Kim Jong Il visits Kumsusan Memorial Palace
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -General Secretary Kim Jong Il together with leading members of the NDC of the DPRK and commanding officers of the KPA, visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace and paid homage to President Kim Il Sung at 0:00 on July 8, the biggest memorial day of the Korean nation.
He arrived at the hall where Kim Il Sung lies in state for perpetuity.
He was accompanied by KPA vice marshal Jo Myong Rok, first vice-chairman of the NDC of the DPRK and director of the general political department of the KPA, KPA vice marshal Kim Yong Chun, member of the NDC and chief of the general staff of the KPA, KPA vice marshal Kim Il Chol, vice-chairman of the NDC and minister of the People's Armed Forces, KPA marshal Ri Ul Sol, member of the NDC, Jon Pyong Ho, member of the NDC and secretary of the C. C., WPK, Yon Hyong Muk, member of the NDC, KPA vice marshal Ri Yong Mu, vice-chairman of the NDC, and staff members of the KPA Supreme Command.
He together with members of the NDC and commanding members of the KPA made a bow to the president in humblest reverence.
Then he together with them looked round the orders, medals and honorary titles the president received and the train used by him during his on-site guidance and foreign trips and the car used by him in the last period of his life, remembering him with deep emotion.
Anniversary of July 4 Joint Statement commemorated in S. Korea
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- The reunification solidarity for implementing the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration and peace on the Korean Peninsula reportedly held on July 4 a function to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the July 4 South-North Joint Statement.
Present at the function were representatives of civic and public organizations in South Korea including the south headquarters of the national alliance for the country's reunification, the "national alliance for democracy and reunification" and the "unification square."
O Jong Ryol, permanent chairman of the "National Alliance for Democracy and Reunification," said the three principles of national reunification clarified in the joint statement indicate the only way for peace on the Korean Peninsula, wellbeing, reconciliation and reunification of the nation. He called for carving out the destiny of the Korean nation by implementing the June 15 joint declaration based on the spirit of the July 4 joint statement.
An "appeal of the reunification solidarity to the Koreans in the south, north and abroad on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the July 4 Joint Statement" adopted at the function called for reunifying the country by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation with the three principles of national reunification as a cornerstone and the joint declaration as a mainstay for reunification.
Just cause of African people supported
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun yesterday in a signed article supported the just cause of the African people for the integration and prosperity of the continent.
Saying the DPRK has fully supported the African countries in their efforts to build a new independent and prosperous society and achieve the development of the continent, the article continued:
The traditional friendly relations between the DPRK and the African countries provided by President Kim Il Sung are favorably developing in the new century, too under the particular concern of leader Kim Jong Il.
He has actively encouraged the African countries in their efforts to strengthen the solidarity and cooperation in the idea of independence, peace and friendship and thus accelerate the building of a new society and achieve the integration and prosperity of the continent.
The Korean people extend firm support and solidarity to the African countries in their just cause for integration and prosperity of the continent.
The first summit of heads of state and government of the African union and the emergence of the union will be a historic event and an important occasion in the struggle of the African people for independence, peace and development.
The just cause of the African peoples for the integration and prosperity and development of the continent will make a triumphant advance.
Kim Il Sung's reminiscences distributed worldwide
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- President Kim Il Sung's reminiscences "With The Century" has been distributed in at least 160 countries and read by hundreds of millions of people over the last decade since its publication.
The president had a plan to write wide-range reminiscences and authored vol. 1 to 6 of part 1 the anti-Japanese revolution of his reminiscences through his energetic writing activities.
The reminiscences tells the truth that if one believes in people and relies on them, one can win the whole world and can always emerge victorious and if one keeps distance from the people and is forsaken by them, one will always fail.
The reminiscences deals with 1,417 persons and historical materials about them.
Among them are 1,035 Koreans and 382 foreigners. and books carry photos of nearly 360 individuals.
Saying that his reminiscences would be wide-range and rich in content, the president planned to write his reminiscences as a great masterpiece with a total of 30 volumes with 90 chapters, which consists of part 1 the anti-Japanese revolution, part 2 people's country, part 3 along the road of socialism, part 4 the nation's desire and part 5 turning point of century.
