Unconverted long-term prisoners feted
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- The central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the DPRK government gave a banquet at the People's Palace of Culture on Sunday in honour of the unconverted long-term prisoners, the indomitable pro-reunification patriotic fighters, who came back to the fatherland.
Present at the banquet were Hong Song Nam, Kim Il Chol and other party and state senior officials.
63 unconverted long-term prisoners, their families and relatives were present there.
Premier Hong Song Nam said in his speech that through their decades-long struggles in prison the unconverted long-term prisoners showed in practice how a true revolutionary should preserve and glorify the precious political life and the revolutionary faith provided by the party and the leader.
They could invariably remain true to their faith and constancy thanks to the great leader Kim Il Sung who taught the revolutionary soldiers the truth of revolution by setting examples in the long journey of bloody anti-Japanese battles and the respected Marshal Kim Jong Il who has taken responsible benevolent care of their destinies to the end, he stressed.
An unconverted long-term prisoner, Kim U Thaek, said in his speech that they could overcome rigorous trials for 30 and 40 years in prison, refusing to be converted because they had the great party and the great motherland.
We who are reborn thanks to the marshal will devote ourselves to the accomplishment of the independent reunification of the country and the cause of socialism and the country and the compatriots, he said.
Anniversaries of DPRK and WPK to be celebrated in Denmark
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- A Danish preparatory committee to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) (Sept. 9) and the 55th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) (Oct. 10) was inaugurated with due ceremony in Copenhagen.
The chairman of the Denmark-DPRK Friendship Association was elected chairman of the preparatory committee at the ceremony.
The preparatory committee decided to hold colorful functions including a solidarity meeting to be attended by representatives of different political parties and members of the friendship association to mark the anniversaries.
Gifts to Kim Jong Il from heads of S. Korean media organs
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received gifts from heads of South Korean media organizations.
They were Choe Hak Rae, president of the newspaper Hangyore, Pak Kwon Sang, president of the Korean Broadcasting System, and Pak Hung Su, president of the Korean Educational Broadcasting System.
The gifts were conveyed to an official concerned.
GIs' crimes denounced
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- The headquarters of the movement against GIs' crimes, a human rights organization in South Korea, released a statement on august 30 denouncing reckless remarks made by Gi Kenneth Michael who murdered Yun Kum I, according to South Korean "Yonhap News".
The statement bitterly accused him of contributing without hesitation an article to an English daily and criticizing the South Korean people's just demand for the revision of the "ROK-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement".
Michael's absurd assertion reflects the biased views of the U.S. forces and the U.S. authorities, it added.
Pointing out that the murderer is defending the "status of forces agreement" and justifying GIs' crimes like a thief crying "stop the thief ," the statement says it is something unimaginable that this GI made such an assertion though he was chiefly involved in the cruel murder and benefited from this shackling agreement.
It strongly called for the total revision of the aggressive "status of forces agreement".
U.S. urged to drop its anachronistic policy toward DPRK
pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary accuses some forces in the U.S. of egging so-called experts on Korean affairs on to float highly disturbing rumours.
It says:
They described the U.S. plan to deploy the "Theatre Missile Defence System" as a good idea, asserting that north-south "border" on the Korean peninsula still remains "an area where conflict is most likely" in East Asia, the "North Korean missile program" draws attention of people and "threat to East Asia comes from North Korea."
This is too sheer sophism to be mouthed by those experts, the commentary notes, and continues:
The U.S. is chiefly responsible for harassing peace and security in East Asia including the Korean peninsula. It is watching for a chance to launch a new war after deploying huge aggressor forces in and around South Korea. It is keen on reckless military actions to put into practice the "Operation Plan 5027-98," a war scenario for the second Korean war.
It is preposterous for the U.S. to try to justify its adventurous plan to establish the "missile defence" system.
The "missile defence" system for whose establishment the U.S. is spending a colossal amount of fund is not aimed to cope with the "missile threat from the DPRK" but to contain other big powers and hold military supremacy in the world.
The U.S. description of the Military Demarcation Line that bisects Korea as a "border" is touching off bitter wrath among the Koreans.
The U.S., the main architect of the split of the Korean nation which has lived in harmony for thousands of years in the same territory and disturber of reunification, is trumpeting about a "border" at a time when the desire for reunification is mounting in the north and south as days go by. This is aimed to vitiate the atmosphere for reunification and realise its intention to keep South Korea under its permanent occupation.
However, it is nothing but a pipe dream.
With no spate of sophism can the united states cover up its true colours as a chief criminal who is laying obstacles in the way of Korea's reunification and bringing dark clouds of war into East Asia.
