Kim Jong Il sends gifts to academic degree and title holders
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il sent gifts to academic degree and title holders of Kim Chaek University of Technology.
Giving on-the-spot guidance to the university on September 19, he highly praised its professors, doctors and other teaching staff as proud intellectuals who have supported the Workers' Party of Korea with science and technology.
A ceremony for conveying the gifts was held at the university yesterday.
Present there were Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the C.C., the WPK, and other officials concerned.
Pyongyang international scientific and technological book exhibition opens
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- The Pyongyang International Scientific and Technological Book Exhibition opened.
On display at the exhibition hall are scientific and technological books presented by two international organizations and 13 organizations of 8 countries.
An opening ceremony was held at the Grand People's Study House yesterday.
Present at the ceremony were acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Mun Jae Chol, officials concerned, delegates of the International Federation of Library and Institutions and TV trust for the environment, delegations and delegate of Russia and China, diplomatic envoys and embassy staff members here.
Mun Jae Chol in his opening address expressed belief that the exhibition would greatly contribute to powerfully encouraging exchange and cooperation in the scientific and technological field and deepening the understanding and friendship between the Korean people and the world people.
Claudia Lux, delegate of the International Federation of Library and Institutions, in her congratulatory speech hoped that the exhibition would be helpful to the Korean people. She also hoped for brisk cooperation and exchange between the federation and the DPRK libraries.
Russian embassy officials help farmers
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- Russian ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov and embassy officials visited the DPRK-Russia friendship Kochang Co-Op Farm in Chollima district, Nampho, yesterday to help it in harvesting.
They carried sheaves of rice together with farmers. During a break they talked with each other and sang songs, deepening the feelings of the DPRK-Russia friendship.
The guests handed the farm aid materials prepared by them.
Rodong Sinmun on U.S. retaliatory attacks
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today carries a signed commentary on the U.S. overall retaliatory attacks against Afghanistan.
The U.S. is escalating its attacks, destroying military strategic positions and establishments, cities and public buildings of Afghanistan and killing many civilians, the commentary says, and goes on:
It is the principled stand of the DPRK to oppose all forms of terrorism and any support for them. Therefore, the DPRK has been consistently opposed to all forms of terrorism.
We are opposed to terrorism with a view to promoting world peace and stability, defending the sovereignty of the country and the nation and protecting the lives and properties of the people. The way of combating terrorism should conform with this purpose. on the contrary, the use of armed forces and the method of war murdering guiltless people or disturbing regional peace and stability cannot be justified in any case.
It is a few elements who committed terrorism. The absolute majority of people have nothing to do with it. Accordingly, guiltless civilians should not fall victim to the anti-terrorist operations. Extending the military action to other countries allegedly to eradicate the root cause of terrorism is contrary to the purpose of the anti-terrorist struggle and it may rather cause grave consequences.
Respecting sovereignty is the best way of preventing terrorism.
When all the countries and nations observe the principle of respecting sovereignty, sound state-to-state relations and international orders can be established and, furthermore, all forms of terrorism and military conflicts terminated.
The DPRK is doing what it should do against terrorism with a view to defending the sovereignty of the country and the nation and the lives and properties and security of the people and ensuring peace and stability.
But the U.S. is seriously threatening our sovereignty and security by pursuing a hostile policy toward the DPRK while keeping it on the list of "sponsors of terrorism" without any foundation.
The present developments clearly prove how just our measure to increase the defence power for self-defence was.
Our army and people, ready to cope with any situation, will mete out a merciless punishment to those who do harm to the sovereignty and security of our country.
We are following the developments with heightened vigilance so as to cope with them in time.
Anecdotes about Kim Il Sung
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- It happened in November, Juche 65 (1976) when President Kim Il Sung gave a field guidance to a fishery station. officials of the station told him that it was short of means for carrying fishes.
At that time, the station had 20 fork-lift trucks.
Watching a truck at work, the president said that its bucket seemed to be small in comparison with its horsepower. He said the problem of carriage would be solved if the bucket was enlarged.
