Joint communique on first round of north-south ministerial talks published
Seoul, July 31 (KCNA) -- A joint communique on the first round of north-south ministerial talks was published in Seoul today.
Present on the occasion were members of the north side delegation headed by senior councilor Jon Kum Jin of the cabinet of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and suite members.
The head of the north side delegation said he was pleased with the fact that the concerted efforts led to the successful talks and called for better steering of the talks.
Then spokesmen for the delegations of the two sides released a joint communique on the talks.
According to the joint communique, the first round of the north-south ministerial talks took place in Seoul from July 29 to 31, 2000.
At the talks the two sides highlighted great importance of the historic Pyongyang meeting of the leaders of the north and south of Korea and the June 15 north-south joint declaration and reached an agreement on the following urgent points for the sincere implementation of the declaration:
1. The north and south will steer the inter-Korean ministerial talks in conformity with the spirit of the north-south joint declaration.
Firstly, the north-south ministerial talks should discuss and solve the issues of putting into practice the joint declaration signed by the leaders of the two sides in such a way as to respect the agreed points laid down in it and seek shared interests.
Secondly, the north-south ministerial talks should begin with solving easy problems in a spirit of good faith and cooperation, from the practice in the past when negotiators were locked in distrust and dispute.
Thirdly, the north-south ministerial talks should attach importance to practice so as to produce substantial results before the nation and go in for peace and reunification.
2. The north and the south re-operate the north-south liaison office, which has been temporarily defunct since November 1996, on the occasion of August 15, 2000.
3. The north and the south hold nation-wide events in the north and the south and abroad on the occasion of august 15 this year intended to support and welcome the north-south joint declaration and adopt resolutions on implementing it.
4. The north and the south cooperate with each other and take appropriate measures to help compatriots under the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan form a home-visiting group and visit their hometowns.
5. The north and the south agree to relink the severed Seoul-Sinuiju Railways and discuss the matters related to it at an early date.
6. The north and the south hold the second round of the north-south ministerial talks in Pyongyang from August 29 to 31, 2000.
Greetings to Swiss President
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on July 28 sent a message of greetings to Adolf Ogi, President of the Swiss Confederation, on the occasion of its National Day.
The message sent warm salutation to the President, the confederal government and people of Switzerland on their National Day.
The message wished the President good health and good success in his work and expressed the belief that the favorably developing relations between the two countries would further develop.
Greetings to Beninese President
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, on July 29 sent a message of greetings to Mathieu Kerekou, President of the Republic of Benin, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its independence.
The message extended warm congratulations to the President, government and people of Benin on the independence day and referred to the shining successes achieved by hard-working Beninese people in building a new society over the last 40 years.
Expressing the belief that the good friendly and cooperative relations which have long existed between the two countries would make fresh progress, the message sincerely wished the President, government and people of Benin greater success in their work for the national unity and prosperity of the country.
Wreaths laid before Kang Pan Sok's statue and grave
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Senior party and state officials, working people, soldiers of the Korean People's Army and school youth and children today visited the Chilgol Revolutionary Site and Mangyongdae in Pyongyang on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the passing away of Kang Pan Sok, an indomitable revolutionary fighter and an outstanding leader of the Korean communist women's movement.
They laid wreaths before her statue in the Chilgol Revolutionary Site and her grave at Mangyongdae.
Seen before her statue and grave were wreaths sent by General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
Present at the wreath-laying ceremonies were Choe Thae Bok and Yang Hyong Sop and officials of party and power bodies, working people's organizations, ministries, national institutions, general officers and soldiers of the KPA, working people and school youth and children in Pyongyang.
Wreaths in the name of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea, the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly and the DPRK cabinet were placed to be followed by wreaths in the name of the working people's organizations, ministries, national institutions, KPA units, educational and public health organs, party and power bodies and farms in Pyongyang and lots of bouquets and flowers.
The visitors paid a silent tribute to her, looking back with deep reverence on her brilliant life and revolutionary activities.
14th Pyongyang Int'l Invitational Table-Tennis games open
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- The 14th Pyongyang International Invitational Table-Tennis Games opened here.
The games have brought together teams from Mongolia, India, Japan, China, the Jilin Province of China, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan and the DPRK (group 1 and 2).
They will involve men's and women's team events, singles and doubles and mixed doubles.
An opening ceremony was held at the table-tennis gymnasium in Chongchun Street today.
Ri Tong Ho, vice-chairman of the Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Committee, Kim Won Sik, chairman of the organizing committee of the games and concurrently chairman of the Federation of Sports Techniques, and other officials concerned were present there.
Congratulatory speeches were made by the chairman of the organizing committee of the games and president Adham Sharara of the International Table-Tennis Federation who was a guest of honor.
The opening ceremony was followed by men's and women's team events.
