Kim Yong Nam meets government delegation of Democratic Congo
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, met and conversed with the government delegation of the Democratic Republic of Congo headed by Yerodia Abdulaye Ndombassy, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.
Present there were Kung Sok Ung, vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, and officials concerned.
At the meeting the minister said that while staying in Korea the delegation was struck with admiration at the great achievements made by the Korean people on their own efforts, adding the Korean people equipped with the Juche idea are capable of rendering anything impossible possible.
The torchlight on the tower of the Juche idea indicates the road for the people of Democratic Congo to follow and they will struggle as the Korean people did, he stressed.
He noted that Democratic Congo will as ever fully support the three-point charter of Korea's reunification, expressing the expectation that Korea would be reunified by the Koreans themselves.
Kim Jong Il receives gifts from foreign delegations and personages
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a gift from Vishwanath, director general of the International Institute of the Juche Idea (IIJI), and a gift in the joint name of the delegation of the secretariat of the IIJI, the delegation of the National Liaison Council of Japan Societies for the Study of the Juche Idea and the delegation of the Japan Society for the Study of Kimilsungism, and gifts from the delegation of the Nepalese Study Forum for Self-reliance, the delegation of the Finnish National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea, the delegation of the Venezuelan National Society for the Study of the Juche Idea and the German delegation for the study of the Juche idea.
He also received gifts from the chairman of the Jordanian National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea and an executive member of the Anti-Imperialist Front of France.
The gifts were conveyed to an official concerned by director general Vishwanath and secretary general Kenichi Ogami of the IIJI and heads of the visiting delegations of the Juche idea study organizations and individual figures.
Protocol signed between DPRK and Russian governments
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The 3rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Cooperation in Trade, Economy, Science and Technology Between the DPRK and the Russian Federation was held here from Oct. 17 to 20.
A protocol of the meeting was signed at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today with due ceremony.
Present there were Minister of Foreign Trade Kang Jong Mo and officials concerned, the Russian government delegation headed by V. M. Filippov, Minister of Education who is chairman of the Russian side to the Russia-DPRK Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Committee, and Russian ambassador to the DPRK Valery Denisov.
The protocol was inked by Kang Jong Mo and V. M. Filippov.
Gift to Kim Jong Il from Russian government delegation
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a gift from a government delegation of the Russian Federation on a visit to the DPRK.
The gift was conveyed to an official concerned by head of the delegation V. M. Filippov, Minister of Education who is chairman of the Russian side to the Russia-DPRK Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Committee.
Chinese high-ranking military delegation to visit DPRK
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- A high-ranking military delegation of the People's Republic of China headed by Chi Haotian, vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the PRC who is State Councilor and Minister of National Defence, will soon visit the DPRK.
Gift to Kim Jong Il
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a personal letter and a gift from President of the Democratic Republic of Congo Laurent Desire Kabila.
They were handed to DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun by head of the visiting government delegation of Democratic Congo Yerodia Abdulaye Ndombassy, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Premier Hong Song Nam meets Russian government delegation
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Premier Hong Song Nam of the DPRK cabinet met and conversed in a friendly atmosphere with the visiting Russian government delegation headed by V. M. Filippov, Minister of Education who is chairman of the Russian side to the Russia-DPRK Intergovernmental Economic Cooperation Committee, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.
Present there were Kang Jong Mo, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Valery Denisov, Russian ambassador to the DPRK.
11th round of DPRK-Japan intergovernmental full-dress talks to be held
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The eleventh round of the full-dress talks between the governments of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Japan is slated to open in Beijing on Oct. 30.
The talks will be attended by the DPRK government delegation headed by Jong Thae Hwa, roving ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japanese government delegation headed by Kojiro Takano, ambassador of the Foreign Ministry for negotiations on the establishment of Japan-DPRK diplomatic relations.
Japan's redress for its past, a historic pending issue between the DPRK and Japan, will be discussed at the talks.
Japan's undisguised design for overseas aggression
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The Japanese reactionaries were reported to have asserted that Japan cannot properly make an "international contribution" unless the Japanese "Self-Defence Forces" is allowed to exercise the right of its collective self-defence.
This jargon is assailed by Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary. Japan's hue and cry over the "international contribution" is not for peace but for paving a wide avenue for aggression, the commentary observes, and goes on:
Under the pretext of making an institutional mechanism for "international contribution," they are working hard to delete the article of the constitution disallowing the Japanese armed forces to exercise the right of collective self-defence and stipulate in it a new article permitting it.
The greatest ambition of the Japanese militarists is to realise the "Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere."
Permitting them to exercise the right of collective self-defence means allowing them to launch overseas aggression and any legislation on it means a green light to officially pushing ahead with their design.
Their moves to rewrite the present constitution and rename the "Self-Defence Forces" "Japanese Army" are aimed at constitutionally allowing Japan to have regular combat forces, demonstrating the might of the militarist aggressor forces to the world and openly hurling the "SDF" into overseas aggression under the signboard of "national security and interests."
In the past Japan committed invasion of Asia under the motto "peace in east" only to suffer a defeat.
