Kim Jong Il sees servicepersons in training
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander Kim Jong Il of the Korean People's Army who is General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and Chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea yesterday saw the servicepersons of unit no. 319 of the KPA in a military drill.
Accompanying him were chief Kim Yong Chun of the general staff of the KPA, minister Kim Il Chol of the People's Armed Forces, generals of the KPA Ri Myong Su, Hyon Chol Hae and Pak Jae Gyong, secretaries Kim Kuk Thae, Kim Ki Nam and Kim Yong Sun of the central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and Ri Yong Chol and Jang Song Thaek who are first vice department directors of the WPK central committee.
After going round training aids and facilities of the unit he mounted the reviewing stand to see the servicepersons in military training.
He was much pleased to see the training of the courageous servicepersons, highly praised them for their successful training and put forward tasks that would serve as a guideline in building up the KPA into invincible revolutionary armed forces.
He said the KPA, which has carried forward the glorious traditions of the anti-Japanese war, has grown to be a strong revolutionary army that considers the spirit of devotedly defending the leader and the spirit of becoming a human bomb as their unshakable faith and that as the socialist homeland has such a matchless army that has grown to be a steel-strong army in the 70-year-long arduous struggle it is an impregnable fortress.
He had a photograph taken with the servicepersons who participated in the drill.
On the same day he went round chicken farm no. 311 built by servicepersons of the KPA and set forth concrete tasks to be carried out for the management and operation of the farm.
He said in recent years chicken, catfish, duck and many other modern farms were built in different parts of the country to lay solid foundations for the improvement of the diet of the people and they have already paid off profusely. This proud success, he noted, is a striking demonstration of the validity and vitality of the popular policies pursued by the WPK which has worked hard to lay one foundation after another for the building of a powerful nation, looking forward to the distant future of the country though its economic conditions were so difficult.
He added that all the domains and units should build more chicken, duck, pig, cattle, goat and catfish farm and other fish-breeding farms with high economic effectiveness and successfully operate the existing stock-breeding and fish-breeding bases so as to provide the people with a more affluent life at an early date.
Wreaths laid before bust of Jon Chang Chol
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Wreaths were laid before the bust of the communist revolutionary fighter Jon Chang Chol in the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery on Mt. Taesong yesterday on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his demise.
He fought to his last for the liberation of the country and the victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche, true to the idea and leadership of President Kim Il Sung.
A wreath from leader Kim Jong Il was seen in front of the bust.
Participating in the wreath-laying ceremony were officials of the party and power bodies, working people's organizations and ministries, bereaved family and working people in the city.
Wreaths were laid in the name of the party and power bodies, working people's organizations and ministries.
Closure of Chosun Ilbo urged in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- The General Student Council of the University of Foreign Studies in South Korea reportedly issued a statement on March 5 demanding the closure of Chosun Ilbo.
The statement said that the history of the newspaper is recorded with pro-Japanese acts, praises of dictatorship and false reports, adding that the paper is the "common enemy" of social democracy.
It expressed the hope that the paper would cease to exist this year.
Declaration on situation released in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- 988 figures of different strata in South Korea including those of religious, academic, judicial and civic organizations issued a declaration on the situation in Seoul on March 7 denouncing the authorities for pushing ahead with privatization, according to Seoul-based MBC.
The declaration said it was wrong for the authorities to try to push forward the privatization of public enterprises despite workers' strike in protest against it.
Asserting that the sale of power stations is directly linked to the people's living, the declaration urged the authorities to get people's full consensus on this issue.
Bush's remarks on "axis of evil" denounced worldwide
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Bush is under fire by the world public for listing the DPRK, Iran and Iraq as the "axis of evil."
The Cuban government in a statement on February 15 said that the world public can not tolerate the U.S. government's groundless accusations against the DPRK, Iraq and Iran, adding that it is the method employed by the present U.S. administration to pose a military threat to other countries and this threat would spark a serious clash.
Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov in an interview with the French newspaper Figaro on Feb. 15 described the listing of the DPRK, Iran and Iraq as the "axis of evil" as a "label used during the Cold War."
Spanish prime minister Aznar in a press interview expressed his position to keep aloof from Bush's conception that the DPRK, Iran and Iraq are the "axis of evil."
The German foreign minister claimed that "an ally is not a satellite country" while the French foreign minister held that an international alliance against terrorism can never be a basis for taking any action against other countries.
On Feb. 17 the Finnish and Turkish foreign ministers opposed the U.S. doctrine about the "axis of evil" and its plan to strike Iraq.
The February 9 issue of the British newspaper financial times urged the U.S. to lend an ear to its friends' criticism of Bush's remarks singling out the DPRK,.Iran and Iraq as the "axis of evil."
The March 1 issue of the Cambodian newspaper Ryasmay Cambodia in a report on Bush's remarks about the "axis of evil" commented that they were aimed to implement the strategy of the U.S. to get out of its impasse.
The Voice of Russia said that the world does not agree with the U.S. President's remarks about "the axis of evil".
