Students in Pyongyang volunteer to join KPA

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- Students of the graduation course at senior middle schools in Pyongyang gathered at Kim Il Sung Square yesterday to earnestly volunteer to join the Korean People's Army. Jang Yong Chol, first secretary of the Pyongyang City Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, in his speech called on the students of the graduation course to become devoted fighters in defending the headquarters of the revolution at the risk of their lives, saying that there is no more honorable thing to them than to stand guard over the country.
    Students in their speeches said that though various sectors wait for them, it is their hope and aspiration to stand in the forefront of defending the country as soldiers of general Kim Jong Il in their youthful days.
    A parent, a discharged soldier student of a university and a war veteran in their speeches warmly congratulated the students on volunteering to join the KPA and asked all of them to be heroes in devotedly defending the general and the country with arms.
    After the meeting, the participants marched through the streets of the capital, singing wartime song "song of defending the motherland" and other militant and revolutionary songs.
    Present at the meeting were Kim Jung Rin, secretary of the central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, KPA vice marshal Ri Jong San, officials concerned and war veterans.

Rodong Sinmun on commemoration of Day of Sun

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today editorially calls for commemorating the birth anniversary of President Kim Il Sung, the Day of the Sun, with high political enthusiasm and brilliant labor achievements. It says:
    The 90th birth anniversary of the president will provide an important occasion of demonstrating the noble spiritual and moral trait of the Korean people, who cherished the spirit of placing the leader in the preeminent position as firm faith in the days of the protracted revolutionary struggle and signify a worthwhile work to accelerate the fulfilment of leader Kim Jong Il's plan to build a powerful nation.
    It was the intention of the president in his lifetime to build a powerful nation and it is the iron will of Kim Jong Il to do so.
    The editorial calls for bringing about a new surge in all domains and at all units.
    It calls on all the people to display intense loyalty to Kim Il Sung, deeply aware of his distinguished personality as a great man and his immortal revolutionary feats, and make the whole country seethe with revolutionary enthusiasm.
    The president's behest is the maxim of life and struggle to which the Workers' Party of Korea and people should always remain true, the editorial says, and goes on:
    All the party members and other working people should energetically turn out in the drive to implement the president's last instructions in a do-or-die spirit holding high the torch of Ranam lit by Kim Jong Il.

Removal of obstacle to reunification called for

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- For the independent national reunification it is necessary to remove a source of a threat to the peace of the country and an obstacle to the reunification. Rodong Sinmun today stresses this in a bylined article.
    The U.S. forces in South Korea are a dangerous force of aggression and a main obstacle to the peace and reunification of the country, the article says, and goes on:
    They are the root cause of the arms race and danger of war on the Korean Peninsula as they are aimed to invade the northern half of Korea. The U.S. strategic purpose is to turn the peninsula into a springboard from which to dominate the Asia-Pacific region. The "threat from the north" advertised by the U.S. bellicose elements to justify the U.S. military presence in South Korea is a sheer lie and fabrication. It is designed to describe the U.S. imperialist aggression forces as the "war deterrent force" and a "guardian of peace" in a bid to perpetuate their permanent military presence in South Korea and, furthermore, dominate the whole of Korea and northeast Asia.
    The South Korean anti-reunification elements label the people in the northern half of Korea as the "principal enemy" and make desperate efforts to unleash a war against the north, calling for "cooperation" with outsiders on the plea of what they call "security." It is a tragedy and a disgrace to the Korean people to allow them to remain as part of the nation.
    Fratricidal showdown and war lead to self-destruction because they only give a chance to outsiders to fish in troubled waters.
    The Korean people who call for the independent reunification of the country should not allow this land, their cradle, to be turned into shambles of a fratricidal war.
    The existence of the "security law" is very anachronistic as it is a chief obstacle to national concord and reunification at present.
    The Korean people will work hard to foil any attempt to hamstring the reunification movement and remain true to the idea "by the united efforts of the Korean people".

Release of those involved in anti-U.S. action called for

Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- The Chungchong provincial travelers federation under the "national federation of student travelers" in South Korea reportedly demanded the release of those who occupied the U.S. chamber of commerce and industry and staged a sit-in. The organization issued a statement on March 7 in which it declared that the occupation of the U.S. chamber and the sit-in strike staged by fellow student Pak Jun Ma of Kyongwon College and other students of the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils were an expression of the unanimous will of all the people opposed to bush's visit. It held that the above-said students should be set free as early as possible because they have always fought as the vanguard in the student actions.
The federation declared that it would struggle against the authorities who commit treacherous acts after branding the student action as "terrorism" and that it would carry on its actions until Pak Jun Ma and other members of the death-defying corps are released and the U.S. imperialists quit South Korea.

