Cuban Ambassador hosts reception

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- Esteban Lobaina Romero, Cuban Ambassador to the DPRK, hosted a reception at the embassy on Thursday evening on the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the victorious Cuban revolution. The ambassador said in his speech that Cuba would never abandon its principle but defend socialism shoulder to shoulder with the fraternal Korean people.
    He reiterated the full support of the party, government and people of Cuba to the struggle of the fraternal Korean people for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country and the building of a powerful nation desired by President Kim Il Sung.
    Choe Thae Bok, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, said in his speech that the Korean people highly praise the party and government of Cuba for declaring the immutability of the socialist system and achieving great progress in the building of a new society, smashing the moves of the hostile forces to stamp out revolution.
    They sincerely hope the fraternal Cuban people will achieve greater success in the future, he said.
    He expressed the conviction that the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the two parties, two countries and two peoples based on special comradely relationship between the two top leaders would continue to grow stronger in the future, too.

Joint symposium on changing English name of country

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- The Linguistic Society and the History Society of the DPRK held a joint symposium on changing the English name of the country in Pyongyang on Dec. 26. The symposium called for holding in Pyongyang or a third country at an early date a joint symposium of scholars in the north and the south and overseas on correcting the wrong English name given to the country by the Japanese imperialists, expressing the hope that all the scholars and fellow countrymen at home and abroad would positively respond to it.
    Speakers said at the symposium that "Corea", the English name of the peninsula, had been used since the mid-13th century and our country and all other nations in the west used the same English title. The Japanese imperialists, however, committed such an unpardonable crime as changing it into "Korea" in a crafty and base method early in the 20th century, they noted, and continued:
    According to even historical data that have been discovered and ascertained so far, Corea had been publicly recognized as the English name for the country in the international community irrespective of any European languages from the 1250s to the end of the 1800s and the feudal government of the country also used "Corea" on its diplomatic documents and treaties signed with other countries.
    But the Japanese imperialists changed "C", the first letter of "Corea", into "K", prompted by their wicked contention that our country should always come after Japan on the international arena as it was their colony.
    An appeal to the scholars and fellow countrymen in the north and the south and overseas was adopted at the symposium. The appeal said that correcting the English name of the country is an important issue of regaining the history of the Korean nation that was trampled down by the Japanese imperialists, doing away with their colonial leftovers and defending the dignity of the nation.
    It expressed the hope that governments and public circles in different countries of the world and international organizations would express positive support and solidarity for this just appeal.

Russian Ambassador hosts reception

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- Andrei Karlov, Russian Ambassador to the DPRK, arranged a reception at the embassy on Thursday evening on the occasion of the New Year, Juche 92 (2003). Present there on invitation were General Ryo Chun Sok, Colonel General Ji Ki Son and other generals and officers of the Korean People's Army.
    Members of the Russian embassy were on hand.
    Speeches were made there.

Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's guidance to dance suit marked

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- A meeting took place here on Dec. 26 to mark the tenth anniversary of Kim Jong Il's guidance to the performance of the folk dance suit "Song of Seasons". Minister of Culture Kang Nung Su in a report said that Kim Jong Il wisely led the work to actively discover the folk dance legacies and further develop it to meet the requirements of the era and aesthetic tastes of the Korean people.
    The reporter continued:
    Kim Jong Il appreciated the folk dance suit created by the Phibada Opera Troupe on December 26, Juche 81 (1992), highly praised it for truthfully depicting the creative labor of the Korean people with folk music and pleasant rhythm and clearly indicated principles to be maintained in the development of the national dance art and ways to do so.
    The creation of the folk dance suit "Song of Seasons" helped clearly prove the originality and validity of the Workers' Party of Korea's policy of literature and art that calls for holding fast to the Juche character and national identity in building socialist literature and art and secure a true model of the unique folk dance art of Korean style suited to the socialist reality.

