technique exhibition and program contests to call forth the zeal of scientists and technicians.
Valuable scientific and technological successes are widely being introduced into production.
Last year a hundred and more valuable scientific and technical matters including production of iron by oxygen-blowing and the establishment of underground coal gasification at Anju coal field were studied and introduced into production.
All the Korean scientists and technicians are all out to greet the 55th anniversary of the WPK with greater scientific and technological achievements.
Struggle against class enemies urged
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- It is necessary to intensify the struggle against the class enemies opposed to socialism in order to defend the cause of socialism and ensure its victorious advance, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article.
The lesson to be drawn from those east European countries which shrank back from the class struggle, harboring illusion about the class enemies is that if a country makes one step for concession and retreat in the acute class struggle, it will have to take ten or a hundred steps for concession and retreat and thus meet such tragedy as losing its socialist gains at the hands of the enemies, the article says, and continues:
An uncompromising struggle against the class enemies calls for properly understanding the target of the class struggle.
Imperialism is the no. one class enemy of socialism.
Imperialism represents brutes who cannot exist even a moment without invading other countries and nations. For imperialism aggression and plunder are means of its existence. Its aggressive nature and bestiality can never change.
We must not forget even a moment that there always exist the class enemies who are working hard to destroy the socialist system.
There are those who are opposed to the socialist system, those introducing the corrupt bourgeois way of life into society, taken in by the imperialists' anti-socialist propaganda, those abandoning the socialist principle for money and those divulging state secrets for money and others who try hard to undermine socialism. All of them are the class enemies of socialism.
The moves of the class enemies to disseminate unsound ideas into socialist society must be thoroughly frustrated.
It is necessary to solidly consolidate the socialist class base, strengthen the cohesion and unity of the revolutionary ranks and more firmly build up the armed forces of the class and the revolution, the article notes, urging the people not to be tricked by the talk about the super-class "human rights" and "humanitarianism."
Many posters created in Korea
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- Many posters encouraging the working people who turned out in the struggle to implement the tasks set forth by the joint New Year editorial are being created in Korea.
The Mansudae Art Studio created many posters, reflecting the spirit of the present times, including "glorify this year, the WPK's 55th anniversary, with signal victory in the crucible of greatly increased activity of Chollima " "glorify the year 2000 as a year of all-out forward march for the building of a powerful socialist nation " "long live the great army-first policy " and "long live the WPK, invincible and iron-willed party "
The Central Fine Arts Studio, Pyongyang University of Fine Arts and many other units produced militant and appealing posters actively inspiring the people to the building of a powerful nation, including "let us accelerate this year's all-out forward march, holding fast to the policy of attaching great importance to ideology, the military and science and technology " "final victory is ours. The year 2000 is our living stage for struggle " and "let's beat more loudly the drum of the second grand Chollima march."
Created were also posters showing steadfast spirit of the soldiers of the people's army devotedly defending the leader and the ideological and moral life of working people from all walks of life, such as "let us become today's O Jung Hup defending the Supreme Command at the risk of our lives " "ours will be arms for invariably defending the leader with our lives " and "let's unconditionally defend and implement the economic policy of the party like the ten party members of the Rakwon Machine Plant."
Many posters based on the reality were also created.
Repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners urged
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Korean Measure Committee for the Rescue of Unconverted Long-Term Prisoners of South Korea in a statement issued today urged the South Korean authorities to drop such a wrong attitude as using the humanitarian issue for a political purpose and immediately repatriate all the unconverted long-term prisoners to the north as they wish.
Welcoming and supporting the recent formation of the committee for the promotion of the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners in South Korea which groups 30 non-governmental movement organizations, he continued:
Their repatriation is a humanitarian issue pending an urgent solution.
The condition of the unconverted long-term prisoners now under detention in South Korea remains critical because of their advanced age and serious illness.
Their repatriation is not merely an issue of alleviating their misfortunes and pain and those of their families but is directly related to removing the state of acute inter-Korean confrontation and creating an atmosphere of national reconciliation and unity.
Whether the South Korean authorities send unconverted long-term prisoners back to the northern half of Korea as they wish or not is a touchstone showing whether they are truly willing to improve the inter-Korean relations and achieve national reconciliation and unity or not.
We will actively cooperate with the promotion committee in the future and exert all efforts to realize their ardent desire for their repatriation to the north.
Measure committee meeting for rescue of long-term prisoners
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- The 11th meeting of the Korean Measure Committee for the Rescue of Unconverted Long-Term Prisoners in South Korea was held in Pyongyang today. The meeting reviewed the activities of the committee last year and discussed action program for this year.
Mun Jae Chol, chairman of the committee, made a report, which was followed by speeches of its members. They said that last year the solidarity struggle of Koreans in the north, south and abroad for the repatriation of unconverted long-term prisoners was further strengthened and international public opinion was greatly agitated in different countries of the five continents.
They denounced the South Korean rulers for abusing the issue of repatriating the unconverted long-term prisoners to their hometowns, a mere humanitarian issue, for their political purpose. The red cross of South Korea has acted as a puppet, they said, and noted:
It is nothing but a deceptive trick to conceal the true colors of the South Korean rulers that they are now loudly talking about "reconciliation and cooperation" and the settlement of the issue of "separated families," turning their back on the pressing human rights issue which should be solved quickly in the relations between the north and the south.