DPRK-U.S. peace agreement urged in S. Korea
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- The reunification solidarity for implementation of the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration and peace on the Korean Peninsula reportedly called for conclusion of a DPRK-U.S. peace agreement and implementation of the June 15 joint declaration.
The organization in a commentary on March 7 said that the U.S. is planning to stage joint military exercises akin to an actual war under the pretext of strengthening "cooperation" between South Korea and the U.S., while reducing the DPRK-U.S. agreed framework signed in 1994 to a mere scrap of paper and dubbing the north a member of the "axis of evil".
If the U.S. has real will for peace on the Korean Peninsula, it should give up its policy of escalating tensions in the peninsula and conclude a peace agreement with the north, said the organization.
Pointing out that peace on the Korean Peninsula and national reconciliation and reunification are a task, it demanded that the north and the U.S. sign a peace agreement and the south and the north implement the June 15 joint declaration.
DPRK paddlers prove successful in international championships
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- DPRK paddlers gave a good account of themselves in the 7th qatar international open table tennis championships.
Kim Hyon Hui and Kim Hyang Mi placed second in women's doubles.
O Su Yong bagged a gold medal and Kim Song Chol a silver medal in the men's singles of the youth class and Choe Yong Ran a bronze medal in women's singles.
U.S. dubbed "empire of evil"
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- The South Korean newspaper Hangyore dubbed the U.S. an "empire of evil."
In an article titled "an empire of evil" the paper said that the use of the terms "imperialism" and "U.S. imperialism" has so far been banned in South Korea, but it is time to properly dub the U.S. the U.S. is an "empire of evil" as it listed the sovereign states as members of the "axis of evil" and is seeking a new war, the article added.
Recalling that president Ri Hoe Chang of the "Grand National Party" and Chosun Ilbo openly committed pro-U.S. sycophancy, at a time when the nation is required to check Bush's play with fire, the paper branded those conservative forces who seek only their interests, utterly indifferent to the country and the nation, as a group of traitors to the nation.
S. Korean unionists' unabated actions
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- At least 5,000 unionists under the South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions held a meeting of solidarity with the struggle against the sale of power stations in Seoul on March 10, according to Seoul-based radio reports at the meeting, they contended that the sale of power stations to the U.S. or big businesses is fraught with the great danger of creating confusion in electricity supply, demanding an "immediate withdrawal of the plan to sell power stations which failed to get the people's approval."
They threatened to call the second general strike of solidarity with the unionists of the power industry on strike.
Meanwhile, at least 3,000 unionists of the power industry staged meetings against the privatization in four areas including Seoul and Inchon.
The unionists who have been on strike in different parts of South Korea since February 26 vowed to push through their demands.
On the same day unionists of the power industry staged a sit-in strike in protest against the police authorities' illegal arrest of strikers.
Anti-U.S. and anti-Bush struggle called for
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Pak Kwang Gi, chief of the Pyongyang mission of the National Democratic Front of South Korea, was interviewed by KCNA yesterday as regards the anti-U.S. and anti-Bush struggle that mounted in South Korea with Bush's visit to it as a momentum.
He said:
People from all walks of life in South Korea staged a fierce struggle under the slogan "we are strongly opposed to Bush's South Korean visit". Their struggle was an unprecedented sacred struggle against the U.S.
What merits attention is that the struggle was not a mere anti-U.S. struggle. The struggle developed to be a movement for achieving national unity and cooperation under the banner of national independence, the basic spirit of the June 15 joint declaration, and turned into a struggle participated in by broad masses of people.
Through their recent actions people in South Korea bitterly condemned the crimes of the U.S. and Bush. This signified the total bankruptcy of the anti-peace and anti-reunification policy of the U.S. keen to launch a war of aggression on the Korean Peninsula and perpetuate its division prompted by its arrogant, self-righteous and greedy nature. This, at the same time, fully demonstrated the firm will of the people from all walks of life to preserve the declaration and implement it to the letter and thus build a new independent society and bring the day of reunification without fail.
The U.S. is well advised to stop hamstringing the implementation of the declaration, pull its aggression forces out of South Korea and terminate its colonial domination over it.
Bush's outbursts under fire abroad
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- Political party leaders in different countries denounced the U.S. President's reckless remarks describing the DPRK as a member of the "axis of evil".
Manuel Fernandes Flores, General Secretary of the central committee of the Socialist People's Party of Mexico, said that they heard a declaration of a war against Korea made by Bush, "kingpin" of international terrorism, in a bid to seek world domination and that they would fight against the new aggression moves of the imperialists together with the Korean people.
Miroslav Grevenicek, chairman of the central committee of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia, said that the U.S. description of the DPRK as part of the "axis of evil" is one of attempts to remove those countries obstructive in achieving its ambition for hegemony Hannu Harju, chairman for peace and socialism-the Communist Workers' Party of Finland, said that the U.S. is seeking to interfere in the internal affairs of an independent state under a groundless pretext and it is a blatant insult to a peaceful state that the u.s. administration and president Bush designated the DPRK as a "rogue state" and a "terrorism-supporting country".
