Paper on independent stand

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- An independent stand is a fundamental stand that should be firmly maintained to implement the June 15 north-south joint declaration and achieve the cause of Korea's reunification, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article. The article says:
    The issue of the country's reunification is an issue of the Korean nation itself and belongs to the sovereignty of the nation.
    If foreign forces are allowed to interfere in the issue of the country's reunification it is impossible to work out and implement any line and policies related to the reunification issue in conformity with the will and demand of the nation and achieve the country's reunification aimed to establish national sovereignty.
    An independent stand represents the revolutionary stand that makes it possible for the Korean nation responsible for reunification to fulfil their responsibility and role.
    The driving force for reunification is the entire Korean nation.
    Korea's reunification is an independent cause of the Korean nation who is capable of achieving it.
    The independent stand represents the main spirit of the historic north-south joint declaration and adhering to this stand is essential for implementing the declaration properly.
    Steadfastly maintaining the stand is a firm guarantee for achieving the cause of the country's reunification at an early date in conformity with the desire of the nation and the spirit of the declaration by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation.
    What is important for maintaining the stand of national independence is to firmly arm oneself with the spirit of national independence and strongly reject flunkeyism and the idea of depending on foreign forces.
    It is necessary to build up the driving force of the nation in order to independently achieve the cause of national reunification.
    The great unity of the nation is a decisive guarantee for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country.
    The article calls on all the koreans to pool their will and strength with patriotism and the spirit of national independence as their common ideological basis, irrespective of ideology, system, political view and religious belief and all other differences and further strengthen the national unity in the drive to implement the declaration.

Kim Jong Il sends vehicles to Kim Chaek University of Technology

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il sent vehicles to Kim Chaek University of Technology. Visiting the university on Sept. 19, he highly praised its teachers and students for their big contributions to building a prosperous and powerful nation at every stage of the revolution and clearly indicated tasks and ways to improve education to meet the requirements of the developing reality. This time he showed profound care for the university's modernization and improved supply service.
    Vehicles were conveyed to the university with due ceremony yesterday.
    Present there were Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and others.

S. Korean trip of Japanese prime minister protested

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- Citizens' organizations of South Korea held a rally and demonstration against the South Korean trip of the Japanese prime minister on Monday, according to Seoul-based Radio No. 1. That morning the reservists' association in Seoul burnt a Japanese flag at the place of his visit and staged a demonstration for more than one hour, shouting anti-Japanese slogans and condemning Japan's move to distort history.
    The organization demanded the correction of history textbooks, saying that the Japanese government is trying to distort history textbooks without repenting of Japan's past and go in for militarism.
    Members of the (South) Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the south headquarters of the national alliance for the country's reunification and the council for national reconciliation and independent unification held a rally burning the Japanese prime minister in effigy under the placard "apologize for colonial domination" in sodaemun independence park in Seoul.
    Meanwhile, more than 500 members of the Federation of (South) Korean Trade Unions and other citizens' organizations also staged a demonstration in Jongmyo Park in Seoul, chanting "no revival of militarism" and other slogans.

Russian figures on certain victory of Korean cause of socialism

    Moscow, October 15 (KCNA) -- Russian figures said that as the Workers' Party of Korea, which inherited the tradition of the "Down-With-Imperialism Union" (DIU), has built socialism, guided by the Juche idea founded by President Kim Il Sung, the Korean cause of socialism is advancing along the road of victory without any vicissitude. They said this at a meeting held on Oct. 11 under the sponsorship of the Moscow Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to mark the 4th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's election as General Secretary of the WPK, the 56th anniversary of the WPK and the 75th anniversary of the DIU.
    Alexandr Kubayev, first secretary of the Moscow Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and Vladimir Markov, secretary of the central committee of the Communists Union of Russia, made speeches at the meeting.
    They said that the Juche idea helps accomplish the cause of socialism against flunkeyism and dogmatism and that it is urgent for Russia to learn the Juche idea which helps maintain an independent stand.
    They sincerely hoped that the Korean people would defend socialism to the last and achieve national reunification at any cost under the leadership of the WPK with Kim Jong Il as its head.

