Japan urged to redress its past
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- The Japanese authorities are further budging from their commitment to redress Japan's past as evidenced by their recent refusal to allow the entry into Japan of the delegation of the DPRK Measure Committee for Demanding Compensation To "Comfort Women for the Army" and the Victims of the Pacific War.
This attitude comes under fire by a signed commentary of Rodong Sinmun today.
The commentary says:
Japan can never get confidence of the international community unless it settles its past crimes.
It was a vivid expression of its hostile policy towards the DPRK that Japan refused to allow the entry into Japan of the DPRK delegation only.
The DPRK is a highly dignified independent sovereign state.
The DPRK will strive to improve relations with even those countries which had once been hostile to the DPRK if they respect sovereignty and give up their hostile policy towards it. But the DPRK will certainly make those forces, which persistently pursue an unfriendly and hostile policy towards it, pay for their wrongs.
Japan's expression of enmity towards the DPRK before the international community was as foolish an act as lifting the axe to cut its own foot.
The hostile policy persistently pursued by the Japanese authorities towards the DPRK compels the DPRK to take a corresponding measure.
U.S. moves for establishing MD condemned
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Public figures of India and Bangladesh issued statements as regards leader Kim Jong Il's answers given to questions put by Itar-Tass.
The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said in a statement that his answers made a great contribution to smashing the U.S. attempt to build a unipolar world and defending peace and security in the world.
The general secretary of the All-India Small Newspapers Association said on August 10 that it is nonsensical to claim that North Korea is "threatening" the United States with missiles and it is a mockery of the world peace-loving people.
If the U.S. continues to push forward the establishment of the missile defense system despite the unanimous opposition of the world, it will invite its own isolation and self-destruction.
The secretary general of the Bangladesh-DPRK Friendship Association said in a statement that it is none other than the U.S. that is now threatening peace and security on the Korean peninsula and, furthermore, in the Asia-Pacific region. The world people demand the U.S. withdraw its troops and military equipment from South Korea, he added.
In order to ensure peace in Asia, it is necessary for Japan not to side with the U.S. imperialists' policy of aggression, he stressed.
U.S. hostile policy toward DPRK assailed
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Radio Voice of Russia on August 20 aired its commentator's article calling for the withdrawal of the U.S. forces from the Korean peninsula.
Noting that the United States is going to turn South Korea into its strategic vantage in the Asia-Pacific region, the commentary says:
85,000 of over 100,000 U.S. troops stationed in the Asia-Pacific region are present in Japan and South Korea.
They have nuclear weapons hundreds of times as powerful as A-bombs that reduced Hiroshima and Nagasaki to debris.
Japan and the U.S. are extending the sphere of their military alliance as far as the Korean peninsula, Taiwan and the far east.
The U.S. intends to have not only a nuclear club but a missile space shield in the Asia-Pacific region. Such military policy of the U.S. makes the situation in the region unpredictable.
That is why the DPRK, China and Russia, together with southeast Asian countries, are strongly opposed to the U.S. plans to establish national missile defense system and theatre Missile Defense system that may harass world and regional stability.
Monument to three charters for national reunification
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- The arch style monument to the three charters for national reunification was built at the entrance to Thongil Street in Pyongyang.
The monument 30 m high covers an area of more than 100,000 square metres. It is rich in national style and perfect in formative artistic depiction.
The monument with a tower body and platforms clearly reflects all the fellow countrymen's desire for reunification.
Upper part of the tower body depicts a mark of three charters engraved with letters reading "three charters," a Korean map and magnolia designs. On both sides of each platform stand group sculptures which are on the themes of the three principles of national reunification, the proposal for founding the democratic federal republic of Koryo, the ten-point programme of the great unity of the whole nation and the slogan "Long Live Reunified Korea."
The monument depicts two women, their arms stretched out as if to embrace each other and shout "Long Live Reunification" this clearly proves that reunification is the greatest desire and supreme task of the nation whose implementation brooks no further delay.
The same posture of the two women in Korean national costumes intuitively tells that the north and the south are one and the same nation who lives in the same territory with the same mind.