KCNA blasts U.S. warmongers' outbursts

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- The U.S. bellicose forces have become more undisguised in their moves to mount a preemptive attack upon the DPRK in a bid to contain it by force of arms under the pretext of its "nuclear issue." U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld asserted on Dec. 23 that even the use of force against the DPRK would not be ruled out, blustering "The U.S. is perfectly capable of taking military action against Iraq and North Korea at the same time."
    Meanwhile, Richard Perl, chairman of the U.S. Committee for Defense Policy, on Dec 17 said that the Bush administration should not rule out even a military option to settle the nuclear issue of North Korea.
    This whole string of bellicose remarks made by U.S. warmongers betrays their black-hearted design to threaten the DPRK militarily and, at the same time, topple its system at any cost through preemptive attack.
    It is by no means fortuitous that the Dec. 25 issue of the newspaper Asahi Shimbun described such remarks as ones revealing that the hard-line logic aimed at toppling North Korea's system is deeply rooted in the U.S. Government.
    The U.S. much publicized assertion that North Korea should scrap its nuclear program first is nothing but a pipe-dream as it calls for disarming the DPRK under the absurd pretext of its "nuclear program" and then launching a surprise attack on it to overthrow its political system.
    The DPRK has consistently maintained the stand to settle the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through the DPRK-U.S. dialogue and especially through the conclusion of a non-aggression treaty between them.
    But the U.S. is turning away from the DPRK's proposal for concluding a non-aggression treaty, the most realistic proposal to prevent the present crisis from inching close to the brink of a war. It is rushing headlong into extremely dangerous confrontation with the DPRK, saying that it would neither have dialogue with the DPRK nor rule out a war against it.
    Ceaseless war outcries are heard in the wake of the recent U.S.-South Korea annual security consultative meeting held in Washington which decided to take a measure of military sanctions, little short of a declaration of a war against the DPRK, under the pretext of its "nuclear issue."
    This situation compels the DPRK to cope with it with highest revolutionary vigilance.
    The DPRK neither wants nor avoids a war.
    The Korean People's Army is fully combat-ready and closely following the U.S. moves to start a nuclear war.
    It is the DPRK's stand to meet force with force.
    If the U.S. bellicose forces, ignorant of its rival, recklessly ignite a war, the people's army and people of the DPRK will resolutely turn out to mete out a decisive and merciless punishment to them.

Chinese Ambassador hosts reception

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- Chinese Ambassador to the DPRK Wu Donghe hosted a reception at the embassy on Thursday evening on the occasion of the New Year Juche 92 (2003). Invited to the reception were Yang Hyong Sop, Vice-President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, Minister of Public Health Kim Su Hak who is also chairman of the central committee of the DPRK-China Friendship Association and officials concerned.
    Speeches were made at the reception.

Defending socialist system of Juche called for

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) -- Papers here today editorially mark the 30th anniversary of the "Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea' promulgated by President Kim Il Sung. Kim Il Sung's Institution of the Socialist Constitution was a historic event which brought about an epochal turn in the state and social life of the Korean people and in the carrying out of the socialist cause of Juche, Rodong Sinmun says, and goes on:
    Ours is people-centred socialism under which the people's worthy life is in full bloom and socialism based on national independence strong in Juche character and national identity.
    It is the unshakable faith of the Korean people that Korean-style socialism is best as it guarantees dignity of an independent human being, and sound ideological and cultural life, harmonious life and equal material life are fully ensured, though their life is not yet affluent.
    The Korean people could achieve a great victory in the hard battle for defending socialism in the closing years of the 20th century as they consistently maintained the principles of Juche in ideology, independence in politics, self-support in economy and self-reliance in national defence under the wise leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea and the leader.
    Kim Jong Il set out the idea of army-based leadership and established a unique army-based political method. This was a landmark event as it glorified Korean-style socialism as socialism based on national independence.
    The Korean people will resolutely defend and steadily glorify the immortal feats Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il performed by building people-centred socialism, socialism based on national independence, in the country and ushering in a new era of building a powerful nation.
    The editorial calls for steadily consolidating the state social system, true to Kim Jong Il's army-based policy, and thus firmly defending and further glorifying the socialist system of Juche.
    Minju Joson calls for giving full play to the superiority of the socialist constitution to strikingly demonstrate the dignity and might of Juche Korea.