After saying about his plan to write his reminiscences on July 6, Juche 63 (1974), he spared time to envision and write it sentence by sentence. In April Juche 81 (1992), 18 years later, he published the first volume of his reminiscences.
Only part of his reminiscences could be finished due to his sudden demise.
But the president left behind the general plan and detailed outlines of his reminiscences and rich materials about major historical events and persons he remembered, thus providing the people with a treasure of eternal value to be specially recorded in the history of the nation and mankind.
Anniversary of demise of President Kim Il Sung commemorated
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- Papers today dedicate editorials to the eighth anniversary of demise of President Kim Il Sung.
Rodong Sinmun editorially calls for carrying on the vigorous struggle to achieve the ultimate victory of his cause under the uplifted banner of the great army-based policy.
It goes on:
He will be immortal thanks to his great idea and leadership, virtue and feats.
The last eight years are characterized by the fact that the party and people have firmly defended and glorified his feats to make them shine generation after generation.
The successful accomplishment of the cause of perpetuating the memory of the leader in the DPRK is a precious fruition of the great leadership of Kim Jong Il and the history of his revolutionary activities conducted to carry out this cause is shining with brilliance as the history of the great army-based revolutionary leadership.
The last eight years have been a proud course in which invincible revolutionary ranks have been built to accomplish the cause of the leader under the army-based revolutionary leadership of Kim Jong Il.
The party and army have grown strong to be a genuine party of Kim Il Sung and his army capable of defending the cause of the leader to the last and eternally glorifying it under the above-said leadership and the revolutionary ranks have been more firmly united on the basis of the revolutionary idea of the leader.
The last eight years were a significant period in which the behest of the president has been thoroughly implemented under the army-based revolutionary leadership of the party.
Kim Jong Il's army-based revolutionary leadership has brought about a decisive turn in the struggle to achieve Korea's reunification.
Noting that the Korean people have an honorable yet heavy task to build a powerful socialist nation in this land of Juche under the leadership of Kim Jong Il, true to the intention of the president in his lifetime, the editorial calls for holding the president in high esteem for all ages, glorifying his idea and feats generation after generation and upholding the idea and leadership of Kim Jong Il with loyalty.
Beautiful park on Mansu Hill
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- There is a grand fountain park on Mansu Hill in central district, Pyongyang which broke a new ground in park construction in terms of scale, style and layout.
It was completed in October, Juche 65 (1976).
The park reminds one of beautiful scenery on Mt. Kumgang as it has ponds at different levels. There are in the ponds fountains of such shapes as parasol, candle, rainbow and mist, sculptures, natural rocks and flower shrubs, artificial structures and falls which match the scenery of the surrounding area.
In the center there is the largest main pond covering 5,000 square meters and more than 10 small ponds where stand the main fountain and other fountains in good combination. a strong jet of water rises from the main fountain into the air as high as over 80 m.
Fountains made up of a big group of sculptures depict 28 dancers of "snow falls." various shapes of fountains distributed around them present so spectacular scenery that sculptures look like real dancers.
Night view of the park is more fascinating and mysterious, to say nothing of that in daytime.
Fountains are so brightly illuminated by groups of plate-bead- and rainbow-shape lamps of diverse colors according to their shapes that they remind one of a sea of multi-color fountains at night.
Competent physician
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Hun, chief of the section for abdominal surgery of Pyongyang City People's Hospital no.1, is a doctor of ability in the DPRK.
Kim has served at that hospital for 40 years since he graduated from Pyongyang University of Medicine in Juche 51 (1962).
In those years he conducted more than 8,500 operations and treatment of over 40,000 patients and saved a large number of people attacked by obstinate diseases.
320 of the operations were total gastrectomy in case of cancer of the stomach and operations for extracting spleen and transecting esophagus in case of portal hypertension.
He made public 35 works dealing with data on medical treatment and experience, including "diagnosis and treatment of bleeding in upper digestive tract". he also presented 47 papers such as "clinical research into sustained sap from acute pacreatitis accompanied by peritoritis", greatly contributing to the development of the nation's medical science.