Gift to Kim Jong Il from Russian
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a gift from the director of the Paleya Publishing House of Russia on a visit to the DPRK.
The gift was handed by Nikolai Mishin, director of the publishing house, to an official concerned.
Greetings to Moroccan King
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on Sunday sent a message of greetings to Mohamed VI, King of Morocco, on its National Day.
The message wished the King and people of Morocco greater success in their work to build prosperous Morocco and expressed the belief that the friendly relations between the two countries would develop on good terms.
Memorial service on death anniversary of Choe Chun Guk held
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- A Pyongyang memorial service took place at the People's Palace of Culture on Sunday on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Choe Chun Guk, a communist revolutionary fighter.
Choe Chun Guk was a fine commanding officer and a staunch revolutionary possessed of admirable commanding art and indomitable fighting spirit.
He struggled for the victory of the Korean revolution with arms in hands from the very beginning of the anti-Japanese armed struggle.
He was active as a regimental commander and a political commissar of a separate brigade during the anti-Japanese armed struggle and a divisional commander who greatly contributed to the victory in the Fatherland Liberation War.
He died a heroic death in the battle to liberate Andong on July 30, 1950 when the Korean People's Army was advancing southward to crush the U.S. aggressors during the Fatherland Liberation War.
Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party of Korea, made a memorial address at the service.
Wreaths and bouquets were laid before a bust of Choe Chun Guk in the Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mt. Taesong and his statue in the township of Onsong county, North Hamgyong Province, on the same day.
DPRK FM meets his foreign counterparts
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun on the sidelines of the 7th meeting of the ASEAN regional forum separately met the Chinese, Russian and Australian Foreign Ministers and the Ninister for Cooperation of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and exchanged views on a series of matters related to bilateral relations and international issues of mutual concern in Bangkok on July 27 and 28.
He also met with a member in charge of external relations of the commission of the European Union and the vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines separately.
Earlier, on July 26 the minister met the South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and trade in Bangkok.
Group for study of Juche idea inaugurated in Guinea
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- An inaugural meeting of the Group for the Study of the Juche Idea of the Technical Office for Rural Construction of Genecore Province, Guinea, was held in the province on July 7.
At the meeting the director of the office said that the Juche idea indicates the road for humankind to follow and gives scientific solutions to all the theoretical and practical problems in building a new society.
Noting that the Korean people, taking the Juche idea as guidelines, have applied it to achieve great successes in socialist construction and the struggle for the country's reunification, he called on the members of the group to make a deep-going study of the Juche idea and learn from the experience that the Korean people have accumulated in socialist construction.
A letter to the great leader Kim Jong Il was adopted at the meeting.
S. Korean unionists and students stage rally
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- The South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a rally at the Seoul railway station plaza on July 29 with at least 12,000 unionists and students attending at which they demanded the punishment of those responsible for the violent suppression of strikes of the Lotte Hotel Trade Union and other unions and an end to the "police crackdown", according to the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation of South Korea.
The KCTU declared that it would carry on a powerful struggle with all the unionists involved if the authorities do not accept the demand of the workers.
Seoul-based Radio No. 1 reported that the KCTU plans to hold 656 rallies to be attended by more than 480,000 in all at 66 places in Seoul from July 27 to September 12.
Disclosure of truth about GIs' massacres in Rogun-ri called for
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- A joint memorial service for those who were brutally killed by GIs in Rogun-ri, Yongdong county, North Chungchong Province, during the past Korean War took place on the spot on July 26 under the sponsorship of the Committee of Measures for Disclosing Truth about the Rogun-ri Massacre, Seoul-based Radio No. 1 said.
A memorial poem was recited and a memorial address made at the service which was attended by more than 300 bereaved family members and villagers.
The committee said that the U.S. government was trying to play down the mass killings while dragging out the announcement of the results of investigation into the truth about the killings. It published a special statement demanding an early probe into the truth and compensation for damage.
Japan warned not to run amok
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Vice-Minister Sato of the Japan Defence Agency at a recent press conference reclarified that Japan's position to push ahead with a joint technological research with the U.S. to establish the "Theatre Missile Defence" system (TMD) remains unchanged.
In this connection Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary observes:
The increased zeal on the part of the Japanese reactionaries to join the U.S. in the moves to establish the "TMD" will only heighten the world vigilance against Japan and Japan is bound to meet punishment as a harasser of peace and a chieftain of arms race.
The U.S. "TMD" is nothing but a military adventure as it is aimed at having a military grip on other countries with military strategic edge over them and realising its ambition to dominate the world.
The commentary goes on:
It is the intention of the U.S. to realise the "TMD" by getting Japan embroiled in it. In other words, it seeks to use Japan's finance and technologies.
