Turnout in great transformation of nature called for
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- "Improving the layout of the fields is a great transformation of nature for the prosperity and development of the country, a patriotic work of lasting significance," a talk General Secretary Kim Jong Il had with officials during his on-site guidance to land leveling and rezoning work in North Phyongan Province proves the validity and vitality of the land leveling and rezoning work initiated by the Worker's Party of Korea and it serves as a banner instilling confidence and optimism into the Korean people in their last charge for the building of a powerful socialist nation.
Papers here today say this in editorials carried in connection with its publication.
Noting that weighty significance and great vitality of the work lie in that it elaborated on the tasks and ways of totally eradicating the remnants of the feudal ownership of land in rural areas and radically changing its appearance as befitting the land of socialist Korea through a continued vigorous movement for land leveling and rezoning involving the whole party and army and all the people, Rodong Sinmun says:
It is vital to the Korean people today to solve food problem. An important way of finding solution to it is to improve the layout of the fields and thus increase the area of cultivated land.
The grain production will sharply go up and the Korean farmers' age-old desire to farm joyfully with ease with the help of machines come true when the entire party and army and all the people turn out in the land leveling and rezoning in hearty response to the call of the WPK and energetically push ahead with it.
The stirring realities today when land leveling and rezoning is progressing apace deepen the Korean people's conviction that when they uphold the guidance of Kim Jong Il, they can work any miracle and build an economically powerful nation by their own efforts without fail no matter how hard their conditions may be.
Minju Joson calls on all the officials and working people to turn Kim Jong Il's long-term plan for land leveling and rezoning into shining reality to radically change the appearance of all the fields of the country as befitting the land of socialist Korea, the genuine socialist state, and thus greatly contribute to the building of a powerful nation of Juche.
Kim Yong Nam and his party back home
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, and his party flew back home today. They participated in the south summit held in Havana and paid an official visit to Cuba at the invitation of Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba.
They were met at the airport by vice-president Yang Hyong Sop and secretary Kim Yun Hyok of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Yong Il and other officials concerned.
Also on hand were Nirsia Castro Guevara, charge d'affaires ad interim of the Cuban embassy, foreign diplomatic envoys and representatives of international organizations here.
Yang Hyong Sop meets delegation of Koreans in Japan
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, met the delegation of Koreans in Japan headed by Kwon Sun Hwi, vice-chairman of the central standing committee of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, on a visit to the socialist homeland and conversed with it in an atmosphere overflowing with compatriotic feelings at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Thursday.
Greetings to DPRK FM from Indonesian counterpart
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun received a message of greetings from his Indonesian counterpart Alwi Abdurrahman Shihab.
The message said:
I deem it great pleasure to send the warmest greetings to the DPRK government, people and Foreign Minister in the name of the Indonesian government, people and myself on the auspicious occasion of the 35th anniversary of President Kim Il Sung's Indonesia visit.
We also deem it a great satisfaction that the warm relations of cooperation between our two countries have constantly developed in different fields since the historic visit.
We have always cooperated with each other for the welfare of our two peoples thanks to the constructive results of the meeting between President Kim Il Sung and President Sukarno.
I hope that the friendly relations and close cooperation between our two countries will further develop in the new millennium.
Palestinian ambassador gives reception
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Shaher Mohammed Abdlah, ambassador of the State of Palestine to the DPRK, hosted a reception on Thursday on the occasion of Sun's Day.
The ambassador in his speech said the Palestinian people and leadership headed by President Yasser Arafat keep in mind the noblest and most beautiful memory of the President Kim Il Sung and value the traditional friendly and cooperative relations with the DPRK.
He expressed the belief that the Korean people under the guidance of the great Kim Jong Il would overcome all ordeals and achieve the Korean nation's reunification, aspirations and aims.
Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea Central Committee, said in his speech that the Korean people would make energetic efforts to further develop the friendly and cooperative relations with Palestine and firmly stand by the Palestinian people who are indomitably struggling to regain the national rights including the rights to repatriation and foundation of an independent state.