Popular song

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- "Song of Comradeship" is one of the songs very popular among the Korean people. The song (its words by Ri Jong Sun and music by Song Tong Chun) was created as the theme song of the feature film "Star of Korea" in Juche 70 (1981).
    It deals with the most beautiful and noblest revolutionary comradeship President Kim Il Sung forged with young communists in the early period of his revolutionary activities.
    Its main idea is that one should invariably honour the oath made to the leader without vacillation and hesitation, fully confident of victory in the revolution despite any trials and difficulties.
    The song helps people look back with deep emotion on the whole course of the Korean revolution which started and triumphed thanks to comradeship, and highly praises the noble and transparent trust, love and obligation between the leader and his comrades who share the same destiny in the course of revolution.
    The whole country is resounding with the song replete with absolute trust in the leader and firm belief in victory in the revolution, a song in the era of army-based policy.
    The Korean people are accelerating the march to build a powerful socialist nation, loudly singing this immortal song, united close around leader Kim Jong Il.

Anniversary of meeting on Mt. Wangjae observed

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- Today marks the 69th anniversary of the historic meeting on Mt. Wangjae. That day general Kim Il Sung advanced into the Onsong area of North Hamgyong Province, the homeland, leading a unit of the then anti-Japanese people's guerrilla army and convened a meeting of chiefs of underground revolutionary organizations and political workers active at home on a peak of Mt. Wangjae.
    At the meeting he made a historic speech titled "to spread and develop the armed struggle into the homeland."
    He in his speech advanced the policy of expanding and developing the armed struggle into the homeland and indicated highly important tasks to be fulfilled to dynamically push ahead with the anti-Japanese armed struggle and the overall Korean revolution.
    The meeting marked an epochal occasion in firmly establishing Juche in carrying out the Korean revolution and giving further impetus to the overall Korean revolution, including an armed struggle.
    The grand monument to the meeting on Mt. Wangjae was erected there in October Juche 64 (1975) to hand down this immortal revolutionary feat to posterity.
    The monument covers 60,000 square metres. It consists of the statue of the general, a principal group of sculptures and tower of torch serving as its main theme, sculptures serving as a supplementary theme, relievos, the monument to revolutionary activities on Mt. Wangjae and the Wangjaesan Revolutionary Museum.
    Growing at the meeting place is an oak which bears witness to the historical event. a monument is also standing there.

Kanggye Koryo Medicine Factory

Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- The Kanggye Koryo Medicine Factory is located in Sosan Street in Kanggye of the DPRK. With a total floor space of over 3,590 square metres, the factory has all the modernly-equipped processes needed for the production of Koryo medicines. Among them are an industrial laboratory, pill production room, packing room, room for the extraction and concentration of liquid medicine and room for compounding ingredients.
It uses medicinal herbs widely distributed in Jagang Province as main raw materilas. 30 odd kinds of efficacious medicines produced at the factory include Ryongsinhwan, peptic, motherwort small pills, anti-hepatitis medicine and haw cardiotonic drugs.

S. Korea-U.S. joint military drills under fire

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- The solidarity for implementing the south-north joint declaration reportedly released a statement on March 8, denouncing the South Korea-U.S. joint military drills. The South Korea-U.S. "combined forces command" announced that it would launch two joint military exercises called "reception, staging, onward movement and integration exercise" and "foal eagle" at the same time from march 21 to 27.
    The announcement is an open provocation of the U.S. intended to unleash another war on the Korean Peninsular, the statement said.
    It called upon all the people to unite in the struggle against the large-scale war exercises between South Korea and the U.S. and fully demonstrate the Korean nation's anti-U.S. and anti-war will which was displayed in the struggle against Bush's South Korea visit.
    To implement the June 15 joint declaration under its banner provides a guarantee for preventing war holocaust and keeping peace and security of the nation, the statement said. It called for giving priority to national independence and cooperation and rejecting all dependence on outsiders, escalation of tensions and war moves.

Rehearsal of "Arirang" performance watched by study groups

    Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- The all-round rehearsal of the mass gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang" was watched by foreign study groups. This greatest masterpiece in the 21st century is drawing the daily growing interest of people at home and abroad. Seeing it on march 7 were more than 30 representatives of nearly 20 units including a Hong Kong television, Macau Daily and a Guangdong Travel Agency of China.
    After watching the performance, a good combination of famous music and dances rich in national flavour and constantly changing background scenes, they were unanimous in saying that as the proverb "seeing is believing" goes they were really struck with admiration at the show. Back home we will widely advertise the performance to help an increasing number of Chinese have the luck to see the wonderful performance, they noted.
    They visited the grand monument on Mansu Hill, Mangyongdae, the Grand People's Study House, the victorious fatherland liberation war museum, the tower of the Juche idea, the monument to party founding and the metro in Pyongyang and enjoyed the famous circus performance of the DPRK.
    They also visited the international friendship exhibition and the Pohyon Temple in Mt. Myohyang and the Koryo Museum, King Wang Kon's Mausoleum in Kaesong and Panmunjom.

DPRK Foreign Ministry delegation leaves for China

Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- Hong Song Nam, premier of the DPRK cabinet, sent a message of greetings to his Mauritian counterpart Anerood Jugnauth. Extending warm congratulations to him on the occasion of the 34th anniversary of independence and the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of the republic, it expressed belief that the friendly ties between the two countries would develop on better terms.

Hong Song Nam greets prime minister of Mauritius

Pyongyang, March 11 (KCNA) -- A delegation of the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs led by vice-minister Kim Yong Il left here today to visit China. It was seen off at Pyongyang Railway Station by an official concerned and the Chinese ambassador to the DPRK.