This offers the best chance to the Japanese reactionaries keen on arms buildup and the moves to convert Japan into a military giant.
The Japanese reactionaries, however, will gain nothing from it.
Japan may perish in flames, while going berserk under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.
The Japanese reactionaries should face up to the trend of the times and stop running wild.
Remarks of U.S. ambassador to S. Korea
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary assails the U.S. ambassador to South Korea for talking rubbish in a "special interview." He asserted that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea should change its economic strategy and there is the need for it to prudently reconsider its "centrally controlled economic system" to get "assistance" from someone and that it is good for the inter-Korean dialogue to seek a package solution on the principle of reciprocity.
The commentary observes: This is an intolerable interference in the sovereignty and internal affairs of the Korean nation and an unpardonable encroachment upon them. It only lays bare the true colors of the United States which has up to this date interfered in the internal affairs of South Korea as a de facto ruler in South Korea.
The U.S. ambassador's remarks are an insult to all the Korean people working hard to achieve the independent and peaceful reunification of the country as early as possible as they go against the basic spirit of the north-south joint declaration.
Our nation responsible for the solution of the issue of the country's reunification should settle it independently by its concerted efforts. This is an exercise of its sovereignty and its inviolable legitimate right.
His remarks disclosed a sinister design to lead the DPRK to "reform and opening" and make any work to implement the declaration serve the U.S. purpose.
How to conduct the north-south dialogue is something to be done by the north and south. It does not allow the U.S. ambassador to South Korea to meddle in it.
The U.S. is well advised not to interfere in other's affairs but mind its own business.
U.S. reckless attempt to reimpose economic sanctions upon DPRK
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Conservative hard-liners of the U.S. congress were reported to have staged recently a farce of "presenting a bill on reimposing economic sanctions upon North Korea if it resumes missile test."
This cannot but be interpreted as a dangerous development placing the DPRK-U.S. agreed framework at risk and putting a brake on the improvement of bilateral relations as it is another outright challenge to the sovereignty of the DPRK.
The economic sanctions against the DPRK are a direct product of the U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK and it is its commitment to be fulfilled under the AF to lift them.
U.S. conservative hard-liners' reiteration of economic sanctions is, in a nutshell, nothing but a crafty artifice to evade the responsibility for the delayed construction of the light water reactors which it committed itself to provide under the AF and compensation for it.
What should not be overlooked is the fact that they use the issue of the DPRK's "missile test" as a pretext for their reintroduction of economic sanctions.
"Missile issue" is one of different nature which allows no linkage with economic sanctions.
On September 24 last year, the DPRK declared a moratorium on satellite launch while the DPRK-U.S. high-level talks are under way and it still remains in force.
It is the height of impudence for the U.S. to come out with the fiction of the DPRK's "missile test" all of sudden at a time when multi-faceted dialogues and negotiations are under way between the DPRK and the U.S. to discuss a series of outstanding issues including the issue of improving bilateral relations. It is clear that the U.S. has an axe to grind.
What arouses the world's unanimous apprehension at the moment is not the DPRK's "missile threat" but the U.S. "National Missile Defence" system.
The U.S. conservative hard-liners' big fuss about the fiction of the DPRK's "missile test" and "missile threat" is aimed to calm down the world criticism of the U.S. even a bit and divert its focus to the DPRK in a bid to establish its reckless and dangerous "NMD" system at any cost.
The U.S. "NMD" is bound to misfire in face of strong domestic and foreign censure.
Anniversary of passing away of Kang Pan Sok commemorated
Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Today commemorates the 68th anniversary of passing away of indomitable revolutionary fighter Kang Pan Sok.
On this day, many people visit with deep reverence for her the Chilgol Revolutionary Site situated in Kwangbok Street of Pyongyang.
Her statue stands in the site where she was born and spent her childhood. Historic relics and materials showing her revolutionary activities are displayed there.
The visitors look back with deep emotion upon her noble life and revolutionary feats.
She was possessed of noble trait and ardent anti-Japanese patriotic spirit from her girlhood.
She became an indomitable revolutionary fighter in the course of assisting Kim Hyong Jik, an outstanding leader of the anti-Japanese national-liberation movement in Korea, and the President Kim Il Sung in their revolutionary causes.
She formed the Anti-Japanese Women's Association, the first communist women's political organization in Korea, in Juche 15 (1926) thanks to the guidance and the assistance of the President.
The association was a mass political organization involving women from all walks of life.
She carried out in a responsible manner the important tasks of such revolutionary organizations as the Saenal Children's Union and the anti-imperialist youth league founded by the President and actively helped him in his preparations for the anti-Japanese armed struggle.
She was, indeed, an outstanding leader of the Korean women's movement who devoted herself to the liberation of the country and the women's emancipation and wife of a true revolutionary and the mother of a great revolutionary.