Anders Karlsson, chairman of the central committee of the Communist Party of Marxist-Leninists (R) in Sweden, said that as long as the U.S. imperialists pursue its strong-arm policy, there can be no true peace. The U.S. threat to the DPRK is aimed to stamp out socialism and the cause of independence, he said.
Genaro Ledesma Izquieta, chairman of the people's front of workers, peasants and students of Peru, said that the U.S. imperialists are displeased with the heroic Korean people holding up the banner of socialism which is shining, opening the eyes of the oppressed people. But the U.S. imperialists can not realize their purpose in face of the military power of the DPRK, the chairman stressed.
Bush's outbursts were also condemned by Marcos Domich, first secretary of the central committee of Bolivia, and Gladys Marin Milie, General Secretary of the central committee of the Communist Party of Chile.
Anecdotes about President Kim Il Sung
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- After the liberation of the country President Kim Il Sung lived in an old one-storied house with several windows and thin walls. So it was hard to keep the house warm despite a lot of effort to heat its floor. When officials tried to stoke an extra fire, the president dissuaded them from doing so. He used to work at dawn with an overcoat on his shoulders just as he did while fighting on mountains.
One day in mid-November Juche 36 (1947), the third winter after the liberation of the country, officials installed a small electric heater in his house. Upon seeing that, he told the officials to take it back, if they were truly concerned for him, saying that an electric heater installed in the house at a time when the electricity was in short supply in the country might keep the house warm but could not please him. So the officials were compelled to take it back.
It happened one day in November Juche 39 (1950) when the temporary strategic retreat of the Korean People's Army was made. While inspecting its unit, he learned that soldiers of the unit slaughtered an ox. As far as the ox was concerned, it was one of the several oxen whose owner was unknown with which the soldiers took while retreating. One of his legs was broken.
But he regarded it as an "emergency case". He made sure that a servicepersons' meeting was held to struggle against absolute ideas, saying that not a single ox would remain alive if we slaughtered oxen under this or that pretext, while the enemy was slaughtering them and eating beef as they pleased.
Upon coming back to the supreme headquarters, he issued a telegraph order of the supreme commander that night to the combined units to strictly ban the ox slaughter.
There is another anecdote about the president.
It happened on January 20, Juche 41 (1952). He received an official of the ministry of public health who asked him for not a small amount of money in a report sent to him as regards measures to be taken against the barbaric germ warfare committed by the u.s. imperialists. The official felt very sorry for causing anxiety to the president who was shouldering upon himself the heavy burden of the war. But the president took a step to provide necessary funds, saying that there is nothing to spare for the good of the people.
Upon learning about the medical fees paid by people in those days, he earnestly told officials to enforce free health care, saying that there was nothing more valuable than the people's life though the conditions of the country were hard.
Decision no. 203 of the cabinet "on enforcing the universal free medical care" was thus released on November 13, Juche 41 (1952).
Famous tourist resorts in DPRK
Pyongyang, March 12 (KCNA) -- There are hundreds of famous tourist resorts in Korea with 5,000-year-long history and brilliant culture.
In the capital city of Pyongyang, the country's tourist center, there are the tower of the Juche idea, the arch of triumph and many other monumental edifices, peculiar style of educational, scientific, literary and art and public health institutions, the history museum, etc.
There are also Mangyongdae, Moran Hill, Mt. Ryongak, Mt. Taesong and other scenic spots, King Tangun's Mausoleum, King Tongmyong's Mausoleum, the Taedong Gate, the Pothong Gate and other relics, sites of ancient walls and gates and pavilions.
At the northern tip of the country there is the Mt. Paektu tourist resort where visitors can know a lot about peculiar phenomena related to topography, geology, abnormal weather, flora and fauna, etc. there tourists can visit revolutionary battlesites and historic sites, observe nature, find out ornamental plants, survey ecology of flora and fauna, enjoy snow-covered scene, ski and go round different places.
The Mt. Kumgang tourist resort draws particular interest of tourists for the superb scenic beauty of the world famous Mt. Kumgang and ancient cultural relics.
In the area of Mt. Myohyang there are such famous places tourists should not miss as the international friendship exhibition and the Ryongmun large cavern, an underground scenic spot. There are also Mt. Kuwol, Mt. Chilbo, Mt. Jongbang and other mountains that boast of peculiar landscape of mountains and ridges and many spas good for health.
Among the new tourist sites to be developed in the future are Star Kumgang and small Kumgang in the area of Mt. Kumgang, the Paekryong large cavern, Songam cavern, Kaechon flower cavern and Mt. Jangsu called "Hwanghae Kumgang".
Main tourist courses in the DPRK include Pyongyang-Mt. Myohyang (160 km), Pyongyang-Kaesong (160 km), Pyongyang-Nampho-West Sea Barrage (73 km), Pyongyang-Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang (300 km), Pyongyang-Mt. Paektu (385 km) and Pyongyang-Mt. Chilbo (460 km).
One can fly from Pyongyang to Mt. Paektu and Mt. Chilbo.
And one can go to the remaining resorts by bus.