Kim Jong Il sends wreath to bier of hero Kim Ki Ok
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il yesterday sent a wreath to the bier of hero of the republic Lieut. General of the KPA Kim Ki Ok, lecturer at the victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, expressing deep condolence over his death.
Greetings to Omani Sultan
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, yesterday sent a message of greetings to Qaboos Bin Said al Said, Sultan of Oman, on the occasion of its National Day.
The message extended warm congratulations to the sultan, government and people of Oman on this occasion.
It wished the sultan and people greater success in the work for the prosperity of the country.
It expressed conviction that the friendly relations between the two countries would develop on good terms.
DPRK ambassador to Singapore appointed
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- Kang Tal Son was appointed as Ambassador E.P. of the DPRK to Singapore, according to a decree of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK.
Japan urged to reflect on its wrongs committed in century
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- Minju Joson yesterday carried a signed article captioned "Japan is the only country that has not yet settled its crimes in the century."
Debt in the century should be paid off in the century, the article said, and continued:
Many countries have joined in the current "review of the century", but Japan is persistently swimming against this trend.
In the 20th century Japan committed hideous crimes against Asian people, the Korean people in particular.
Far from redressing its crime-woven past, the Japanese reactionaries are obstinately scheming to repeat such history.
Due to their moves, humankind has to greet a new century without seeing the complete settlement of the crimes committed in the present century.
The DPRK has made consistent and sincere efforts to terminate the belligerent relations between the DPRK and Japan in the 20th century and greet the new century.
But Japan is negative to responding to this.
Japan is foolish enough to contend that the DPRK has no option but to improve relations with it. Japan is running amok to realise its wild ambition for reinvasion, indifferent to the settlement of its past, the principal issue that should be settled first of all.
Japan should bear in mind that as long as Japan does not settle its past crimes committed against the Korean people, it will remain an eternal sworn enemy of the Korean people.
Early solution to Mideast issue called for
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun in a signed article yesterday asserted that the Mideast issue should be solved most comprehensively and fairly.
Even after the cease-fire agreement was made on Oct. 17, Israel is persisting in causing bloodshed in violation of the agreement and shifting the responsibility for it onto the Palestinian side, the article noted, and continued:
There is a just principle of peace already laid down for the solution to the Mideast issue including the Palestinian problem. That principle calls on both sides in dispute to settle it through a sincere agreement on the "peace-for-land" principle.
Israel's act of sidestepping and evading the principle cannot be construed otherwise than pursuing only its design for territorial expansion, opposed to the fair solution to the Mideast issue.
If Israel does not observe the cease-fire agreement, clashes will continue to drive the Mideast peace process to a collapse.
It is an exercise of the sovereign right of the Palestinian people to found an independent state of Palestine.
Source of history-making miracles
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- The Korean people are performing amazing miracles and exploits in socialist construction despite all sorts of tempests of history and all this has its source in the trust placed by the respected leader Kim Jong Il in them, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article.
The article goes on:
Kim Jong Il is the supreme incarnation of trust and love.
Ever since he began steering revolution he has pursued the policy of trust under the uplifted slogan "Let's build a new society by virtue of trust and love." The Korean people have thus grown to be a heroic people who can do anything.
Kim Jong Il's trust serves as an ideological and moral source of strength whereby the Korean people can set exceptionally high goals and undertake work audaciously.
The construction of minor power stations, large-scale land leveling and rezoning projects, revolution in potato cultivation, fish culture and all other gigantic projects now under way in the DPRK can be carried out only by the Korean people who have nurtured pluck and gut thanks to the trust of Kim Jong Il.
His trust serves as a source of strength whereby the Korean people can achieve signal successes despite any trial and fully display all their wisdom and energies in working history-making miracles.
The Korean people built the Anbyon Youth Power Station and other monumental edifices in the spirit of revolutionary soldiers despite manifold difficulties although they were hard pressed for everything. They did so with the single-hearted desire to live up at any cost to the trust placed by Kim Jong Il in them.
The leader absolutely trusts the people and they work astonishing miracles, inspired by this trust. This is a real picture of the DPRK and this guarantees a bright future of the country, the article concludes.
National meeting held
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- A national meeting was held Friday to mark the 55th anniversary of the Korean Democratic Women's Union (KDWU) and the 30th anniversary of the President Kim Il Sung's on-site guidance to the central committee of the union.
Present at the meeting were Kim Jung Rin, secretary of the central committee of the Worker's Party of Korea, union officials and women from all walks of life.
After the liberation of the country Kim Il Sung founded the North Korean Democratic Women's Union, a mass political organization of the women, on November 18, Juche 34 (1945) on the basis of noble feats and experience gained during the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle.
He visited the building of the central committee of the union on November 24, Juche 59 (1970) and told officials that the central committee should more energetically push ahead with the work to revolutionize the women.
Pak Sun Hui, chairwoman of the c.c., KDWU, in her report said that the foundation of the union enabled the Korean women to make a genuine contribution to the building of a new country as an organized force backed by their political organization and the Korean women's movement to enter a new road of progress under the leadership of the WPK.
The President worked hard for the uniform progress of the Korean women's movement, rallying all the women under a democratic flag and seeing to it that women's organizations were founded throughout the country. In January Juche 40 (1951) he developed the North Korean Women's Democratic Union to be the Korean Democratic Women's Union, a mass political organization grouping all the women in the north and the south, the reporter said, and continued:
The great Kim Jong Il elucidated an orientation and ways of finally solving the women's problem at a historic time when the issue of modeling the whole society on the Juche idea was brought into limelight and energetically led the work to resolve it.