He expressed the belief that the energetic efforts of the Palestinian people to establish an independent state under the leadership of the respected President Yasser Arafat would be crowned with good success this year.
Lunches sent by Kim Jong Il to pump operators
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il looked round paddy and non-paddy fields of a county in North Hwanghae Province on a spring day, Juche 78 (1989).
He, conducted by a leading official of the county party committee, went to a paddy field to acquaint himself with the growth of rice seedlings and intervals of maize seedlings in a non-paddy field. Then he explained to a local official scientific and technological problems in doing farming as required by the Juche-based farming method one by one.
There came lunch time before they were aware of it.
The local official requested Kim Jong Il to let him go to his village to prepare lunch in a short time. On hearing this, the leader asked whether it was already lunch time.
Saying there is no need for him to do so, the leader invited him to have together the simple lunch he had prepared.
A very simple lunch was arranged on the bank of Hwangju River.
Food arranged on papers spread on a suitable place included pieces of bread, one or two dried dishes and water inside the flask, nothing more.
The hum of a machine was wafted by the wind from a pumping station, when his suite members were seated.
Paying attention to the sound, Kim Jong Il said uninterrupted hum of the machine in the pumping station suggested that its operators were before lunch. "aware of this, we should not allow ourselves to lunch before them," he said, proposing to offer all the food to those working comrades.
Then he personally packed lunch boxes and asked the official to carry them to the operators and have lunch with them, saying they might not take them if they knew those were sent by him.
All the simple meals prepared by him were thus sent to the unknown pump operators.
Wreaths laid before statue and grave of Kang Pan Sok
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Senior party and state officials, working people and servicemen visited the statue of Kang Pan Sok at the Chilgol Revolutionary Site and her grave in Mangyongdae this morning to lay wreaths before them on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of her birth.
Kang Pan Sok was an indomitable revolutionary fighter and an outstanding leader of the Korean communist women's movement.
Seen at the statue and grave were wreaths from General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
Yang Hyong Sop and Choe Yong Rim were among those present at the wreath-laying ceremonies.
Laid amid the playing of music were wreaths in the name of the WPK Central Committee, the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly and the DPRK cabinet, commissions and ministries of the cabinet, national institutions, working people's organizations, KPA units and party and power bodies, farms and schools in Pyongyang.
China donates hydro-meteorological facilities
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- The State Meteorological Bureau of China on April 19 donated hydro-meteorological facilities to its DPRK counterpart.
Among them are aerological sounding facilities to measure wind, humidity, atmospheric pressure and others in the air and weather forecasting and commanding equipment.
They are associated with the ardent desire of the meteorological officials, scientists, technicians and other people of China to contribute to the traditional Korea-China friendship through cooperation in the field of meteorological science and technology of the two countries.
Wang Guozhang, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, told Korean meteorological officials that the friendship between the peoples of the two countries was provided by the revolutionaries of the old generation in the two countries and has grown stronger and developed to a high level under the deep care of Jiang Zemin and other Chinese leaders and the workers' party and government of Korea led by the General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
Noting that the visit paid by General Secretary Kim Jong Il to the Chinese embassy on March 5 and his high praise of the work of embassy officials marked an important occasion in the development of the Sino-Korean friendship, the ambassador stated that the Chinese party and government are attaching great importance to the Sino-Korean friendship.
The Korean meteorological officials, scientists and technicians expressed thanks for the donation of the facilities by their Chinese counterpart.
They underscored the need to boost the scientific and technological cooperation in their field.
Ko Il Hun, director of the DPRK hydro-meteorological service, said that what they received was not a simple donation of meteorological facilities but an expression of the warm feelings of the Chinese people toward the Korean people.