DPRK Government decides to order IAEA inspectors out of DPRK

     Pyongyang, December 27 (KCNA) --The DPRK Government has decided to order inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency out of the DPRK now that their mission automatically came to an end after the freeze on its nuclear facilities was lifted. Ri Je Son, director general of the general department of Atomic Energy of the DPRK, informed Mohamed Elbaradei, director general of the IAEA, of this decision in his letter sent to the latter today.
    As regards the follow-up measure to be taken in the wake of the unfreezing of the DPRK nuclear facilities as notified in his Dec. 14 letter sent to Elbaradei, Ri said in his letter:
    The United States stopped supplying HFO and thus ditched the DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework (AF) after listing the DPRK as part of an "axis of evil" and a target of its preemptive nuclear attack.
    As a countermeasure against it, the DPRK Government decided to lift the freeze on its nuclear facilities, the measure which had been taken on the premise that the U.S. would supply 500,000 tons of heavy oil to the DPRK annually under the AF, and immediately resume the operation and construction of nuclear facilities to generate electricity.
    According to this decision, the DPRK will complete the suspended construction of its nuclear power plants and operate the radiochemical laboratory as part of the preparations for safely storing a large number of spent fuel rods which would be turned out during the operation of those plants.
    And preparations will be rounded up soon for the operation of this laboratory.
    Since the freeze on our nuclear facilities was lifted, the mission of IAEA inspectors, who have been staying in Nyongbyon to monitor the freeze under the AF, has automatically come to an end.
    Under paragraph c of article 1 of the AF, the DPRK was to allow the IAEA to monitor the freeze on the graphite-moderated reactor and its related facilities of the DPRK during their freeze and to cooperate with the agency to this end. It is contrary to the above-said agreed point for IAEA inspectors to remain in the DPRK under the present situation.
    Since there is no reason for those inspectors to remain in the DPRK any longer, the DPRK Government has decided to order them out of the country.

For Spanish-speaking people

rpdc: simposio conjunto sobre la notacion en ingles de nombre de corea

     pyongyang, 27 de diciembre (atcc) -- tuvo lugar el dia 26 en esta capital el simposio conjunto de la asociacion de filologos y la de historiadores sobre la notacion en ingles del nombre de corea. el simposio expreso esperanza de que todos los sabios coreanos en el pais y el extranjero y los demas connacionales responderan activamente a rectificar la notacion en ingles del nombre de nuestro pais tergiversada por los imperialistas japoneses y les exhorto a convocar lo mas pronto posible en pyongyang o el tercer pais el simposio conjunto de los sabios coreanos del norte, el sur y en el ultramar sobre este problema.
    los oradores senalaron que a principios del siglo 20 los imperialistas japoneses cambiaron astuta y vilmente la notacion en ingles del nombre de nuestro pais "corea" que se habia usado desde mediados del siglo 13 en nuestro pais y todos los paises occidentales por "korea", y asi perpetraron un gran crimen nunca perdonable.
    segun los datos descubiertos hasta la fecha, la notacion en ingles habia usado oficialmente como "corea" desde la decada de 1250 hasta finales de la decada de 1800 en todos los idiomas europeos en la sociedad internacional, y tambien el gobierno feudal de nuestro pais lo habia anotado como "corea" en los documentos diplomaticos y de tratados con otros paises, senalaron y continuaron:
    sin embargo, los imperialistas japoneses, con la maligna entrana de que el nombre de corea se habia puesto para siempre detras de japon en la escena internacional porque ella es su colonia, cambiaron la primera letra "c" de entre "corea", notacion en ingles del nombre de nuestro pais por "k".
    en el simposio fue aprobado un llamamiento dirigido a los sabios coreanos del norte y el sur y en el ultramar y otros compatriotas.
    el documento senala que rectificar la notacion en ingles del nombre de nuestro pais es un importante problema para recuperar la historia de la nacion coreana pisoteada por los imperialistas japoneses, liquidar el vestigio colonial del imperialismo japones y defender la dignidad de la nacion coreana.
    y expresa la esperanza de que los gobiernos, los circulos sociales de varios paises del mundo y organizaciones internacionales apoyaran activamente ese justo llamamiento y le expresaran la solidaridad.