In hearty response to the idea and intention of the President the great communist revolutionary fighter Kim Jong Suk ushered in the golden days of the women's movement in the DPRK and wisely led the Korean women to cherish the spirit of devotedly safeguarding the leader, she said.
DPRK-U.S. military talks held
Panmunjom, November 17 (KCNA) -- General officer-level talks were held here today between the sides of the Korean People's Army and the U.S. forces as regards the issue of opening some portions of the demilitarized zone.
The KPA side was represented by senior colonel Pak Rim Su of the Panmunjom mission of the KPA and the U.S. forces side by major general Michael M. Dunn.
As already reported, talks between the defence ministers of the north and south of Korea took place on Jeju Island between September 25 and 26 to implement the June 15 joint declaration adopted at the inter-Korean summit. It was proposed at the talks to open some portions of the Military Demarcation Line and the DMZ through which railways and road will pass to relink the north and the south, and put them under the control of the north and the south sides and ensure safety in the projects there.
This was a matter to be discussed between the KPA side and the U.S. forces side, signatories to the Armistice Agreement, as required by the agreement.
Therefore, the KPA side proposed to work out a supplementary agreement of the AA related to the projects so as to militarily and legally guarantee the issue of relinking the railways and road between the north and the south, and had several working contacts with the U.S. forces side at Panmunjom to this end.
A draft agreement discussed at the working-level contacts so far was finally confirmed and ratified at the general officer-level talks held today between the two sides.
The agreement was signed by Pak Rim Su and Michael M. Dunn.
The agreement said that both sides will open some portions of the Military Demarcation Line and the demilitarized zone through which Sinuiju-Seoul railways and Kaesong-Munsan road will pass and put those portions under the control of the north and the south in accordance with the Armistice Agreement.
According to it, both sides will allow the armies of the north and the south to consult and deal with the technical issues concerning the opening of some portions of the DMZ and military problems arising in the portions under the control of the north and the south in conformity with the armistice agreement.
The agreement said it goes into effect from the date of its ratification at the general officer-level talks in Panmunjom.
The agreement on opening some portions of the demilitarized zone and placing them under the control of the north and the south reached between the signatories to the Armistice Agreement provides a legal guarantee for the north and the south to consult and settle the technical problems concerning the relinking of the Sinuiju-Seoul railways and Kaesong-Munsan road.
Year to be specially recorded in history of movement for Korean reunification
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- The year 2000 is marked by significant events in the history of the Korean people's struggle for independent and peaceful national reunification.
The historic Pyongyang meeting, north-south summit and the June 15 north-south joint declaration are the greatest successes in the reunification movement since the country was divided into two parts over half a century back.
The north-south joint declaration published at the Pyongyang meeting between the two heads of the north and the south is displaying its tremendous vitality.
A series of ministerial and Red Cross talks between the north and the south have been held in the north and the south to implement the joint declaration.
And the high-level military talks and the talks between the Foreign Minister of the north and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the south, which were aimed to discuss mutual cooperation in external relations and on the international arena, were held. A delegation of south media organizations visited Pyongyang and a joint communique of media organizations in the north and the south was published.
The project to relink the severed railways and roads between the north and the south, the table-tennis game for reunification and the north's State Symphony Orchestra's performance in Seoul, etc, bolstered up the whole nation's enthusiasm for reunification.
This year the north and the south showed the nation and the world their will to trust and unite with each other, free from mutual misunderstanding and the stand of confrontation.
Separated families and relatives in the north and the south had an emotion-charged reunion in Pyongyang and Seoul, the first of its kind in over 50 years, on the occasion of the August 15 liberation day. And over 60 unconverted long-term prisoners, products of division and confrontation, returned to the DPRK in early September under the blessings of the whole nation.
The athletes of the north and the south jointly entered the 27th Sydney Olympics to be cheered by more than 100,000 spectators and the north-south joint resolution "peace, security and reunification on the Korean peninsula" was adopted at the plenary meeting of the 55th UN General Assembly to command widespread support of the international community.
A special mention should be made of the fact that General Secretary Kim Jong Il sent gifts to President Kim Dae Jung and members of several delegations of the south side, which visited Pyongyang, on the occasion of Chusok (autumn festival).
These noteworthy events this year greatly help bring earlier national reunification, the cherished desire of the nation.
Support to people's struggle for independence called for
Pyongyang, November 18 (KCNA) -- It is one of the important tasks of the Non-Aligned Movement to give positive support to the just struggle of the people for independence and sovereignty, says Rodong Sinmun in a signed article today.
It goes on:
Non-aligned and developing countries which have taken the road of independent development, freed from imperialist and colonialist domination, should positively support and encourage the struggle of the people for national independence. And the people fighting for national independence should extend help to those people who have already won independence in their efforts for sovereignty and progress through their struggle.
This is the law of development of the people's just cause.
Support of the non-aligned and developing countries to the struggle of the people for national independence presents itself as a more urgent issue in view of the imperialists' moves for aggression and interference and is helpful to accomplishing the cause of global independence.
The people's struggle for independence and sovereignty, the struggle to free themselves from imperialist domination and subordination, is part of the struggle for global independence.
To support this struggle is the noble international duty of non-aligned and developing countries in the cause of independence against imperialism.
The movement for support and solidarity with the people in the struggle for independence and sovereignty will strengthen the solidarity of the non-aligned movement and all anti-imperialist independent forces. It is also favourable to the preservation of world peace.
The Korean people will make all efforts to firmly defend the noble idea and principle of the Non-Aligned Movement and promote its unity. They will sincerely support the just struggle of the people for independence and sovereignty.