Kim Jong Il visits Pukjung Machinery Complex
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il provided on-site guidance to the Pukjung Machinery Complex in North Phyongan Province on May 16.
He went first to the monument to the on-the-spot guidance of the president Kim Il Sung.
He said that the place, which once produced cart wheels by use of blowers at best, has been turned into a reliable large-size machine-building base. The undying revolutionary exploits of the president will shine forever.
Then, he went to its production processes including the youth workshop and the engine-assembling workshop to encourage its workers in their efforts.
He acquainted himself in detail with the production at the complex.
He said that the workers of Pukjung have greatly contributed to developing the shipbuilding industry of the country and consolidating the independent national economy by manufacturing various types of engines, compressors, refrigerators and other machines and producing ordered equipment for different domains of the national economy and highly praised their exploits.
More highly efficient engines needed for the building of modern fishing and cargo ships should be supplied to further develop fishing industry and marine transport in our country surrounded by seas on three sides, he said.
In order to produce more modern machinery commensurate with the 2000s, he added, it is imperative to push ahead with the technical transformation aimed to update all production processes and work with redoubled energy to introduce new technology as required by the party's idea of giving great importance to science.
He stressed that it was important to thoroughly ensure profitability in production, raise the quality of goods and increase the endeavors to observe the technical rules and standard regulations of operation.
He urged the Pukjung workers to turn out more high-quality machines and ordered equipment conducive to the building of a powerful nation as they have unconditionally carried out any difficult tasks assigned to them by the party in an indomitable spirit.
He was accompanied by chief secretary of the north Phyongan provincial committee of the Worker's Party of Korea Kim Phyong Hae, secretaries of the WPK Central Committee Kim Kuk Thae and Kim Yong Sun and first vice department directors of the party central committee.
Yang Hyong Sop meets Cuban party delegation
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Yang Hyong Sop, alternate member of the political bureau of the Worker's Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee and vice-president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, met and had a talk with the delegation of the Communist Party of Cuba headed by Rolando Alfonso Borge, member of the central committee of the CPC and director of its ideology department, at the mansudae assembly hall today.
Present there were Choe Jin Su, vice department director of the C. C. of the WPK, and Jose Manuel Inclan Embade, Cuban ambassador to the DPRK.
The head of the delegation said Cuba and Korea are comrades-in-arms in the same trench in the struggle against U.S.
He expressed firm conviction that Korea would surely be reunified according to the three-point charter of national reunification put forward by the respected leader Kim Il Sung and the five-point policy of great national unity of the great leader Kim Jong Il.
5th north-south preparatory contact held
Panmunjom, May 18 (KCNA) -- The 5th preparatory contact for the historic Pyongyang meeting and the north-south summit talks was held in the south side's portion of Panmunjom today.
At the contact both sides reached a consensus of views on all the 15 working procedural matters, including the composition of a delegation to the Pyongyang meeting and the summit talks and its size, modality of talks and the number of their rounds, their agenda, its itinerary in Pyongyang, dispatch of an advance team of the south side, travel procedures, provision of facility and guarantee of personal security, and formally adopted the "north-south working procedural agreement for the implementation of the April 8, 2000 north-south agreement."
Both sides separately signed the texts of the agreement and exchanged them.
According to the agreement, the delegation of the south side to the Pyongyang meeting and the summit talks will comprise 130 suite members and 50 reporters.
They agreed with to have "on reaffirming the three principles of national reunification clarified in the historic July 4 North-South Joint Statement and realizing national reconciliation and unity, exchange, cooperation, peace and reunification" as the agenda of the meeting and talks.
It was decided that the south side would send a 30-member advance team to the north 12 days before the opening of the Pyongyang meeting and summit talks.
Stipulated in the agreement are working procedural matters related to the provision of facility, guarantee of personal safety and communications and news coverage, etc.
Concluding the contact, the head of the north side underscored the need for both sides to respect the agreement and sincerely implement it and thus successfully open the historic Pyongyang meeting and summit talks and bring them to a fruitful close to meet the expectations and desire of the nation.
With this important event of the nation at hand, both sides should spare no effort and cooperation to create a good atmosphere for the meeting and talks, he stressed.
The adoption of the agreement following the announcement of the historic April 8 north-south agreement amid the great expectation and concern of the 70 million fellow countrymen made it possible to successfully open the north-south Pyongyang meeting and summit talks, the first of its kind in the history of national division spanning more than half a century and bring a hope and joy to all the compatriots in the north, south and overseas who ardently aspire after national reunification.
Annual meeting of Peruvian committee
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- An annual meeting of the Peruvian Committee for Supporting the Independent and Peaceful Reunification of Korea was held in Lima on May 10.