Mangyongdae, eternal sacred place of sun
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Mangyongdae is the native place of Kim Il Sung's nation, the base of Kim Il Sung's Korea and the sacred place where the era of independence opened and a grand march for global independence started, Kim Chang Il, member of the Pyongyang mission of the National Democratic Front of South Korea, said in his article released on the occasion of Sun's Day.
The article titled "Mangyongdae is the eternal sacred place of the sun" noted that the outdated era of subjugation and submission ended and the new era of history, the great era of independence, in which the popular masses independently carve out their destiny as its masters, has opened since the President Kim Il Sung, the sun of all people, was born in Mangyongdae and raised the first anchor of the cause of independence.
The article went on:
A lot of people who are worshipping the sun ceaselessly come to Mangyongdae from across continents and oceans. This is a vivid picture clearly showing that Mangyongdae, birthplace of the great human sun is the native home of humankind of the world and the cradle of the era of independence.
Pyongyang is the heart of the world and Mangyongdae is the heart of Pyongyang.
Hundreds of millions of people of the world including worshippers of the sun praying for Kim Il Sung's eternal life, adherents of the Juche idea who want to learn the truth of Juche and receive the textbook of independent politics, politicians coming for learning the way to enrich and strengthen a country, famous scholars, pressmen and religious men vie with one another to come to Pyongyang and visit Mangyongdae.
Indeed, thanks to the great sun Kim Jong Il, Mangyongdae is shining forever as the sacred place of the sun enjoying worship from all the people.
Floral baskets to DPRK embassies in many countries
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Guinean President Lansana Conte sent a floral basket to the Korean embassy in Conakry on the occasion of Sun's Day, birth anniversary of the President Kim Il Sung.
Upon his authorization, Morou Balde, adviser of diplomatic and political affairs of the presidency, visited the Korean embassy and laid the floral basket before the Portrait of Kim Il Sung on April 14.
The president of the National Assembly of Guinea, a deputy prime minister who is Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt, the chairman of the economic committee of the People's Assembly of Egypt and other Egyptian personages sent floral baskets to the Korean embassies in Conakry and Cairo.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Public Service and the Minister of Ameriindian Affairs of Guyana and the chairman of the Guyana Torchlight Taekwondo Group for the Study of the Juche Idea of Comrade Kim Il Sung paid a call at the Korean embassy in Georgetown.
They laid floral baskets before the portraits of the great leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and paid their respects to them.
Mass movements staged for building new society
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- The Worker's Party of Korea (WPK) staged vigorous mass movements in the early period of the building of a new society.
Right after the country's liberation a lot of Korean people were not freed from the outdated ideological survivals and custom left over from the colonial society of the Japanese imperialists. Some officials did not believe in the people's strength as they indulged in bureaucracy and were affected by flunkeyism. All this adversely affected the building of a new society.
It was against this backdrop that the President Kim Il Sung initiated the general ideological mobilization movement for building the country, considering ideological remolding as a key issue in the nation-building.
The movement was aimed to instill ardent patriotism into the people and rouse them to building a new country.
The WPK organized "operative groups for the general ideological mobilization movement for building the country" to increase their role. Many propagandists were sent to conduct ideological education among people from all walks of life.
As a result, at least 18,700 peasants participated in the patriotic rice-donating movement in the agricultural field only at the end of December Juche 35 (1946).
A vigorous emulation drive for increased production was also under way for the prosperity and development of the economy.
This movement which was aimed at boosting production and educating the working people was greatly helpful to the rehabilitation and construction of factories and enterprises.
Through this emulation drive the Korean workers successfully completed the rehabilitation and readjustment of not a few factories and enterprises in the power, coal, mining, iron and other industrial fields to start production in Juche 35 (1946). 822 industrial establishments, including the Kangson Steel Works, the Songjin Steel Works, the Nampho smelter and the Sohung mine started operations in that year. At least 14.5 million Sok (one Sok equals 150 kg) of more grain was produced in 1946 than 1945.
And the campaign to abolish illiteracy was waged as a movement involving all masses and the whole society.
