Kim Yong Nam meets UN under-secretary general
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, met and had a friendly talk with Kenjo Oshima, under-secretary general of the United Nations, and his party at the Mansudae Assembly Hall yesterday.
On the occasion, the under-secretary general said that during his visit he could see the reality of the DPRK at first hand. He will strive to further expand cooperation with the DPRK in the future, he added present there were Choe Su Hon, vice-minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK, David Morton, resident coordinator of the UN and resident representative of the UNDP here, and representatives of international organizations here.
Kim Yong Nam meets Thai Parliamentary delegation
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, met and had a friendly talk with a delegation of the Senate of Thailand headed by Pichet Pattanachote, first vice-president of the Senate, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Friday.
Pichet told Kim Yong Nam that during his stay he came to know well about the Korean people's dynamic struggle to reunify the country. Thailand hopes for peace and reunification of Korea, he added.
Present at the meeting were Jang Chol, vice-chairman of the SPA, and others.
Brunei Darussalam Sultan meets DPRK foreign minister
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - The DPRK foreign minister's visit to Brunei Darussalam and his participation in the ministerial meeting of the 9th ASEAN Regional Forum will be an important occasion in developing the relations between the two countries and between the DPRK and Asian countries Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam, said this when meeting with DPRK foreign minister Paek Nam Sun, who was participating in the ministerial meeting, at the Royal Palace on July 31. They conversed with each other in a friendly atmosphere.
The sultan noted that he was rejoiced at the Korean people who were registering great successes in the work for the prosperity and development of the country under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il.
DPRK foreign minister on security in Northeast Asia
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Paek Nam Sun, minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK, in his speech at the ministerial meeting of the 9th ASEAN Regional Forum in Brunei Darussalam referred to ways of contributing to the regional security, saying that Northeast Asia including the Korean peninsula is a region where the situation of which still remains tensest in the world even now as it did during the Cold War.
First of all, the north and south of Korea should reject outsiders' interference and reunify the country by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation as confirmed in the June 15 north-south joint declaration, he said, and stressed:
Now that differing ideas and social systems have existed in the north and south of Korea for a long time, it is the only realistic way of improving inter-Korean relations and achieving the peaceful reunification of the country to promote co-existence, co-prosperity and common interests, recognizing each other's social systems and ideas.
What is important in defusing tensions and ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula is also to put an end to the hostile policy toward the DPRK and the DPRK-U.S. state of armistice.
It is evident that faithfully implementing the agreements already reached between the DPRK and the U.S. will make a positive contribution to defusing tensions on the Korean peninsula and achieving peace in Asia and the rest of the world.
However, the U.S. has termed the DPRK part of the "axis of evil", "sponsor of terrorism" and "target of nuclear attack" under the pretext of "anti-terrorism". This is abnormal and the main factor of the acute situation on the Korean peninsula and the deteriorated DPRK-U.S. relations.
We think that if the United States truly wants the improved relations with the DPRK and peace on the Korean peninsula, it is important for the U.S. to show good faith by taking practical steps to remove the danger of war and ensure a durable peace on the peninsula.
If the U.S. hopes for dialogue without precondition on an equal footing with the DPRK, the latter will respond to it and if then, confidence between them will be built and a prospect for a fair solution to the outstanding issues between them will be opened.
Greetings to Macedonian President
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, today sent a message of greetings to Boris Trajkovski, President of Macedonia, on the occasion of its national day.
The message sincerely wished the President great success in his work for the stability and prosperity of the country and expressed belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would grow stronger in the interests of the two peoples.
Greetings to PM and FM of Macedonia
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Premier of the DPRK cabinet Hong Song Nam sent a message of greetings to prime minister of the government of Macedonia Ljubco Georgievski on the occasion of its national day.
Expressing the conviction that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would further develop in the future, the message wished greater success in the work of the prime minister and the government for the country's economic prosperity.
Meanwhile, foreign minister Paek Nam Sun sent a message of greetings to foreign minister of Macedonia Ilinka Mitreva.
Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's work marked
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Rodong Sinmun Friday devotes an article to the 28th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's famous work on accelerating the modeling of the whole of society on the Juche idea by improving the party work.
The article says:
Kim Jong Il has strengthened the Workers' Party of Korea into a party of Juche type linked with the august name of President Kim Il Sung and a revolutionary party steering the era of the army-based policy under the complicated political situation. It is a distinguished exploit he performed for party building, a feat which is as great as the founding of a party.
Comprehensively enunciated in the work, published on August 2, 1974 (Juche 63), are principles to be maintained in strengthening the party and enhancing leadership role in keeping with the requirements of the modeling of the whole society on the Juche idea. It elucidates the essence of the modeling of the whole party on the Juche idea, the tasks and ways for its implementation and issues of consolidating the party and revolutionary ranks, strengthening the party's leadership over socialist economic construction and improving the party work system and method of work.
It is a valuable result of Kim Jong Il's wise leadership that the Juche idea, the revolutionary idea of the President, prevails in the party and officials and party members work only according to the idea and intention of their leader.