responderemos con el fuego al fuego@- comentario de atcc -

     pyongyang, 27 de diciembre (atcc) -- en estos dias, en cuanto al "problema nuclear" de la republica popular democratica de corea las fuerzas belicosas de los estados unidos hacen mas abierta su intencion de emprender "ataque adelantado" para aplastarla por la fuerza. el 23 de diciembre, rumsfeld, secretario de defensa norteamericano, dijo: "es posible simultanear las guerras contra irak y norcorea" y se valdra sin vacilacion de las fuerzas armadas contra norcorea y, el dia 17, richard perl, presidente de la politica de defensa de ee.uu. senalo: "la administracion bush no debe excluir un proyecto militar para solucionar el problema nuclear de norcorea".
    son la revelacion del designio de ejercer amenaza militar a la rpdc y, de emprender de todas maneras "ataque adelantado" para derrocar nuestro regimen.
    no es casual la informacion del periodico japones "asahi shimbun" que senala en su numero del 25 de diciembre: tal peroracion hace entender que "dentro del gobierno norteamericano echo su profunda raiz la teoria de dureza para derrocar" el sistema de norcorea.
    la insistencia obstinada de ee.uu. en la "renuncia nuclear, primero", en su esencia, no pasa de ser una vana ilusion de desarmar a la rpdc pretextando el "plan nuclear" de esta, asaltarla de un golpe y derrocar el sistema politico de ella.
    insistimos invariablemente en que el problema nuclear de la peninsula coreana se debe solucionar a traves del dialogo con ee.uu. y, en particular, de la concertacion del tratado de no agresion con este.
    pero, ee.uu. elude la concertacion del tratado de no agresion, que es un proyecto mas racional para remediar la actual situacion critica que se aproxima al borde de la guerra, y persigue el extremo enfrentamiento con la rpdc al decir: "dejaremos de recurrir al dialogo", "no renunciaremos la guerra", etc. en una "reunion consultiva anual de seguridad" efectuada con sudcorea en washington" ee.uu. decidio tomar las medidas de "sancion militar", analoga a una declaracion de guerra contra la rpdc, so pretexto del "problema nuclear" de esta y seguidamente nos envia sin cesar la sena de advertencia de guerra. bajo tal situacion nos vemos obligados a mantener una alta vigilancia revolucionaria para enfrentarnos al respecto.
    no deseamos la guerra, ni la tememos.
    nuestro ejercito popular esta perfectamente listo para el combate y observa agudamente la intencion de la guerra nuclear de ee.uu.
    tenemos un temperamento de responder con el fuego al fuego.
    si los belicistas norteamericanos actuan imprudentemente sin distinguir correctamente a su adversario y se atreven a desatar la guerra, el ejercito y el pueblo de corea se levantaran unanimemente para asestar un rotundo y despiadado castigo a los agresores.

periodicos capitalinos exhortan a defender regimen socialista

     pyongyang, 27 de diciembre (atcc) -- los periodicos capitalinos del dia 27 insertaron editoriales dedicados al 30 aniversario de la publicacion de la "constitucion socialista de la republica popular democratica de corea" por el presidente kim il sung. el diario "rodong sinmun" senala:
    la preparacion de la constitucion socialista por el presidente fue un historico evento que produjo un cambio trascendental en la vida estatal y social de nuestro pueblo y en el cumplimiento de la causa del socialismo del juche.
    el de nuestro pais es el socialismo centrado en las masas populares en que florece la verdadera vida de los habitantes y es el socialismo de la independencia nacional que tiene el firme espiritu juche y la nacionalidad.
    nuestro pueblo tiene la firme fe de que es mejor nuestro socialismo en que aunque no sea abundante la vida, se asegura la dignidad del ser humano independiente, florecen la vida sana ideo-cultural y la vida armoniosa y se brinda la vida material igualitaria.
    gracias a que bajo la sabia direccion del partido y el lider se han materializado invariablemente los principios del juche en la ideologia, la soberania en la politica, el autososten en la economia y la autodefensa en la salvaguardia nacional, nuestro pueblo pudo lograr la gran victoria en el severo combate por la defensa del socialismo en la ultima decada del siglo xx.
    especialmente, el dirigente kim jong il presento la idea de dar prioridad a los asuntos militares y establecio el modo de la original politica de priorizacion militar, lo cual es un trascendental evento que hizo brillar mas nuestro socialismo como el de la independencia nacional.
    nuestro pueblo defendera con firmeza y glorificara para siempre las inmortales proezas del presidente kim il sung y el dirigente kim jong il quienes construyeron sobre esta tierra el socialismo centrado en las masas populares y de independencia nacional y abrieron una nueva epoca de la construccion de potencia prospera.
    debemos seguir con lealtad la politica de priorizacion militar del dirigente para consolidar ininterrumpidamente nuestro regimen estatal y social y defender con firmeza y hacer brillar mas el regimen socialista del juche.
    el periodico " minju joson" enfatiza que debemos poner en pleno manifiesto la superioridad de la constitucion socialista para demostrar sin reserva la dignidad y el poderio de corea del juche.