Secretary general of the committee Felix Fernandes Torres in his report referred to the immortal exploits of the president Kim Il Sung who devoted his whole life to the independent and peaceful reunification of the country.
The three principles of national reunification, the 10-point program of the great unity of the whole nation and the proposal for founding the Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo put forth by him are the most fair and realistic proposal for Korea's reunification.
Saying that General Secretary Kim Jong Il formulated those three ways for Korea's reunification as three-point charter of national reunification, he expressed full support and solidarity with policies of national reunification set forth by him and the struggle of the Korean people to implement them.
The annual meeting reviewed the work of last year and elected a new leadership.
Yugoslav embassy officials visit Sinchon Museum
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Milorad Kosovac, charge d'affaires ad interim of Yugoslavia, and embassy officials visited the Sinchon Museum yesterday on the occasion of the Yugoslav day of constitution.
The guests looked round exhibits and visual aids of the museum which show atrocities of the U.S. aggressors who massacred innocent people most cruelly in Sinchon.
They went round a air-raid shelter of the former Sinchon county committee of the Worker's Party of Korea and a powder magazine in Wonam-ri which bears witness to the brutality, viciousness and cruelty of the aggressors, and a tomb of 5,605 patriots, a tomb of 400 mothers and a tomb of 102 children killed by the U.S.
They laid bouquets before the tombs and observed a moments' silence.
Reminiscences of Kim Il Sung published in Romania
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Vol. 2 of part 1 the anti-Japanese revolution of reminiscences of the president Kim Il Sung "With the Century" was published by Copertex Publishing House in Romania on May 10.
The book in its preface wrote that the publishing house brings out the reminiscences to hand down through generations the immortal exploits of Kim Il Sung who devoted all his life to the freedom and happiness of the people and the victory of revolution.
Japanese delegation joins in signature campaign
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the Nagano, Japan, Prefectural People's Council for Supporting the Independent and Peaceful reunification of Korea on a visit to the DPRK participated in the international signature campaign for supporting the three-point charter of Korea's reunification.
Koji Ito, representative member of the council who is heading the delegation, signed the signature paper on behalf of council members on May 16.
New style of art work in making
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- The creation of hundreds of metres-long folding painting "history and culture of taedong river, holy river of nation" is making brisk headway in the DPRK.
Based on at least 280 themes the painting is divided into over 70 parts.
The number of folds is fixed according to thematic content. 40 folds at maximum are devoted to one subject.
It consists of calligraphy, historical drawings, genre pictures and pictures of still life, etc.
The painting deals with the way of life of Koreans in different times, scenic spots of Korea and particular events recorded in history.
It also has portraits of renowned personalities and famous generals of Korea including Tangun, Ko Ju Mong and Wang Kon.
Scores of historians and creators are involved in this making.
Ishihara's trumpeting under fire
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Japanese Tokyo metropolitan governor Ishihara in a recent lecture held in Kohu city asserted that "it is the best security to produce efficient weapons and sell them to foreign countries."
Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary dismisses this as a "fanciful brainchild" of Ishihara, trumpeter of "war merchant," intended to remove Japan's legal "barrier" banning arms export and sell lethal weapons on an extensive scale in a bid to bring a windfall to monopoly capitalists.
His outbursts that someone should be "destroyed" and china be "split into small countries" were prompted by his fanatic militarist aggressive design to push Japan into a war and thus let monopoly capitalists rake huge profits through arms sale and realise its wild dream to dominate Asia, the commentary notes, and goes on:
The Japanese reactionaries registered a "high-rate economic growth" by getting a windfall through the massive supply of war materiel to the U.S. aggression troops during the Korean and Vietnamese wars. Ishihara is acting a war trumpeter of these reactionaries who are looking forward to this windfall.
If their wicked design for aggression is left unchecked, the world will be embroiled in military clashes and maelstrom of war and humankind will meet unspeakable calamities. No illusion should be harbored about the Japanese militarists and vigilance be heightened against their moves for aggression, concludes the commentary.
Co-chairmen of Pomchonghakryon meet
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- The 10th meeting of co-chairmen of the National Alliance of Youth and Students for the Country's Reunification (Pomchonghakryon) was held in Pyongyang, Seoul and Tokyo between May 10 and 12 by way of exchanging facsimile messages.
At the meeting they discussed agenda items such as reviewing the work done by Pomchonghakryon last year, adopting a working plan for Juche 89 (2000) and amending its program and rules.
Referring to successes made by Pomchonghakryon last year, they said it confirmed the three-point charter of national reunification as the only program for national reunification and set it as a cardinal task for reunification to implement it. They noted that its organizations in the north, south and abroad encouraged the 70 million Korean people in their struggle for national independence and the country's reunification by waging a joint struggle to check and frustrate the moves of the U.S. and the South Korean authorities for war and confrontation and have the "security law" repealed.