His paper "clinical research into the application of operation by judgement of reserved force of liver in case of portal hypertension based on liver cirrhosis" caused a great sensation from among medical scientists.
Merited doctor, associate professor and master, Kim Yong Hun has been active concurrently as a teacher at Pyongyang University of Medicine and a centre for reeducating physicians and trained able experts in abdominal surgery and hundreds of medical workers.
He, 64, is still devoting his wisdom and energies to medical treatment and educational work as an authority on abdominal surgery.
Meetings to remember President Kim Il Sung held
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- A gathering to remember President Kim Il Sung under the title "He always finds himself among us workers," a similar gathering of youth and students in Pyongyang under the title "the sun and youth," a meeting of women's union members under the title "our leader and women" and a retrospective meeting of agricultural workers under the title "our leader and farmers" took place between July 4 and 7 on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of his demise.
Speakers and performers said that they could not repress their yearning for the president in July every year and looked back with emotion on the glorious days when they had grown strong leading a worthy life under his care.
They referred to immortal feats performed by him for eternal prosperity and happiness of the Korean people and global independence and to the great loving care and benevolence shown by him for the Korean people.
The history of the sun, the history of the leader, will continue in this land forever thanks to leader Kim Jong Il who is making unremitting efforts to realize the president's lifelong desire, they stressed.
Meanwhile, an "evening of campers yearning for generalissimo" was held at the Sokam Children's Camp on July 7.
U.S. defense department's plan to create new military mechanism under fire
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- The U.S. Defense Department is planning to integrate the space command and the strategic command into a new command in a bid to carry out with ease the operation to mount preemptive attacks on any countries in the world and a war of aggression against them, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
It goes on:
The new "National Security Strategy" being worked out by the U.S. hawkish forces on the basis of Bush's "preemptive attack" theory suggests that the U.S. military strategy is being switched to one that focuses on preemptive attack from its past strategy of "deterrence" and "retaliation."
What should not be overlooked is that through the recent measure U.S. warmongers seek to mount a nuclear attack to contain "hostile forces" under the pretext of "removing threat".
The space command and the strategic command are mechanisms for implementing the U.S. imperialists' nuclear strategy.
After unilaterally scrapping the ABM treaty which bans nuclear attacks, the U.S. is now working hard to establish the Missile Defense System (MD), the modern version of "star wars project" in the cold war era, free from any restrictions.
The recent step is a very dangerous move to step up the establishment of the MD in real earnest and put the strategy of preemptive attack into practice.
The people's army and people of the DPRK will retaliate against any military adventures to be made by the U.S. imperialists against it in a do-or-die spirit, more tightly holding rifles.
Country hit by typhoon
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- All parts of the country were hit by a torrential rain between 5 am on July 5 and 3 pm on July 7 due to typhoon no. 5 that raged on the Korean Peninsula.
According to information available from a competent institution, there was a torrential rain of over 100-200mm, accompanied by a strong wind 22m/s in South Hwanghae Province and Kaesong city and that of 10-15m/s in the east coastal area.
The downpour on July 6 alone registered 230mm in Anbyon area, Kangwon Province, and 107mm in Paechon area, South Hwanghae Province.
Different fields of the national economy were hard hit by this.
A hailstone as big as table-tennis ball did serious damage to such crops as rice and maize in the mountainous areas of Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province.
Positive measures are being taken in the afflicted areas to minimize the damage done by a strong wind and torrential rain.
Homage paid to Kim Il Sung
Pyongyang, July 8 (KCNA) -- Senior officials of the party and state, anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters, former unconverted long-term prisoners who are pro-reunification patriotic fighters, people from all walks of life, servicepersons and the chief of the Pyongyang mission of the national democratic front of South Korea visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay homage to President Kim Il Sung on July 8 on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of his demise.
A floral basket was placed before his statue in the joint name of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the Central Military Commission of the WPK, the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the cabinet of the DPRK.
Meanwhile, the diplomatic corps and the military attaches' corps here and overseas Koreans visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay homage to the president.