Under his leadership the unity and cohesion of the whole party based on loyalty to the party and the leader has been achieved on the highest level and the revolutionary will of the party members and other working people to always follow their leader has become steadfast.
We must steadily develop the party into an invincible one to lead the era of the army-centered policy, in line with the ideas and theories enunciated in the work.
Ondatra zibethica bred
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - The Zoological Institute under the Academy of Sciences has succeeded in breeding ondatra zibethica, a wild animal.
It is important to artificially breed those animals providing musk to meet the world's growing demand for it as the hunting of musk animals is strictly banned internationally.
Its researchers said that the success made in breeding ondatra zibethica artificially helps partly satisfy the growing demand for the substance.
The institute developed vaccine for preventing epidemic such as paratyphoid and hemorrhagic septicemia, one of the important issues in artificially breeding ondatra zibethica.
It also succeeded in extracting musk from living ondatra zibethica and in manufacturing sahyangso injection.
This injection has been recognized as very efficacious for the treatment of cerebral thrombosis, sensory trouble and rheumatoid arthritis, etc.
Bee-farming brisk in DPRK
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - There is the Korean beekeepers' association whose mission is to disseminate the latest science and technology and generalize valuable experience gained in the field of bee-culture and thus contribute to its progress.
The association has helped solve scientific and technological problems arising in honey production including providing information about bee areas and apiculture and veterinary and anti-epizootic services.
Han Thae Won, chairman of the association, said that it is very important to solve scientific and technological problems and disseminate advanced technology to improve apiculture now that more than 260 varieties of bee plants occupy over 250,000 hectares of the country.
It has its branches in provinces and undertakes such work as providing scientific and technological information and developing honey-processing technique keeping in touch with the Sokam pharmaceutical bureau and the Sonbong guidance bureau and other institution.
It also has experimental bee-keeping areas in Jagang and Ryanggang Provinces and other places and they are busy collecting apitoxin, beeswax and other honey products and producing various kinds of honey including royal jelly honey, schizandra chinensis honey and crataegus pinnatifida honey.
The association was founded in mid-Juche 49 (1960) and is situated in central district, Pyongyang.
It joined the Apimondia in 1965. Its fax no: 850-2-3814416.
Water resources widely harnessed
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - Korea abounds in rivers and streams.
It covers an area of over 220,000 square km but has at least 6,590 rivers, the shortest ones more than 5km long.
Among them rivers Amnok, Tuman, Taedong, Rakdong and Han are the five major rivers in the country as they are over 450km in length.
At least 130 rivers are more than 50km long.
All the big rivers except the River Tuman empty into the West and South Seas of Korea.
The river basins are thickly wooded and they are characterized by large quantity and good quality of water as annual precipitation is 1,000-1,200mm.
The state is making an effective use of water resources for the country's economic development and the people's living.
Primary efforts have been channelled into harnessing hydro-power resources to build dams and power stations in different places and thus solve the acute shortage of electricity.
At the same time, the construction of many reservoirs and barrages helps satisfactorily supply water to industry, agriculture and residential districts and develop the river transport.
River banks near residential areas have turned into parks and recreation grounds.
The ecological environment in rivers and their basins has significantly improved thanks to the land construction to provide favorable conditions for fish breeding.
The rivers are becoming increasingly vital as the days go by.
Working contact of representatives for inter-Korean ministerial talks to be made
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - A working contact of representatives for making arrangements for the 7th north-south ministerial talks will take place in Mt. Kumgang on August 3 at the proposal of the north side.
At the contact they will discuss practical issues including the date and agenda of the talks.
Projected resumption of inter-Korean dialogue hailed
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - The south headquarters of the National Alliance of Youth and Students for the Country's Reunification warmly hailed and supported the August 15 meeting for national reunification and the projected resumption of south-north ministerial talks, saying they would mark an important occasion in implementing the joint declaration and achieving peace on the Korean peninsula by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation, according to a news report.
The organization in a statement on July 26 stressed that the youth and students would wage a decisive struggle against any forces trying to negate the June 15 joint declaration, and conduct a powerful anti-U.S., anti-war movement.
Reunification vanguard formed in S. Korea
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - A rally of youth and students to vow to implement the June 15 joint declaration, oppose war and realize peace and an inaugural ceremony of the vanguard for reunification were reportedly held at Chonnam National University on July 27.
The chairman of the Kwangju-South Jolla Provincial Council of Youth Organizations said that in order to uproot the main cause of the Hyo Sun and Mi Son case, it is necessary to drive the U.S. troops out of south Korea and take the road of independent reunification.
At the inaugural ceremony of the vanguard for reunification of the 15th-term national alliance of youth and students for the country's reunification, the chairman of the Tongari Federation of Chosun University called for opening up a decisive phase for national reunification with the might of the June 15 joint declaration by inheriting the brilliant spirit of the vanguard for reunification.
The head of the vanguard noted that the youth and students would take the lead in the struggle and vigorously advance as a locomotive for national reunification.