The U.S. should face up to the reality, drop its improper attitude towards the DPRK and stop pursuing its anachronistic policy towards it.
National reunification prizes awarded to unconverted long-term prisoners
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- National Reunification Prizes were awarded to unconverted long-term prisoners, indomitable patriotic fighters for reunification, who came back to the north.
63 unconverted long-term prisoners were awarded the prizes after a September 1 decree of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly on awarding National Reunification Prizes to them was read out at a ceremony held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.
A letter to the great leader Kim Jong Il from the unconverted long-term prisoners was adopted at the ceremony.
Present there were Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and others.
Men of strong faith and will welcomed
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today carries an article welcoming the return of the unconverted long-term prisoners, men of strong faith and will, from the south to the DPRK, their fatherland and the fold of the Workers' Party of Korea, the mother party.
The article says:
The unconverted long-term prisoners are the brave sons and indomitable fighters who devoted themselves to the sacred patriotic cause of national independence and reunification.
It was their unbreakable creed that they should not abandon their idea and faith even if they may lose their lives and that they should not corrupt conscience and sense of obligation even though their bodies may be torn to pieces.
Their indomitable faith and will are the most transparent faith and will that can be cherished only by true revolutionaries and communists who are boundlessly loyal to their leader and the motherland and who love future.
They are true revolutionaries boundlessly loyal to the party and the leader.
As they were grown up thanks to the deep trust and warm care of the party and the leader and were linked by the unbreakable bonds of kinship with them, they could not betray the trust placed in them by the party and the love of the leader even at the crossroads of threat of death or temptation of life.
They are true patriots who ardently loved their motherland and system.
Their life in the DPRK was not long. But during that period they enjoyed most genuine rights and greatest happiness a man could ever do.
They have remained true to their revolutionary creed to the last as they were filled with the firm faith in socialism, the truth of which they confirmed through their life and experiences, and the absolute confidence of the victory of socialism.
They are true revolutionaries who, with ardent love of future, have devoted themselves to it.
The motherland will convey forever the exploits performed by the indomitable fighters who have struggled for the country, the nation and reunification, remaining true to revolutionary faith and constancy.
Popular education system in DPRK
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- All the children in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea receive eleven-year compulsory secondary general education until they reach the working age and all forms of education are free.
Education was very poor in Korea under the Japanese imperialists' colonial rule.
Nearly half school-age children were denied an opportunity to go to school and at least 2.3 million adults were illiterates. In particular, young people could hardly go on to universities and technical colleges owing to the Japanese imperialist policy of keeping the Korean people in ignorance.
Under this situation, schools at all levels were set up in a short span of time, a well-organized democratic educational system was established and popular educational policies were enforced one after another in the country after liberation.
Even under the difficult post-war conditions where everything was destroyed during the three-year-long Korean War (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953) provoked by the U.S. imperialists, the state enforced the universal compulsory primary education from Juche 45 (1956) and abolished tuition at primary schools. It was followed by the introduction of the universal compulsory secondary education in Juche 47 (1958). Tuition was abolished at the middle schools.
Universal free schooling came into force at all the educational institutions from April of the next year.
In the DPRK today children, one fourth of its population, study at over 11,000 schools at all levels.
The theses on socialist education was published on September 5, Juche 66 (1977), which said that the fundamental principle of socialist pedagogy is to equip people with the revolutionary communist idea and, on this basis, ensure that they equip themselves with profound scientific knowledge and have strong bodies.
Since the publication of the theses, the country has improved the quality of the universal compulsory eleven-year education and contents of education in general and basic subjects. especially, a well-organised genius education system from the level of common education to the level of higher education has been established to bring talents of distinguished schoolchildren into full bloom.
Meanwhile, the country has improved contents of higher education in general in keeping with the trend of the development of modern science and technology and achieved great progress in the education in ultra-modern science and technology and computer science.
The country's overall economic life still remains very difficult owing to the imperialists' moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and natural disasters of consecutive years.
But, the state, regarding education as an important issue related to the future destiny of the nation, has invariably enforced free education and strengthened and developed the popular educational system in the direction of improving the quality of education.
Korea's prospect of education is optimistic.
Greetings to amir of state of Qatar
Pyongyang, September 4 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, on September 2 sent a message of greetings to Hamad Khalifa Bin al-Thani, amir of the state of Qatar, on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of its independence.
The message extended warm congratulations to the amir, the government and people of Qatar on the occasion of the 29th anniversary of its independence.
In the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would develop on good terms, it sincerely wished the amir and the people of Qatar greater success in the work for the progress and prosperity of the country.