If the Japanese reactionaries go in for overseas aggression, advocating the "international contribution" and persistently calling for the exercise of the right of collective self-defence, it will lead Japan to destruction.
UN Secretary General welcomes progress in DPRK-U.S. relations
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, in a statement issued by his spokesman on Oct. 17 welcomed the decision of the DPRK and the U.S. to take measures "to significantly improve the bilateral relations."
He also appealed to the international community to positively react to the historic change on the Korean peninsula.
Choe Thae Bok refers to Korean reunification
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Choe Thae Bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly, on Oct. 17 addressed the 104th conference of the inter-parliamentary union opened in Jakarta as head of delegation of the DPRK Parliamentary Union.
Choe thae bok expressed belief that all parliaments of the world would send disinterested support and solidarity with the efforts to implement the north-south joint declaration calling for reconciliation, cooperation and peaceful reunification.
The great leader Kim Il Sung laid down the three principles of national reunification, the ten-point programme for the great unity of the whole nation and the proposal for founding the democratic federal republic of Koryo and the respected leader Kim Jong Il formulated them as the three-point charter of Korea's reunification and has wisely led the struggle for national reunification, he noted.
The reality proves that the Korean nation can achieve the independent reunification of the country, if all Koreans join efforts, he said, adding that reunification would be certainly accomplished through the realistic and practical measures taken by the north and the south to set up a reunified state, while preserving common denominators.
WPK praised
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The For Peace and Socialism-Communist worker's Party of Finland on October 11 issued a statement on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Worker's Party of Korea.
The statement said:
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is standing high despite the imperialists' pressure. This is a powerful encouragement to the world working people.
The WPK whose guiding idea is the Juche idea founded by President Kim Il Sung and developed and enriched by General Secretary Kim Jong Il has turned the DPRK into a powerful socialist fortress encouraging the world progressive people in their struggle.
The core of the Juche idea is the independence of the popular masses.
In its struggle the For Peace and Socialism-Communist Worker's Party of Finland closely links the issue of defending national sovereignty and independence with the struggle for meeting the interests of the popular masses.
This means the struggle for socialism.
The WPK and our party are convinced that national sovereignty and independence can be achieved only under socialism.
Mori's junket to S. Korea rejected
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The Fellowship Society of Tok Islet issued a statement on October 17 rejecting the Japanese Prime Minister's junket to South Korea, according to Seoul-based Radio No. 1.
The organization in the statement accused Mori of claiming that Tok Islet belongs to the Japanese territory, far from apologizing for Japan' past, and declared that his reckless remarks betrayed the Japanese government's plot to grab the islet.
The organization threatened to strongly react to his junket by staging protest rallies if he flies into South Korea without making any apology for his remarks.
U.S. Secretary of State to visit DPRK
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright will soon visit the DPRK to directly convey President William Clinton's views on the improvement of the DPRK-U.S. relations to Chairman Kim Jong Il of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and prepare for a visit by the President of the United States.
Kim Jong Il praised abroad
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Il is the sun of the 21st century, who is imbuing not only the Korean people but also the world progressives with the conviction of victory.
A. B. Bardhan, general secretary of the National Council of the Communist Party of India, said this when meeting with the DPRK ambassador to India who paid a farewell call on him.
Warmly greeting the 55th anniversary of the foundation of the Worker's Party of Korea, the general secretary said that the WPK has made great successes in the struggle to defend the independence and sovereignty of the country and build socialism, smashing the imperialists' maneuvers for 55 years.
Noting with joy that Korea's reunification is coming to be a reality under the wise guidance of Kim Jong Il, the general secretary said that it is the fruition of the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il that the position of the WPK and the Korean people is rising day by day and a new phase of Korea's reunification is opening.
We will always stand by the WPK and further strengthen comradely relations with it, he added.
Three-point charter of Korea's reunification supported
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Norwegian trade union organizations participated in the international signature campaign to support the three-point charter of Korea's reunification.
The chairman of the Oslo regional committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Norway signed the signature paper on behalf of its 130,000 members and the chairman and the vice-chairman of the Oslo regional committee of the Transport Workers Trade Union of Norway on behalf of its 12,000 members.
Heads of political parties and organizations of Peru visit DPRK embassy
Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Marta Chavez, general secretary of the "Majority" Party of Peru and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Parliament, Alberto Moreno, general secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party of Peru (Red Motherland), and other figures of Peru paid a congratulatory visit to the DPRK embassy in lima on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Worker's Party of Korea.
They laid floral baskets before the portraits of the President Kim Il Sung and General Secretary Kim Jong Il and paid respects to them.
Shizuoka Assemblymen's League for Friendship with DPRK formed
Tokyo, October 18 (KNS-KCNA) -- The Shizuoka Assemblymen's League for Friendship with the DPRK was formed in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, recently.
The league grouping at least 70 Shizuoka prefectural assemblymen was inaugurated to conduct activities in support of the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula after the historic inter-Korean summit talks.
Isami Ito was elected chairman of the league at its inaugural meeting.