As of Juche 34 (1945) there were over 2.3 million illiterates in North Korea. At least 16,170 adult schools were built and operated in the country in 1946 to abolish illiteracy.
As a result, more than 90 percent of the illiterates became able to read and write as of March 1948.
Such mass movements were instrumental in remolding the people's mental aspects in a short span of time after the liberation of the country and achieving great successes in the building of a new democratic Korea.
Anti-DPRK false propaganda refuted
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary dismisses the U.S. and the South Korean authorities' recently much publicized "threat of biological and chemical attack" from the DPRK as a groundless slander and a sheer fabrication.
The DPRK has nothing to do with biological and chemical weapons, the commentary says, and goes on:
With no noisy talk about the "threat of biological and chemical attack" from the DPRK can tricksters ever convince anyone of that "threat."
It is none other than the U.S. and the South Korean authorities who are working hard to ignite a biological and chemical war in Korea and threatening the DPRK with those weapons.
The recent joint military exercise for a biological and chemical war staged by the U.S. and the South Korean authorities is a clear indication that their plan for an overall biological and chemical war against the north is now being put into practice.
The hue and cry of the U.S. and the South Korean authorities over the "threat of biological and chemical attack" from someone is just like a thief crying "stop the thief " with neither plot nor fabrication can they cover up their criminal intention to start a biological and chemical war against the DPRK.
The U.S. and the South Korean authorities had better cool their heads heated with anti-DPRK war fever, stop their clumsy false propaganda and immediately cease their moves for this kind of war.
Actions speak louder than words
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- It was reported that Perry, "North Korea policy coordinator of the U.S. President," in an interview with a radio, made his first official statement that there is the possibility of signing a peace accord between the U.S. and the DPRK.
Nevertheless, the South Korean authorities impudently claim that the main parties concerned for the conclusion of a peace accord on the Korean peninsula are the "south and north of Korea" and "the U.S. can never be a main party concerned."
In this regard, Minju Joson today in a signed commentary observes:
The signing of a peace accord between the DPRK and the U.S. is essential for the peace on the Korean peninsula and security of northeast Asia.
The claim that the U.S. can never be a main party concerned was made by the South Korean authorities for fear that if a peace accord is concluded between the DPRK and the U.S. It will find no alternative but to withdraw its forces from South Korea and then Seoul will lose its protector.
The DPRK and the U.S. are directly responsible for ensuring peace and security on the Korean peninsula.
It is only the DPRK and the U.S. that have the right to conclude a peace accord and implement it.
It is the business of the DPRK and the U.S. to conclude the peace accord.
The U.S. should respond at an early date to the DPRK proposal for the conclusion of a peace accord.
The U.S. should know that its any further delay in responding to the DPRK's proposal would bring irretrievably serious consequences.
The DPRK will closely follow the U.S. approach to the conclusion of a peace accord between the DPRK and the U.S.
U.S. and S. Korean ruler's moves for war assailed
Pyongyang, April 21 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Consultative Council of Former South Korean Politicians in the North for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification issued a statement on Thursday denouncing the U.S. and the South Korean authorities' moves to ignite a biological and chemical war as a crime intended to reduce the sacred land of the country to ashes and gravely threaten the existence of the nation.
The statement noted that the Korean nation cannot escape from an irretrievable holocaust if a war breaks out on the Korean peninsula where the huge armed forces of the north and south tensely confront each other with the Military Demarcation Line in between and the south of which is jammed with mass destruction weapons including nuclear and biological and chemical weapons.
It stressed that the former South Korean politicians in the north strongly demand the U.S. and the South Korean authorities stop at once their reckless moves for a biological and chemical war.
The statement earnestly called upon the South Korean people to turn out in a vigorous struggle for decisively checking and frustrating the preparations for a biological and chemical war made by the U.S. and the South Korean authorities, which would bring a dire disaster to the nation.