A resolution was adopted at the meeting. It called for realising brisk three-way contact at any cost through a widespread struggle for independent exchange this year and thus turn the "11th pan-national rally, 2000 grand festival for reunification" and the "10th grand festival for reunification of Pomchonghakryon" to be organized on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Korea's liberation into a plaza of nationwide dialogue for reunification.
A special resolution "the youth and students in the north, south and abroad should become the vanguard in the struggle to devotedly implement the three-point charter of national reunification" and the appeals "let us bring about a new turn in the movement for the country's reunification by Pomchonghakryon's united might this year, which will mark the 55th anniversary of the country's liberation and see the 10th grand festival for reunification of Pomchonghakryon" and "let us form a 'nationwide ad hoc committee for investigation into the truth behind GIs' mass killings' to expose the crimes of the U.S. imperialists" were adopted as a joint document at the meeting.
S. Korean people vow to defend Tok Islet
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- The Tok Islet Fellowship Society vowed to stage a campaign to defend Tok Islet on May 14 against the backdrop of a struggle mounting among the South Korean people infuriated at the Japanese reactionaries' ever more undisguised claim to Tok Islet, inseparable part of Korea, according to a Seoul-based radio report.
The chairman of the society declared it would launch the campaign to convince the public that Tok Islet to which Japan has an eye to get mining right is part and parcel of Korea.
It is said that the campaign is to be participated in by all the inhabitants of the islet.
Spirit of Kwangju uprisers alive
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Permanent member Yun Song Sik of the Consultative Council of Former South Korean Politicians In the North for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification yesterday had a press interview with KCNA on the 20th anniversary of the Kwangju Popular Uprising.
Although the Kwangju Popular Uprising was resistance that flared up in a region, it was shining part of the history of the South Korean popular resistance and a striking demonstration of the firm will of the patriotic people in the south who aspired after independence, democracy and reunification, he said, and went on:
It helped the South Korean people drop strong illusion about the United States. Following this event the struggle of the South Korean people was targeted against U.S. This was a great turning point in the movement of the South Korean people.
Saying that the road ahead of the South Korean people remains thorny as long as the U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, Yun declared the day of reunification is bound to come thanks to the struggle of the awakened South Korean people.
With no desperate efforts can the reactionaries get the Kwangju tragedy buried into oblivion or dampen the spirit of the Kwangju uprisers cherished deep in the people's mind.
Massive anti-U.S. struggle called for
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- Today marks the 20th anniversary of the heroic Kwangju Popular Uprising which took place in South Korea in May 1980.
On this occasion papers here today call for a massive anti-U.S. struggle for independence, democracy and reunification.
Rodong Sinmun in an editorial describes the uprising as a just anti-U.S., anti-fascist resistance against the U.S. colonial rule and the revival of the "Yusin" fascist dictatorship and for independence and democracy of the South Korean society and national reunification. It also describes it as a massive armed uprising during which all the Kwangju citizens waged a death-defying struggle against fascist violence.
It goes on:
The uprising failed in the face of the brutal armed suppression on the part of the U.S. and their stooges, but it dealt a telling blow at the colonial fascist rule of yankees and gave a strong impetus to the anti-U.S., anti-fascist struggle of the South Korean people and the national liberation struggle of the oppressed people around the world.
The South Korean people should push ahead with an anti-U.S. struggle for independence to put a period to the U.S.'s military occupation and domination over South Korea and decisively frustrate the warmongers' moves for the provocation of war of aggression.
Anti-U.S. struggle for independence should be waged in close combination with a struggle against the traitors who do harm to and sell the interests of the country and nation in league with outsiders.
The South Korean students and people of other social strata should turn out in a struggle against aggressors and traitors to realise the desire of the Kwangju uprisers without fail.
Minju Joson in an editorial notes that the reunification of the country is the supreme national task of all the Koreans in the north, south and abroad that brooks no further delay.
It calls for a nationwide struggle for the realization of the desire for independence, democracy and reunification.
U.S. use of depleted uranium bullets verified
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- It has been verified that U.S. planes used live bombs during their bombing exercise on May 8 near a firing range in Maehyang-ri, Hwasong county, Kyonggi Province of South Korea, according to a radio report from Seoul.
The South Korean "Ministry of National Defense" and the U.S. forces side in South Korea admitted that at that time U.S. air force plane "A-10" dropped 6 live "MK 82" bombs on waters 500 metres west of the firing range.
Splinters of this bomb are known to scatter as far as one km from where it explodes, claiming human lives.
Meanwhile, Wilson, an ex-pilot of a U.S. air force fighter, while visiting Maehyang-ri on May 15 said he found depleted uranium bullets on its sea-side.