Afterwards the truck's bucket capacity increased to 2 tons from 800 kg.
As a result, 20 trucks were capable of carrying the load to be done by 50 trucks.
It happened right after Ri Po Ik, grandmother of the president, passed away.
Officials agreed to give to the press an obituary of Ri Po Ik and accord a public funeral to her for she dedicated all her descendents to the revolution and remained true to her firm constancy and devoted herself to it all her life.
Informed of this, the president said that even his grandmother should not be made an exception in abiding by the state rules.
He advised the officials repeatedly making requests to draw a clear distinction between the public and private affairs.
So a simple funeral service was held by her family and relatives.
One day in November, Juche 35 (1946), general Kim Il Sung dropped in at a farmer's house during his field guidance to South Phyongan Province and had a lunch there.
Before leaving the house, he asked his aide whether he paid for the noodle.
The aide said that he left for the journey in such a great hurry that he forgot to take money with him and he would certainly pay for it later.
On hearing this, the general told him to drive the car and bring money while he would be waiting for him.
When the aide was about to pay for the lunch after covering tens of km, the farmer refused to receive the money, saying how he could receive money from the general.
At that time the general said that he should also pay for the lunch as he was one of those serving the people. He got on the car only after seeing the farmer to receive the money.
U.S. ulterior intention under fire
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- The Washington district court finally dismissed the collective suit filed by former "Comfort Women For the Army" of different countries in Asia by accommodating the assertion of the Japanese government that the issue of reparation had already been solved under the "San Francisco Peace Treaty".
In this regard Minju Joson today in a signed commentary assails this as an unfair application of double standards in handling the issue of human rights.
It goes on:
The "San Francisco Peace Treaty" was a product of the political tie-up between the United States and Japan after the war as it was a separate peace treaty signed with Japan.
The "treaty" only reflected the will of the U.S. and Japan and completely ruled out the demand of the international community based on justice and impartiality.
The demands and will of many countries which suffered from Japan were ignored.
It is self-evident that the "treaty" has no binding force as an international law representing world conscience.
The U.S. is keen to save the Japanese reactionaries censured worldwide and tight-cornered for refusing to redress their past and retain its grip of them in return for it and, furthermore, use them as a shock brigade for carrying out its Asian strategy.
The U.S. is well advised to behave itself, clearly mindful that its double-dealing attitude will never work but will entail more serious consequences in the future.
Japan should drop its foolish bid to evade its responsibility to redress its past crimes, clinging to the coattails of the U.S., and face up to the reality.
It should admit those crimes and apologize and compensate for them as early as possible.
New Namibian ambassador here
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- Hopelong Ipinge, new Namibian ambassador to the DPRK, arrived here today by air.
Kim Yong Nam receives credentials from new Pakistani ambassador
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, received credentials from Sultan Habib, newly-appointed Pakistani ambassador to the DPRK, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.
Present there was Kim Yong Il, vice-minister of foreign affairs.
The president conversed with the ambassador after receiving his credentials.
Spokesman for DPRK Foreign Ministry slams Bush's remark
Pyongyang, October 23 (KCNA) -- The spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry issued today a statement slamming American President Bush for his remark again pulling up the DPRK.
He said: Shortly ago U.S. President Bush once again indiscreetly pulled up the DPRK. At a news conference held prior to the APEC summit he told the lie that the DPRK does not respond to the DPRK-U.S. dialogue though Washington stands for it. He went the length of speaking ill of its supreme leadership, saying it is too doubtful and shrouded in secrecy and it refuses to keep the promise and he is a person quite not understandable.
Putting aside the political motive of his utterance, Bush's remark cannot but be interpreted as an imprudent statement unbecoming for the president of a "superpower."
It is a senseless attitude away from even elementary diplomatic etiquette for the head of state of the U.S. to speak ill of the leader of other country, who is stranger to him, for no reason.
It is universally known that it was none other than Bush who began casting a string of doubts, saying he feels skeptical about the North Korean leader as soon as he assumed the presidential office and it was again his administration which put the DPRK-U.S. dialogue which was under way to a stalemate. All this happened not long before but a few months ago.
