16th National Scientific and Technological Festival held
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The 16th National Scientific and Technological Festival was held here from April 23 to 26.
Scientific and technological festivals were held in local areas earlier.
Presented to the festivals were over tens of thousands of materials on scientific and technological achievements.
On display at the national festival were more than 350 materials on valuable scientific research and technical innovation achievements.
During the festival the participants widely introduced scientific and technological achievements helpful to further developing the nation's science and technology and national economy and exchanged their experience.
A closing ceremony was held on April 26 with officials concerned including Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, attending.
At the ceremony festival cups, medals and other prizes were awarded to those who distinguished themselves in the festival.
Yugoslav ambassador gives reception
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Yugoslav ambassador to Korea Milorad Kosovac hosted a reception at the embassy on Thursday on the occasion of the constitutional day of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Invited to the reception were minister of foreign trade Ri Kwang Gun, vice-minister of foreign affairs Choe Su Hon and officials concerned and diplomatic envoys of different countries and representatives of international organizations in Korea.
Speeches were made there.
Personal letter to Kim Jong Il from Namibian President
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Namibian President Sam Nujoma sent his personal letter to leader Kim Jong Il.
The letter was handed to an official concerned by Nahas Angula, minister of higher education, training and employment creation who is leading the Namibian government delegation on a visit to Korea.
U.S.-S. Korea war exercise under fire
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The south headquarters of the national alliance for the country's reunification reportedly released a statement on April 20 strongly assailing the U.S.-South Korea military exercise called RSOI.
The Bush administration is staging such war games soon after it came to power, the statement noted, branding it as an expression of its policy of hegemonism intended to achieve its aim at any cost with armed forces.
This is escalating the tensions on the Korean peninsula while laying a stumbling block in the way of inter-Korean reconciliation, unity and peace, it said, and went on:
The United States should renounce its hostile policy toward the north of Korea, promptly discontinue the RSOI exercise and stop its interference in the south side's internal affairs.
The statement also urged the South Korean authorities to decisively stand against the U.S. unreasonable intervention and war exercise in the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration.
Reception given by Polish charge d'affaires
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Polish charge d'affaires a.i. Mieczyslaw Dedo hosted a reception at the embassy here on Thursday to mark the National Day of Poland.
Invited there were vice-minister of foreign affairs Choe Su Hon, vice-chairperson of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Hong Son Ok, and officials concerned.
Members of the visiting delegation of the Poland-Korea Association led by chairman Andrzej Kozlowski were present.
Speeches were made at the reception.
Swiss committee for celebrations of Feb. 16, 2002, formed
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The Swiss Committee for Supporting Korea's Reunification and the Cultural Information Center on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lausanne, Switzerland, on April 15 formed a Swiss preparatory committee for celebrating February 16, 2002, the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il.
Martin Lotscher, chairman of the Swiss Committee for Supporting Korea's Reunification, was selected chairman of the preparatory committee.
The preparatory committee has set a celebration period from April 15 this year to February 16 next year.
Portugal-Korea Friendship Association reorganized
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- A meeting was held in Lisbon on April 19 to reorganize the Portugal-Korea Friendship Association for the purpose of expanding the organization.
Miguel Boieiro, mayor of Alcochete, was elected chairman of the association.
At the meeting he said that the reorganization of the association in the first year of the 21st century is a manifestation of the Portuguese people's will to further strengthen and develop the friendship and solidarity with the Korean people on a new higher stage.
U.S.-S. Korea joint war exercise slammed
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Wilfred Saens Vigo, chairman of the Peru National Association for the Study of Kimjongilism, in a statement on April 18 denounced the United States and South Korea for staging the "Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration" (RSOI) exercise.
He said that the bush administration advocated a hard line policy toward the DPRK from the very day he came to power and is going to take a step forward to launch a reckless adventure in a bid to put it into practice. the U.S., however, is seriously mistaken, he added.
No force on earth can defeat the heroic Korean people rallied close around leader Kim Jong Il with one idea, he noted, and stressed:
If the U.S. truly wants peace on the Korean peninsula and the world, it should withdraw its forces and lethal weapons from South Korea at once.
Russian paper lauds Kim Il Sung
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The Russian newspaper Patriot no. 15 dedicated a full page to President Kim Il Sung's portrait-accompanied special write-up entitled "The sun will shine forever" on the occasion of Sun's Day, his birth anniversary.
The article says:
The Korean nation could bring out the most important turn in its history as it held Kim Il Sung in high esteem as the great leader in the 20th century.
At his early age he embarked on the road of revolution, founded the down-with-imperialism union and fathered the immortal Juche idea and waged the anti-Japanese armed struggle which culminated in the liberation of Korea.