Northern Limit Line rejected
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - The secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland Thursday released a white paper to give the lie to the Northern Limit Line much touted by the United States and the south Korean military authorities.
The paper says:
The Northern Limit Line is not a boundary line in the West Sea as it was drawn illegally.
In the 1950s the U.S. Forces drew the line in our inviolable territorial waters without any agreement with the Korean People's Army side, a party to the Korean armistice agreement (KAA), after landing on south Korea under the mask of the UN Forces.
The illegality of the line is that it wantonly violates the KAA.
Sub-paragraph B of paragraph 13 of KAA stipulates "all the islands lying to the north and west of the provincial boundary line between Hwanghae-do and Kyonggi-do shall be under the military control of the Korean People's Army, except the island groups of Paekryong-do, Taechong-do, Sochong-do, Yonphyong-do and U-do which shall remain under the military control of the United Nations Command."
Since the signing of the KAA, warships of the U.S. Forces side had sailed in high seas when coming to these islands as they were in the territorial waters of the north side.
This means that the U.S. Forces side recognized the north's right to guard the waters under the KAA.
The illegality of the Northern Limit Line also lies in that it grossly breaches international law.
The line belongs to the territorial waters of the north side even according to the UN Maritime Convention which stipulates 12 mile territorial waters.
In case of fixing waters off an island that belongs to the other party under the specific conditions of such a country as Korea, which is still in the state of armistice, international law calls for reaching an agreement in line with the existing armistice agreement.
Therefore, it is viewed as a serious breach of international law that the U.S. Forces side unilaterally drew the Northern Limit Line inside the territorial waters of the north side without any prior discussions with it in violation of the KAA.
In the document the U.S. government distributed to the participants in the UN conference on maritime law held in the U.S. in 1980 it drew the imaginary equidistant line on the West Sea between the north and south of Korea far south of the Northern Limit Line. This also proves that the U.S. admitted the illegality of the Northern Limit Line.
The Northern Limit Line is a root cause of armed clashes and the outbreak of war.
It is clearly evidenced by the bloody naval clash on the West Sea last June and the similar incident in 1999.
By insisting on the line the U.S. and the south Korean hawkish forces seek to use it for sparking military conflict and igniting an all-out war between the north and the south.
Recurrence of clashes is unavoidable unless a military demarcation line is clearly defined on the West Sea. The DPRK side urged the U.S. side more than once to take immediate measures but the latter turned down the north's demand in a bit to keep the line intact.
Under this situation the DPRK side could not but take a self-defensive measure. The KPA general staff issued a special communique on September 2, 1999 on drawing a military demarcation line on the West Sea of Korea so as to defend the inviolable waters under the military control of the KPA side.
The line was drawn on the basis of the KAA and international law from A to Z.
That's why foreign media and even south Korean media said that the boundary line fixed by the north side stands to reason even in view of international law that calls for abiding by the principle of equidistant line.
The recent naval clash was a premeditated provocation perpetrated by the south Korean hawkish forces in line with the U.S. DPRK policy.
The U.S. and the south Korean bellicose forces should ponder over the dangerous consequences to be entailed by their reckless anti-north maneuverings and unconditionally withdraw the unreasonable Northern Limit Line.
The CPRF secretariat expresses belief that the south Koreans and other peace-loving people of the world who hope for durable peace and the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula would as ever extend full support to the DPRK in its just struggle to remove the illegal Northern Limit Line, a source of military confrontation and a new war, and defend the peace and security of the country, the paper concluded.
U.S. abandonment of jurisdiction called for
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - He south Korean Federation of University Student councils (Hanchongryon) made public a statement on July 29 as regards the U.S. military authorities' announcement that they cannot transfer jurisdiction over killers to south Korea, according to a news report.
The statement said that as long as the United States refuses to abandon the jurisdiction, any expression of apology and regret is no more than a lie.
It noted that Hanchongryon would stage a powerful struggle by all means and methods from this moment until it wrests the jurisdiction by the concerted efforts of all the students regardless of political view and religious belief, and Bush makes an open apology.
The student committee of the Kyonggi Provincial branch of the democratic Workers' Party on July 28 issued an emergency statement titled "We bitterly denounce the U.S. forces present in south Korea for refusing to transfer the jurisdiction".
Meanwhile, the chairman of the solidarity council of civic and public organizations and representatives of those organizations met the U.S. Ambassador in Seoul on July 30 and demanded the transfer of the criminal jurisdiction to the south Korean government.
Withdrawal of U.S. troops from south Korea urged
Pyongyang, August 2 (KCNA) - The U.S. administration should drop its hardline policy toward the Korean people and pull its troops out of south Korea.
Iswor Pokurel, coordinator of the Nepal-Korea Friendship Parliamentary Group, said this in a statement on July 26 on the occasion of the 49th anniversary of the victory of the Korean people in the Fatherland Liberation War.
He noted that the reunification and stability on the Korean peninsula will contribute to peace and security in this region and the rest of the world.
He extended full support to the Korean people in their just struggle to drive all foreign forces out of the Korean peninsula and reunify the country without interference of any foreign forces.