There are rooms which have displays of more than 700 commemorative stones dedicated by party and state heads and progressive figures of scores of countries and overseas compatriots wishing the reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Standing in the education ground is the monument to President Kim Il Sung's proposition on national reunification.
There is a garden covering 8 hectares around the monument.
Russian paper praises Kim Il Sung
Moscow, August 21 (KCNA) -- The Russian paper Patriot in its 32nd issue carried an article entitled "star of freedom, August 15 is the day of Korea's liberation", illustrated by a picture of President Kim Il Sung delivering a speech upon his return home in victory.
On August 15, 1945, the anti-Japanese national liberation struggle of the Korean people led by him was victoriously concluded and the cause of building a socialist state, a new socialist society, started in this land with a long history, the article says, and goes on:
New Korea, born on this day, is a country where the most advanced idea, morality, life and humanity have been embodied.
The Arch of Triumph at the foot of beautiful Moran Hill in Pyongyang was erected to commemorate the day when he liberated the distress-torn country and returned home in triumph after defeating the Japanese militarist occupiers by leading the Korean People's Revolutionary Army.
He was the great genius and the most prominent great man in the history of the nation and the world.
He regarded himself as the true son of the people and the personifier of the people's desire and boundless creative power from the first step of his activities.
Rare is such a great man as he who was possessed of the capability of theoretically popularizing the most profound philosophical principle and idea and waged the stubborn, meticulous and thorough revolutionary struggle every day.
Rodong Sinmun on Kim Jong Il's undisputed prestige
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il's recent historic visit to the Russian Federation firmly convinced the Korean people that he is the great revolutionary and outstanding leader who enjoys highest prestige in the world and Korea is demonstrating its might as Kim Il Sung's Korea to the world as it is led by Kim Jong Il, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article.
It says:
It is under the guidance of Kim Jong Il that the DPRK is demonstrating its might as an ideologically, politically and militarily powerful country and it is being glorified as invincible socialism blazing a new path of the era of independence. The absolute prestige of Kim Jong Il, a rare statesman and the great man of general type, represents the dignity and honour of the DPRK.
Saying that Kim Jong Il's politics has a history of nearly 40 years, the article goes on:
Kim Jong Il's absolute prestige as a world veteran statesman who leads the times is unthinkable without his decades-long political history and his exploits performed in this period.
He has pursued army-first politics, the most perfect political mode in the history of world politics, thus protecting the destiny of the country and socialism and hewing the road to be followed by humankind's common cause of independence. It is an immortal exploit performed by Kim Jong Il as a peerlessly great statesman.
The imperialists have resorted to ceaseless military blackmail and aggression moves in recent years to stifle the DPRK which was undergoing rigorous trails.
Holding in high esteem the great commander endowed with iron will and grit and superb strategy, the Korean people have been able to decisively shatter all the moves of the imperialists for aggression and honorably defend sovereignty and dignity of the country.
The Russian people accorded cordial hospitality to Kim Jong Il with high respect, warm friendship and deep trust in him and hundreds of millions of people around the world expressed boundless reverence and respect for him during his Russia visit. It clearly shows what high international prestige he enjoys.
Greetings to Ukrainian President
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, sent a message of greetings to President Leonid Kuchma on Wednesday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the national day of Ukraine.
In the belief that the excellent relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries would continue to develop on good terms, the message wished the president success in his responsible work for peace and stability of the country and the people's well-being.
Gift to Kim Jong Il from British party
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received a gift from the British Socialist Labour Party.
It was handed to an official concerned by Eloisa Joan Rule, member of the national executive committee of the party, on a visit to Korea.
KCNA on U.S. call for "resumption of dialogue with DPRK"
Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- Officials of the Bush administration are building up public opinion in a bid to create impression that the U.S. is deeply interested in the resumption of dialogue with the DPRK, saying that the U.S. "has willingness to resume unconditional dialogue with the DPRK."