20th anniversary of Kwangju popular uprising commemorated
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- A meeting of Pyongyangites was held today to mark the 20th anniversary of the heroic Kwangju Popular Uprising.
Present at the meeting were Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Yong Dae, chairman of the central committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party, Ryo Won Gu, presidium member of the central committee of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, and other officials concerned.
The Kwangju Popular Uprising was a just anti-U.S., anti-fascist resistance for independence and democracy of the South Korean society and national reunification against the U.S. colonial rule and the revival of the "Yusin" fascist dictatorship. The uprising was a life and death armed uprising against fascist violence, participated in by all the citizens of Kwangju.
Ryang Man Gil, chairman of the Pyongyang City People's Committee, addressed the meeting first.
Recalling that the youths, students and people of Kwangju rose in a popular uprising on May 18, 1980 and dauntlessly fought against the ferocious "martial army" with arms captured from its soldiers, he said the uprisers kept Kwangju city under their perfect control and defended it for ten days.
He went on:
Scared by this, the U.S. mobilized more than 70,000 "ROK" army soldiers, at least 150 tanks and armored vehicles, over 100 artillery pieces and planes and even missiles under their control to turn Kwangju city into a sea of blood. At least 5,000 uprisers were killed and over 14,000 wounded in a little over 10 days.
Through the uprising the South Korean people clearly realized that the U.S. is, indeed, ferocious ogres who do not hesitate to savagely massacre South Korean people in order to achieve their aggressive design and maintain their colonial ruling system.
Today the U.S. is not only persistently pursuing the policy to stifle the DPRK but are imposing immeasurable misfortune and sacrifices upon the South Korean people, still lording it over South Korea.
The South Korean people cannot get rid of miserable colonial slavery as long as the U.S. is allowed to stay in South Korea.
The people from all walks of life including youths and students of South Korea should put up a more vigorous struggle to probe into the truth behind the crimes committed by the U.S. in different parts of Korea such as Rogun-ri, Yongdong county, and Kwangju and force the U.S. to pay deserved compensation for them and turn the whole of South Korea into a theatre of a fierce struggle for independence against the U.S.
They should carry on a strenuous struggle to liquidate flunkeyist and traitorous forces who impose misfortune and sufferings upon the nation and deliberately throw obstacles in the way of the independent development of the nation and national reunification in a bid to prolong their remaining days in reliance on outside forces and put an end to their corrupt politics.
He was followed by other speakers.
Rodong Sinmun on army-first politics
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- It is the most distinguished exploit General Secretary Kim Jong Il has performed in the world political history that he established a new political mode called army-first politics, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article.
It goes on:
The army-first politics calls for solving all the problems in the revolution and construction on the principle of giving top priority to the military and pushing forward the cause of socialism as a whole with the people's army as the pillar of revolution. This is the most unique political mode unprecedented in the world history.
This is the best political mode in the era of independence and the leadership mode replete with the warmest love for the people and unbounded loyalty and dedication to the cause of independence and the cause of socialism.
The validity and vitality of the politics have been proven in practice under the present complicated situation.
The imperialists carried out barbarous bombing in wanton violation of sovereignty of independent states after sparking the Persian Gulf War and the Kosovo crisis.
However, they could not perpetrate this against the DPRK but suffered only disgrace.
Such vicious economic blockade and sanctions of the imperialists and severe natural disasters would bring down others hundreds of times. Thanks to the army-first politics the DPRK has hewed this thorny path victoriously and steadily consolidated its economic foundation for building a powerful nation.
The world came to realize through the political and diplomatic confrontation between the DPRK and the imperialists that the army-first politics guarantees independent diplomacy.
This politics serves as an all-powerful treasured sword for building socialism and an example of independent politics.
The army-first politics precisely means a political mode to be adopted by the countries aspiring after independence.
This politics provides a sure guarantee for carving out the destiny of the country and the nation and bringing a bright future to them.
Reptile media's attempt to deny truth behind GIs' killings refuted
Pyongyang, May 18 (KCNA) -- The AP released a story on May 13 challenging the report carried by the weekly magazine U.S. News and World Report denying the GIs' mass killings in Rogun-ri to echo other reptile paper tenor.
Repeatedly defending the truth and scientific accuracy of its reports about massacres in Rogun-ri, AP quoted the New York Times as reporting on May 13 that army investigators have confirmed the central finding that the American soldiers killed refugees near the hamlet of Rogun-ri.
AP cited hard facts to refute the wrong assertion of the reptile media that those who testified to mass killings were not present at the unit and on the scene at that time. AP also reported that Edward Daily, an ex-soldier of U.S. troops, has shown an AP reporter documents, including a worn old army driver's license, in support of his contention he was in the 7th cavalry's h company to refute the assertion of reptile media.