Banner of Korean people's victory

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- A seminar on the subject of "Workers' Party of Korea is banner of Korean people's victory" was held on Oct. 2 by the party for peace and unity of Russia on the occasion of the 56th anniversary of the WPK. S. Umalatova, chairwoman of the party, in a speech said that the WPK always sets forth line and policies in conformity with the desire and demands of the people in the socialist revolution and construction and encourages popular masses to implement them and solve all problems arising in the process.
    The Korean people led by the wpk are demonstrating the might of the single-hearted unity of the whole society, solid independent national economy and powerful military force, she emphasized.
    Meanwhile, similar seminars were held by the Jordanian National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea and the National Committee of the National Movement of the Genuine Lumumbist Combatants of Democratic Congo on Oct. 6 and 8.
    A congratulatory message to leader Kim Jong Il was adopted at the seminar in Jordan.

Training of native cadres called for

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- For the non-aligned and other developing countries to develop the training of native cadres is the way to successfully smash the imperialists' policy of blockade, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article titled "the way to defy the imperialists' blockade." The article says:
    The training of native cadres presents itself as an urgent task in view of the imperialists' vicious blockade.
    Any country with native cadres can foil the imperialists' policy of blockade and do everything by itself.
    If native cadres are trained and their role is enhanced in the non-aligned and other developing countries, the imperialists' policy of blockade will never work on them.
    The DPRK placed an order in Japan for two blast furnaces, each 2,000 cubic meters, in the 1970s. But Japan, under the pressure of the united states, broke its promise to sell them to the DPRK.
    Therefore, the DPRK decided to build its indigenous furnaces and finally succeeded in completing them.
    In recent years it also successfully built even a satellite with its indigenous technology and launched it.
    The experience of the DPRK proves that any country having its native cadres is quite capable of frustrating imperialists' policy of blockade and successfully building a new society.
    Noting that training native cadres is an urgent task whose fulfilment brooks not a moment's delay and a worthwhile work to glorify the dignity and honor of the nation, the article refers to the tasks to do so.
    To this end it is important for the non-aligned and other developing countries to establish an integral system of training native cadres and train able cadres in the fields of politics, economy, military affairs, etc. and improve the content of education.
    It is also necessary for them to help and teach each other, swapping their successes and experience and exchanging visits of native technical personnel.

Brisk research into spore-bearing plants

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- The plant classification research group of the DPRK is working hard to survey, find out and study spore-bearing plants. In recent years it found out 1,000 more species of spore-bearing plants, confirming that there are more than 6,000 species of plants in the country.
    Its efforts are focusing on making a general conception of every spore-bearing plant, a field unexplored, under a classification system, and studying features of classified plants, home and distribution of plants and their economic value.
    Over 1,500 species of plants are registered in the fungi class.
    More than 2,300 species of freshwater plants and aquatic plants have been ascertained to belong to the algae tribe.
    Among them are at least 700 species of aquatic plants.
    Those belonging to lichenes and dryophyta classes are also put under an integral system according to anatomic features and ecology of every group and typical species, etc.
    A 10-vol. book "Korean Spore-Bearing Plants" is being published.
    It will serve as an important academic and technological reference instrumental in developing and using spore-bearing plants found in abundance in the country.

Greetings to Azerbaijani foreign minister

Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- DPRK foreign minister Paek Nam Sun sent a message of greetings to Vilayat Mukhtar Ogly Gulyev, foreign minister of Azerbaijan, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its National Day. Expressing belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries will grow stronger in different fields, the message wished him success in his work.

Greetings to Azerbaijani President

Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, sent a message of greetings to Geidar Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, on Oct. 15 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its National Day. It extended sincere congratulations and salute to the president and, through him, to the government and people of Azerbaijan on this occasion and wished the president and people of Azerbaijan greater success in their work for peace and stability of the country and well-being of the people.
It expressed belief that the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries would further develop in the interests of the two peoples in the new century.

Paek Nam Sun meets new Madagascan ambassador

Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- DPRK foreign minister Paek Nam Sun met and conversed with Royal Raoelfils, new Madagascan ambassador e.p. to the DPRK who paid a courtesy call on him today.

Kim Yong Nam meets secretary general of CILRECO

    Pyongyang, October 17 (KCNA) -- President Kim Yong Nam of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly met and conversed with secretary general Guy Dupre of the International Liaison Committee for Reunification and Peace in Korea (CILRECO) at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today. Present there was Pak Kyong Son, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.
    Guy Dupre referred to the widespread solidarity movement conducted by the CILRECO for the just struggle of the Korean people to reunify the country. He said that it would wage an active movement to support the struggle of the Korean people to implement the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration.
    He noted that an important issue in implementing it is to force the U.S. armed forces to pull out of South Korea.