The U.S. secretary of state, during his recent junket to various Asian countries, spoke to the effect that the U.S. is waiting for the DPRK's official response to its proposal for dialogue and a spokesman for the U.S. State Department also clarified the stand that the U.S. has willingness to have an exhaustive dialogue with the DPRK without any precondition.
Such concern recently expressed by the Bush administration for the resumption of the dialogue with the DPRK prompts the DPRK to comment on the U.S. present policy toward the DPRK and its true approach towards a dialogue with the DPRK.
The U.S. has not yet withdrawn those agenda items for negotiations it had unilaterally put up before both sides sit together although it is calling for the resumption of unconditional negotiations.
Those agenda items are unacceptable as they are unilateral and hostile in their nature. Even the demand for the reduction of the DPRK's conventional weapons for self-defence is included there:
It is quite clear that the dialogue can hardly be resumed unless those agenda items are withdrawn. As already clarified by the DPRK the DPRK-U.S. dialogue has not yet been resumed due to the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK. It is the DPRK's steadfast stand that the dialogue can be resumed only when the present U.S. government drops its anachronistic way of thinking in the era of the cold war and at least takes a stand identical to that of the Clinton administration in its last period.
During the Clinton administration the DPRK and the U.S. published the Geneva DPRK-U.S. agreed framework and the New York DPRK-U.S. joint communique in which they agreed to remove the source of long-standing mistrust, confrontation and misunderstanding and normalize the bilateral relations. And both sides, accordingly, promised each other to fulfil political, moral and legal obligations to terminate hostile relations, build confidence and clear the other side of its worries.
The DPRK has so far remained faithful to the agreed framework by honestly keeping its promises made to the U.S. to freeze its nuclear program and suspend its missile launch.
The bilateral relations witnessed a series of ups and downs due to the U.S. insincere compliance with the AF. But the DPRK-U.S. dialogue was provided with a momentous opportunity to solve pending issues in the last period of the Clinton administration. The bilateral relationship reached such a level that the then U.S. secretary of state visited Pyongyang and even the U.S. President's DPRK visit was projected.
If both sides had continued constructive dialogues from the stand of mutual respect and understanding, the issue of the DPRK-U.S. relations related to ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula would have already been solved on a considerable level now that the Cold War came to an end and the world greeted the new century.
All this means that the DPRK-U.S. dialogue which proceeded in real earnest from 1994 laid in principle a basic foundation to settle issues related to the bilateral relations and other key international political and security issues until the end of 2000, the last year of the 20th century, despite a number of difficulties in that period.
Afterwards, there was a transfer of power in the U.S. if the new administration had pursued a consistent foreign policy in the interests of the American people and the United States of America, not wedded to the foreign policy in the period of the Cold War prompted by partisan interests, such disturbing developments as "examination of the policy toward the DPRK" and "suspension of dialogue" which resulted in the deterioration of bilateral relations would not have occurred.
After wasting nearly half a year the Bush administration, under domestic and foreign pressure, declared the U.S. willingness to "resume dialogue" as if it did the DPRK a favour and is now talking about an "unconditional dialogue". But its real attitude and stand do not show any true willingness for dialogue.
If the U.S. is truly interested in the issue of resuming dialogue with the DPRK, it should, first of all, show its will for dialogue in practice.
The U.S. should clarify in principle its stand that it will not undermine the basic foundation built up with so much effort through previous bilateral talks. This will be a touchstone judging whether the U.S. has willingness for dialogue or not.
In other words, it should drop its hostile attitude toward the DPRK and adopt a stand identical to that of the Clinton administration in its last period at least.
To merely talk about "resumption of dialogue" and repeat the story that it is someone's turn to kick the ball is nothing but an empty talk intended to deceive the international community.
This stand of the DPRK is by no means a unilateral precondition and it represents the principle for fairest bilateral talks proved in the entire period of the DPRK-U.S. relations.
The DPRK has consistently abided by this principle in dialogue with the U.S. and this will remain unchanged in the future, too.
It is still the U.S. side's turn to kick the ball.
The DPRK will closely follow the U.S. future attitude.