They welcomed and supported the inauguration of the Committee for the Promotion of the Repatriation of Unconverted Long-Term Prisoners in South Korea at the end of last year.
They called for intensifying the solidarity struggle of Koreans in the north, south and overseas this year, too, and making all efforts for the repatriation of the unconverted long-term prisoners to their hometowns.
The meeting adopted a resolution containing the committee's action program and tasks this year.
KCNA urges U.S. and S. Korea to act with discretion
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- The United States and the South Korean authorities are persisting in their anti-DPRK diatribe, paying lip-service to "reconciliation and cooperation".
For example, the South Korean authorities held the "1st international meeting on the issues of human rights and refugees in North Korea" in Seoul recently according to the script worked out by the United States, despite the DPRK's warnings. The riff-raffs invited to the meeting were instructed to let loose a spate of piffles defaming the DPRK's social and political system.
They were, in fact, dishonest scholars, hack writers and others bribed by the South Korean authorities to read papers full of lies about "human rights" in the north. This only goes to prove that "reconciliation and cooperation" which they tout whenever an opportunity presents itself are nothing but hypocrisy intended to cover up their anti-north confrontation policy.
No one paid attention to the meeting for this "human rights" burlesque was staged in South Korea, a graveyard of human rights and a colony of the United States.
The United States and the South Korean authorities co-orchestrated this foolish farce in a political bid to divert elsewhere the world public criticism of the disclosed many human rights abuses in South Korea, including killings of civilians in Rogun-ri and tone down the people's strong demands for the abolition of the "security law" and thus cover up the serious violation of human rights and freedom in South Korea. But this only invited derision from the world people.
What merits a serious attention is that this anti-DPRK smear campaign was staged at the tacit connivance of the United States. This is an indication that the U.S. design to isolate and stifle the DPRK remains unchanged.
The United States is talking about the DPRK-U.S. dialogue and improved relations with it but has not made any switchover in its hostile policy towards the DPRK. It used the "nuclear issue", "missile issue" as a pretext to stifle the DPRK. It is now trying to use "human rights issue" to this end.
This compels us to heighten our vigilance against its design.
If the United States continues pursuing its anti-DPRK hostile policy in contravention of the spirit of the DPRK-u.s. Agreed framework, the improvement of the DPRK-U.S. relations will not come true.
The United States and the South Korean authorities should ponder over the gravity of the situation and act with discretion.
Campaign for defeating corrupt and incompetent launched
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- The South Korean Christian Youth Association reportedly clarified the intention on January 13 to actively join the citizens' solidarity for general election which declared the campaign to defeat corrupt and incompetent politicians in the election with the "election of national assemblymen" at hand.
It decided to form a 5,000 young voters' solidarity organization and wage a campaign for opposing the nomination of candidates and voting against them in the election at more than 130 constituencies and thus join in the solidarity struggle with the citizens' solidarity for general election so that the campaign may gain the all-people support.
The organization has 150,000 members and about 50 branches.
Meanwhile, the South Korean Christian Broadcasting System reported that the citizens are fully supporting the activities of the citizens' solidarity for general election, and that over 12,000 subscribers are backing the campaign, greatly encouraging the organization, just two days after the organization opened the internet.
Israel warned not to do things harmful to peace
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK today answered a question put by KCNA as regards a recent Israeli attempt to deliver state-of-the-art military equipment to South Korea.
As already reported, this year Israel is to deliver to South Korea one hundred unmanned warplanes capable of striking strategic objects in the depth by remote control.
The projected delivery of modern military equipment to the South Korean authorities who are stepping up arms buildup to provoke a war from the beginning of the year is a dangerous act of further aggravating the tense situation on the Korean peninsula, the spokesman says, and continues:
Israel should refrain from doing things harmful to the preservation of peace on the peninsula and unconditionally and immediately get out of all the occupied Arab land, including the Golan Heights, in conformity with the just demands of the Arab people, and thus contribute to the fair and comprehensive Middle East peace process.
We will never allow any act of aggravating the situation on the Korean peninsula, but take a relevant countermeasure.
Vigilance against Japan called for
Pyongyang, January 18 (KCNA) -- The Japan Defense Agency on Jan. 5 adopted a new draft "mid-term defence readjustment plan" (2001-2005). Recently it also finally adopted a plan to purchase and deploy airborne refueling aircraft. The Mitsubishi Electrical Co. Ltd., and five other major enterprises of Japan have buckled down to the development of the "Theatre Missile Defense" system at the request of the Japan Defense Agency.
Commenting on this, Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary says:
Japan's objective is to strengthen its position as a military power, build up its "Self-Defense Forces" into the first class armed forces and thus launch its aggressive military actions worldwide.
The Japanese reactionaries are pushing the process of fascistizing society and placing Japan under a wartime system at the stage of completion and rounding off preparations for overseas aggression in all aspects, including economy, the military, ideology and law. Their moves for militarization and overseas aggression are much graver than what one imagined and have reached an extremely dangerous point.
They are advocating the theory of "advance into oceans," a doctrine of aggression put up by the samurais in the past, as an issue vital to "prosperity" of Japan and a short cut to it. This is an undisguised call for aggression and a war agitation they are going to arm the "SDF" with a high-tech and mobile means and long-range equipment in the near future.
This is aimed at launching military operations in any area outside Japan as they wish. Their first target is the DPRK and then other countries in Asia.
A failure to destroy a viper of militarism in time would bring serious consequences, warns the commentary.