Unpopular Policy of Suppression Flailed

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- The (south) Korean Confederation of Trade Unions reportedly made public a statement on November 18, vehemently condemning the government authorities' unpopular policy of suppression. The authorities egged the security forces on to arrest 42 participants in the "national rally of workers" and issue summons against Chairman Tan Pyong Ho and hardcore members of the KCTU and the Federation of Metal Industrial Trade Unions, the statement said, and went on: This shows that the authorities are taking the road of suppressing the just labour movement instead of taking measures regarding the protest struggle of workers.
    The authorities should redress the present situation, realizing why workers, peasants and people are waging the protest struggle.

S. Korean Professors of Laws Oppose Enactment of "Law on Combating Terrorism"

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- 18 professors of laws including Kang Thae Su, professor at Kyunghee University in south Korea, reportedly issued a statement against the enactment of the "law on combating terrorism" on November 19. The statement charged that the law is an evil law against democracy and human rights aimed to set up a "center for combating terrorism," a tyrannical tool under the "Intelligence Service" following the "Central Intelligence Agency" or the "Security Planning Board," which were a pronoun of human rights abuses, and go back to the Cold War and the oppressive system.
    The statement urged the "National Assembly" to stop considering the "bill on combating terrorism" and repeal it at once.

Agreement on Cooperation between DPRK and Vietnam Signed

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- An agreement on cooperation in standardization, measuring and quality control between the DPRK Bureau for State Quality Control and the Directorate for Standards and Quality of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was signed in Hanoi on November 20. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were members of a delegation of the Bureau for State Quality Control headed by Director Kim Hyong Chol and the DPRK ambassador to Vietnam and from the opposite side were the chief of the directorate for Standards and Quality and the vice-minister of Science and Technology.

Short Course on Juche Idea and Korean Film Show Abroad

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- A short course on the Juche idea was given in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 16. At the short course lectures titled "On the main contents of the Juche idea" and "On the justness and vitality of the Songun politics of the Workers' Party of Korea" were given.
    After the short course the chairman of the Cambodian Youth Group for the Study of the Juche Idea said that the Juche idea teaches a valuable truth for the Cambodian people to build a prosperous Cambodia in the spirit of self-reliance with the consciousness that they are the masters of their country and their destiny and for youth and students to prepare themselves as able workers who will take charge of Cambodian future.
    He stressed that they would learn from the precious truth to contribute to bringing earlier a rosy future.
    Meanwhile, Korean film "The Korean People's Army, Steel-Like Ranks" was shown at Intercontinental University of Mexico on November 1

Reception Given at Chinese Embassy

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- A reception was hosted by Chinese Ambassador Wu Donghe at the embassy on Nov. 24 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the agreement on economic and cultural cooperation between the governments of the DPRK and China. Present on invitation were Minister of Foreign Trade Ri Kwang Gun and other officials concerned.
    The Chinese ambassador in a speech said that the two peoples have supported each other and strengthened mutual exchange and cooperation in socialist construction on the principle of meeting each others' needs in the spirit of the China-DPRK agreement on economic and cultural cooperation for the last half century, thus putting vigorous spurs to the socialist economic and cultural construction in the two countries. This has served as a model of good neighbourly friendly cooperation, he added.
    He expressed firm belief that the China-DPRK friendly and cooperative relations would grow stronger and develop and a new chapter of China-DPRK economic and cultural cooperation open thanks to the joint efforts of the parties, governments and peoples under the care of the leaders of the two countries.
    He sincerely wished the Korean people greater success in the building of a great prosperous powerful nation, the cause of independent and peaceful reunification of the country and the external relations under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
    Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, spoke next.
    He said that the conclusion of the agreement between the governments of the two countries 50 years ago was an event that consolidated the ties of friendship and solidarity between the two peoples sealed with blood in the joint struggle for national independence and laid a legal foundation for expanding and developing them to the fields of economy and culture.
    He pointed out that the DPRK-China friendship is favorably developing under the deep care of Kim Jong Il and leaders of China.
    The Chinese people have made big successes in the efforts to attain the goal to build a rich society in all fields at an initial phase set forth at the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of China and the first meeting of the 10th-term National People's Congress under the guidance of the CPC with Hu Jintao as general secretary, he noted, sincerely wishing the Chinese people greater success in their future work.
    The Korean people will as ever set store by the DPRK-China friendship and make positive efforts to further develop the economic and cultural cooperation between the two countries as required by the new century, he concluded.

Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Suk Lauded

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- Lectures were held in Ethiopia, Belarus and Democratic Congo from Nov. 3 to 18 on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Il's assumption of supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army and the 86th birth anniversary of Kim Jong Suk, an anti-Japanese war hero. The chief of the Addis Ababa Group for the Study of the Juche Idea in Ethiopia in a lecture noted that Kim Jong Il's assumption of supreme commandership of the KPA marked a historic event of decisive significance in the struggle to strengthen the heroic DPRK and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche.
    The chairman of the Belorussian Association for the Study of the Juche Idea in a lecture said that thanks to the Songun policy the DPRK has firmly defended socialism despite the U.S. arbitrary and high-handed practices, adding that the policy is a unique political mode of Kim Jong Il.
    The chairman of the National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea of Democratic Congo in a lecture titled "The great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il defends socialism with an invincible might of armed forces" referred to the essence and great vitality of the Songun politics and praised Kim Jong Il for increasing the military power of the country in every way.
    Introducing in detail the great revolutionary life and the immortal exploits of Kim Jong Suk, he stressed that her august name will always be cherished in the hearts of humankind.

KCNA Pushes for Japan's Liquidation of Its Past

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- An ex-soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army, 83, testified to the atrocities committed by the Japanese imperialists in the past at a recent court hearing about the damage suit filed over the crimes related to "comfort women" for the Imperial Japanese Army, according to Asahi Shimbun. Giving a detailed account of what he experienced in 1941, he confessed that he often saw women abducted during operations and was present in the place where officers raped women and he himself took part in the gang-rape. He explained the motive of his testimony, saying that he is unable to indemnify for the wrongs but would like to swallow his pride and let people know what he did:
    This testimony and confession made by the ex-soldier of the Imperial Japanese Army out of conscience represent the Japanese people's criticism of the unreasonable stance and attitude of the Japanese authorities towards the compensation for Japan's past crimes including the issue of "comfort women" for the Imperial Japanese Army.
    Japan is a war criminal state that invaded Korea and other Asian countries and committed crimes against humanity in the past, something unprecedented in human history. But it has not yet clearly liquidated its past nor honestly repented of nor apologized for its state-sponsored crimes though over half a century has passed after its defeat.
    Japan has been persistent in its moves to evade its responsibility for liquidating its past stipulated in the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration, clamoring about the "issue of abduction" after the publication of the declaration. It is intolerable as it is the most dastardly behavior from a political and moral point of view.
    Japan is pulling up the DPRK over the "issue of settling the abduction issue", talking about the "people's sentiment." It is not because it respects the people's conscience but seeks to evade its responsibility to redeem its past wrongs at any cost, the prerequisite to normalizing the relations between the DPRK and Japan.
    As far as the abduction issue is concerned, it is a product of Japan's crime-woven past and hostile policy towards the DPRK and it has already been solved with the publication of the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration as a momentum.
    If Japan truly pays attention to its people's sentiment and is concerned for it, it should lend an ear to the confession of eyewitnesses of the past history and properly solve the issue of liquidating its past in order to prevent the repetition of its disgraceful crime-woven past.

U.S. Intention to Destroy Cultural Remains Flailed

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- The Citizens' Meeting against Building of the New U.S. Embassy and Apartment House at the Site of the Toksu Palace of south Korea reportedly held a press conference in front of the U.S. embassy in Seoul on Nov. 18 to denounce the high-handed scheme of the United States to destroy cultural remains. The organization said U.S. Ambassador to south Korea Hubbard, when he met South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yun Yong Gwan on Nov. 14, demanded that the construction of a new U.S. embassy building at least be allowed at the site of the Toksu Palace, if it were hardly allowable to build also living quarters for embassy officials.
    Branding this outrage of the U.S. as a rude vandalism to destroy the cultural remains, the organization demanded that the U.S. ambassador apologize to the south Korean people and immediately retract the plan to construct a new U.S. embassy building.
    It urged the authorities to work out a plan to reconstruct the site of the Toksu Palace.
    After the press conference it handed over a letter of protest to the U.S. embassy.

U.S. Pressure for Additional Troop Dispatch Blasted

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- The issue of troop dispatch to Iraq by south Korea has not cropped up at the will of the south Korean people and authorities but under the unilateral gangster-like demand and pressure of the United States, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article, a summary of which reads: The United States is working hard to mobilize troops of different countries and get their financial support with the sinister intention to reduce its burdens from its occupation of Iraq. And with this scheme hitting a snag in face of the opposition of the international community, it is trying to find a way out by forcing its junior allies to additionally dispatch their troops.
    The United States officially demanded south Korea send additional combat troops. The U.S. administration and brasshats made this demand to the south Korean authorities and military through various channels and are now persisting in this coercive demand.
    The south Korean people have never shown concern about nor have any interests in the troop dispatch to Iraq. They were dead set against the U.S. invasion of Iraq itself from the beginning.
    But the U.S. is trying to force south Korea to dispatch troops to Iraq, defying the strong protest of the south Korean people.
    This clearly reveals once again the robber-like color of the arrogant aggressors and dominationists who only pursue their unilateral interests, paying no heed to the demands and interests of other nations.
    Troop dispatch to Iraq would do so harm but not any good to the south Korean people as it would result in damaging national dignity and sovereignty and putting fellow countrymen on the altar for outside forces by offering them as bullet shields in the latter's dirty war of aggression for their interests, bowing to their demand.
    The United States is the very one that gave rise to the issue of additional troop dispatch to Iraq.

