Greetings to Lithuanian foreign minister
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- Paek Nam Sun, foreign minister of the DPRK, sent a message of greetings to Lithuanian foreign minister Anthanas Balionis on the occasion of its national day.
The message expressed the belief that the relations between the two countries would develop on good terms in the new century in the interests of the peoples of the two countries.
Congratulatory message to Kim Jong Il from Chongryon CSC
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received a congratulatory message from the central standing committee of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) on his birthday. The central standing committee of Chongryon offers highest glory and warmest congratulations to Kim Jong Il on your birthday, the first in the new century, the message said, and went on:
You made the 20th century shine as a century of Juche Korea, the great Kim Il Sung century by performing immortal exploits on behalf of the country and humankind.
You have enabled our people to break through the tempest of history and always emerge victorious and our homeland to demonstrate its dignity and might as a bulwark of socialism.
In the 1990s, in particular, you opened a new chapter of the great army-first revolutionary leadership and single-hearted unity to lead the "arduous march" to its historic victory.
You have built up Chongryon as a model of overseas compatriots' movement in the world and set out highly important guidelines to develop it into a patriotic mass organisation around which broad segments of compatriots in Japan are closely rallied. And you have thus put the patriotic work of Chongryon on a higher stage.
The central standing committee of Chongryon sincerely wishes you a long life in good health.
Congratulatory message to Kim Jong Il from CC of NDFSK
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received a congratulatory message from the central committee of the National Democratic Front of South Korea (NDFSK) on his birthday.
The central committee of the NDFSK offers highest glory and warmest congratulations to you on your birthday, carrying the unanimous desire and intense loyalty of the vanguard fighters and patriotic people from all walks of life in the south, the message said, and continued:
Your birth was a great auspicious event in which our fellow countrymen, blessed with the great leaders generation after generation, had a great good luck to enjoy happiness and well-being as the sun's nation and a historic event which heralded the advent of the 21st century of the sun which would last forever along with the 20th century.
You have formulated the Juche idea as Kimilsungism and developed and enriched it so remarkably that the nation and humankind might have a powerful ideological and theoretical weapon for the accomplishment of the socialist cause, the cause of independence.
It is a great feat to be handed down for ever with Kim Il Sung century that you made a new history of the cause of perpetuating the memory of Kim Il Sung and glorified his cause of building the party, the state and the army.
You have opened a new era of building a powerful nation with your army-first politics, a political mode peculiar to the new century, and provided a sure guarantee for putting an end to national division with your great patriotic decision.
You are a peerlessly great man for all ages who have performed great immortal exploits with your extraordinary leadership art and dynamic revolutionary practice and the sun of the 21st century born of the 20th century.
We will vigorously conduct the nationwide movement for reunification to implement the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration in response to your plan for national reunification and its three-point charter to glorify this year, the first year of the new century, as a year of opening the road of reunification by the efforts of our nation, a year of decisive turning-point in opening an epochal phase of national reunification in the 21st century.
The central committee of NDFSK sincerely wishes you a long life in good health.
First camping at Jangjasan Children's Camp
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- The first camping of this year started at the Jangjasan Children's Camp in Jagang province on the occasion of the February holiday.
During their camping schoolchildren will make a march through a snowy road and mountaineering and conduct sports and artistic activities.
A ceremony for receiving the first batch of campers took place on February 16.
Complete collection of Kim Il Sung's works vol. 35 published
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- The Workers' Party of Korea Publishing House brought out complete collection of Kim Il Sung's works vol. 35, a library of the immortal Juche idea which carries works of President Kim Il Sung systematically and all-roundly in chronological order.
The volume contains 23 famous works -- reports, speeches, concluding remarks, lectures and talks -- which were delivered by Kim Il Sung between March and October Juche 54 (1965).
The volume includes his ideas, theories and policies to further strengthen our revolutionary forces in political, economic and military aspects and step up the cause of national reunification and the world revolutionary movement.
Congratulatory letters to Kim Jong Il from foreign figure skating groups
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received congratulatory letters from foreign figure skating groups participating in the tenth international figure skating festival for paektusan cup on the occasion of his birthday.
The letters were conveyed to an official concerned by heads of figure skating groups from Russia, China, Ukraine, Belarus, Britain, the Czech Repubic and France.
Exhibition performance of synchronized swimming given
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- An exhibition performance of synchronized swimming was given in Pyongyang on Friday to celebrate the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il.
The swimmers showed elegant and beautiful rhythmic movements with plastic Kimjongilias in their hands, representing the great national pride and honour of the Korean people holding Kim Jong Il in high esteem.
In their colourful program they successfully represented the invincible stamina of the Korean people hastening the socialist advance under the red flag in the new century by admirably performing quick rising from water, turning round and other movements to the tune of light music.
The performance was seen by Jon Pyong Ho and other senior officials, overseas compatriots and foreigners.
Korean art troupe from Japan performs
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- The Korean art troupe in Japan for celebrating the February holiday gave a performance "paean of 700,000 compatriots to February holiday in the new century" at the Pyongyang grand theatre on Friday.
The performance was appreciated by Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kim Yong Sun, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Yong Dae, chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party, Ryu Mi Yong, chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Korean Chondoist Chongu Party, and officials concerned together with working people in the city.
It was also appreciated by a congratulatory group of Koreans in Japan, delegations of overseas compatriots and overseas Koreans on a visit to the socialist homeland.
Performers truthfully represented the firm will and faith of the 700,000 compatriots in Japan who are speeding up their new year's advance to make the hopeful new century a century of great victory for the prospering Chongryon (the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan) under the leadership of Kim Jong Il, the great sun of the 21st century.
President Kim Yong Nam meets leading members of Korean art troupe in Japan
Pyongyang, February 17 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on Feb. 16 met and conversed with leading members and principal actors and actresses of the Korean art troupe in Japan for celebrating the February holiday.
On hand were Kim Yong Sun, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Yong Dae, chairman of the Central Committee of the Korean Social Democratic Party, and Ryu Mi Yong, chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Korean Chondoist Chongu Party.