He was a genius possessed of noble virtue and creative ability whom the Korean nation acclaimed for the first time in its history spanning five thousand years and a great man who personified the time-honored tradition and unique creative ingenuity of the nation.
He always emerged victorious, for he was guided by the Juche idea in the whole course of the revolution and construction.
For his brilliant wisdom, fervent zeal for work, revolutionary sweep, boundless trust in his people and the most progressive Juche idea, he could enjoy an absolute authority in the world and was publicly recognized as the greatest veteran statesman of the international community, it notes, and stresses that the enduring heritage left by him is not only a precious treasure of the Korean people but wealth common to the defenders of socialism and a most effective powerful weapon.
U.S.-S. Korea saber-rattling under fire
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- U.S. imperialist bellicose forces and the South Korean military staged "Reception, Staging, Onward Movement and Integration" exercise (RSOI) from April 20 to 26.
In this regard rodong sinmun today in a signed commentary says:
The war exercise was an aggressive and provocative war drill intended to mount an all-out attack on the DPRK in view of its size, content and nature.
The exercise assumed dangerous nature as it came at a time when trigger-happy hawkish forces of the U.S. administration called for a hard line policy toward the DPRK to stifle it and pushed the DPRK-U.S. relations to confrontation after defining the DPRK as its "principal enemy."
The RSOI was an unpredictably dangerous war drill which might go over to an actual war as it was a replica of the "Team Spirit" joint military exercise in view of the number of the forces and the size of military hardware involved in it, its content and nature.
There can be no successful process of national reconciliation, unity and independent and peaceful reunification on the Korean peninsula as long as the U.S. imperialists' hard line policy to stifle the DPRK and war moves to invade it go on.
The U.S. warhawks persist in their policy of strength and war for aggression, not dropping the cold war-style way of thinking and mode of action despite the DPRK's sincere efforts to ensure lasting peace and security on the Korean peninsula and achieve the independent reunification of the country. Under this situation it is quite clear what sort of counter-measure the DPRK should take.
It is the revolutionary spirit of the army and the people of the DPRK to react to a hard line with the toughest stand and return fire for fire.
U.S. loudmouthed "threat from North Korea" dismissed
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- The U.S. imperialists' much publicized "threat from North Korea" is sheer sophism intended to justify their forces' presence in South Korea and their hostile policy to invade the DPRK, observes Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
It goes on:
The U.S. imperialists are posing a constant threat to the DPRK with huge aggression armed forces, keeping South Korea under their occupation for over half a century.
But for the powerful self-defence forces of the DPRK, a hundred wars would have broken out on the Korean peninsula.
Nevertheless, the U.S. imperialists are aggravating the situation on the peninsula in a bid to ignite a war, spreading the rumour about "threat from North Korea". this is a brigandish behaviour.
"Threat from North Korea" much touted by bosses and hawks of the U.S. administration is a version of "threat of southward aggression".
They raised a hue and cry over this "threat of aggression" when dialogue for reunification was under way between the north and the south, when the struggle of the South Korean people for independence, democracy and reunification mounted and when the U.S. was beefing up its aggression armed forces in South Korea and staging war drills to invade the north.
The fiction of "threat of southward aggression" was thus replaced by the rumour about "threat from North Korea".
These hawks leave no brigandish means untried to keep their aggression forces in South Korea forever.
The U.S. imperialists, however, should know well that with no sophism can they justify their military presence in South Korea and moves to start a new war.
Greetings to Yugoslav President
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, on April 24 sent a message of greetings to Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on the occasion of the constitutional day of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The message expressed the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would grow stronger in the interests of the two peoples and wished the president and people of Yugoslavia greater success in their work for stability, development and the territorial integrity of the country.
Meanwhile, premier of the DPRK cabinet Hong Song Nam sent a message of greetings to Yugoslav prime minister Zoran Zizic and foreign minister Paek Nam Sun to his Yugoslav counterpart Goran Svilanovic.
Greetings to Togolese President
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, sent a message of greetings to Togolese President Gnassingbe Eyadema on Wednesday on the occasion of the 41st anniversary of the Independence of Togo.
The message extended warm congratulations to the president and people of Togo on this occasion.
It expressed the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries and the two peoples would grow stronger in the future and wished the Togolese President and people greater success in their work for the stability and prosperity of the country and the unity and peace of the African region.
Greetings to President of Sierra Leone
Pyongyang, April 27 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, sent a message of greetings to Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabbah, President of Sierra Leone, on April 24 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of its independence.
The message extended warm congratulations to the president and, through him, to the government and people of Sierra Leone on its independence anniversary.
Expressing the belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would develop on good terms, the message sincerely wished the president and the people of Sierra Leone great successes in their work for the peace and stability of the country and social and economic development.