Ignoring his past behavior, he argued that the DPRK is so suspicious and that it should do what it has committed itself to do. This is as ridiculous as the pot calling the kettle black.
Such reckless deed tells that he has no image as a politician, to say nothing of that of a head of state. Then, how can we trust the United States though it makes honeyed words?
A thaw was brought to the frozen DPRK-U.S. relations with much efforts. But they got refrozen and the bilateral dialogue came to a rupture entirely due to Bush and his administration with deep-rooted conception of hostility towards the DPRK.
In the last period of the Clinton administration, the two countries became brisk in dialogue and published even a joint communique that promised an end to the hostile relations between the two sides and even a joint statement against terrorism.
Visits of special envoys and personal letters were exchanged between the leaders of the two countries.
Understanding and confidence were built so deeply that their summit was high on the agenda.
Moreover, included in the itinerary of President Clinton's scheduled visit to Pyongyang as a core was discussion over the DPRK's important decision to solve in the bilateral interests the issue of the DPRK's missiles which are regarded as "threat" to the U.S.
However, the new U.S. administration broke all those agreements as soon as it took office.
An early solution of our missile issue was uncomfortable to this administration which attaches priority to the establishment of "Missile Defence" system intended for world supremacy. It felt a more urgent need to make an enemy called "rogue state".
As seen above, the present administration has not an iota of will of continuity. therefore, This administration can not be trusted. Such view of ours has been more clearly proved by bush's recent remark.
The Bush administration proposed last June to "resume" the suspended dialogue with the DPRK. This proposal, too, is, in essence, a brigandish demand intended to unilaterally disarm the DPRK.
Without removal of the hostile relations, it urges the DPRK, which is technically at war with the U.S., to reduce its conventional armed forces unilaterally. The proposal is nothing but a noose as it did not clear a dialogue partner of its apprehension but raised the matter unacceptable to it in a bid to torpedo the dialogue itself.
The U.S. administration has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. forces would be kept in South Korea for an indefinite period. In particular, it is radically beefing up its armed forces in South Korea under the pretext of the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
Nevertheless, it urges the DPRK to withdraw its conventional armed forces unilaterally as an expression of its will for peace. Such demand is the height of ignorance and shamelessness as well as impudence.
This hostile policy of the bush administration toward the DPRK cooled at once the atmosphere of relaxation in north-south relations which was provided with much trouble by the historic north-south summit meeting and the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration.
The U.S. has bound South Korea with iron chains of "allied country" and "cooperation," subordinated north-south relations to its hostile policy toward the DPRK and established a complicated procedure whereby South Korea should get U.S. prior approval as regards the internal affairs of the nation to be consulted between the north and the south, thus exerting a serious negative influence on the implementation of the joint declaration.
Under the pretext of the U.S. "anti-terrorist" war new arms and equipment are now being massively shipped into South Korea and "emergency alert" declared throughout it, creating a warlike situation.
Because of danger to personal safety under the dangerous situation in South Korea which has joined the U.S. in the Afghan war, the Seoul visit of heads of state of other countries was cancelled and the projected exchange of home visits of separated families between the north and the south had to be put off for the time being.
In a word, the obtaining situation caused by the Bush administration is making it impossible to implement the agreed points between the north and the south.
As already clarified, we do not oppose dialogue itself with the U.S. But our position is to develop relations with the U.S.
It is common sense that continuity and consistency should be preserved to a certain extent in the U.S. diplomatic policy, too. But it is a problem that the Bush administration is different from it.
It is a foolish calculation if the U.S. thinks its demands for conventional arms cut will be accepted by a country pursuing the policy of independence.
It would be normal and rational only when the DPRK-U.S. dialogue discuss, to begin with, practical problems related to the implementation of the agreed framework and the joint communique signed between the two governments.
We consider the resumption of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue to be a matter that may be discussed only when the Bush administration takes at least the same position as taken by the Clinton administration in its last period.