Scientific and Technological Achievements in DPRK

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- The 5-year plan for the scientific and technological development has been successfully carried out in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In the period the nation's major targets for technical modernization of the economy have been hit, many inventions registered and tens of thousands of technical innovations introduced into production.
    Achievements have been gained in the fields of up-to-the-minute science and technology, too.
    Modern IT research institutes and databases have newly been established, with the result that the foundations of the IT industry have been consolidated.
    In the biological circles, researches into animal cloning have reached the world level and several dozen kinds of materials necessary for gene engineering have been developed.
    Technologies of gene and cell engineering have been applied to seed breeding in the agricultural sector and the manufacture of medicines.
    Meanwhile, air coal pulverizer for thermal power station, coal-prospecting radar, eccentric electrical drill, hydraulic coal-cutting method, method of increasing electricity production by raising the efficiency of hydraulic turbine, method of processing goat milk with microorganism, etc. have been developed on the basis of the existing economic foundations.

Physical Culture Popularized in DPRK

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- Some time ago, the 10th National Games were held successfully in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea amid great concern of the Korean people. The games recorded an unprecedented increase in the number of events and participants. 16 new records of the DPRK were set in 15 categories of various events including weightlifting and shooting. The fact shows that the popularization of physical culture has reached a high level in the country.
    Since the Korean Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission (Sports Union of North Korea at that time) was founded in November Juche 34 (1945), right after the liberation of the country, physical culture has made a rapid progress in the DPRK as an undertaking of all the people under deep concern of the government.
    From 1949 the second Sunday of October had been marked as the "Sports Day" and from August 1954, the second Sunday of every month as the "Sports Day", making the whole society replete with the atmosphere of physical culture.
    July and August are months of maritime physical culture and August and September months of examination of people's physical strength. Sports meets involving all people, professional and amateur sports contests take place on a regular basis to promote the development of sports technique in the country.
    Many competent sportspersons have been produced in those days and demonstrated the honor and dignity of the country.
    They have received a large number of gold medals, trophy cups and belts, and technical prizes at international Olympic games, Asian games, and world and Asian championships.
    Jong Song Ok and many other athletes were honored with the titles of Hero of the Republic and Labour Hero and thousands of athletes have become People's Athletes, Merited Athletes and Masters of Sports.

Quality Asbestos Slates Produced in DPRK

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- A slate factory with an annual production capacity of millions of square meters and slate shops have been built in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. High-quality asbestos slates (asbestos roofing plates) of different colors are produced by joint efforts and investment of the Building Materials Trading Corporation of the Ministry of Foreign Trade of the DPRK and the Yingchao Science Trading Corporation under the Jilin Provincial Textile Export and Import Corporation of China.
    The slates produced on the basis of modern technology are good in resistance to physical and chemical changes and have a long serviceable life.
    According to an experiment, one side is not wet although water is put on the other side for some 30 days. And the slate is not broken by even an iron ball of 0.5 kilogram falling from a meter height.
    There is no physical change even after 30 times of freezing and melting at 25 degrees below zero and 25 degrees C.
    The colorful slates add beauty to buildings and towns.

Military Provocation by S. Korean Navy

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- South Korean battleships committed such grave military provocation as firing a barrage of gun shells at a patrol boat of the Navy of the Korean People's Army which was on a routine patrol duty in southwest waters of Wollae Islet at 13:10 on November 24, according to a military source. The south Korean military authorities should refrain from acting rashly, pondering over the grave consequences to be entailed by such reckless military provocation.

Japan Urged to Redeem Its Past Crimes

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- All the Koreans including victims and their bereaved families are strongly demanding that the Japanese government redress its crime-woven past at an early date after the publication of the list of part of the Korean victims to forcible drafting by the Japanese imperialists in the past and lifting up voices that the DPRK-Japan relations can never be improved unless this demand is met. Minju Joson today says this is an entirely just demand that cannot be denied or evaded on any account.
    The author of the commentary says:
    The demand of the victims to the grave human rights abuse by the Japanese imperialists and their bereaved families for the Japanese government's apology and compensation fully conforms to the universal definition of human rights and the principle of international law and to the trend of the times.
    The present Japanese authorities refuse to admit their anti-human crimes but, on the contrary, resort to foolish attempts to justify and beautify them while clamoring about "legality", "evidence" and "statue of limitations."
    This is an intolerable insult to the victims to the Japanese imperialists' grave human rights abuse, dead and alive, and their bereaved families and a mockery of the dignity of all the Koreans.
    The Japanese authorities should respond to the DPRK government's proposal to hold governmental talks between the two countries at the earliest possible date to discuss the issue of compensation to the victims to human rights abuse who have been confirmed so far.
    If the Japanese authorities persist in their wrong attitude toward the past crimes, shunning this, they will be held fully responsible for the consequence arising from this.

Modernization and Informationalization of National Economy Called for

     Pyongyang, November 25 (KCNA) -- It is an important policy pursued by the Workers' Party of Korea at present for building an economic power to modernize and put the national economy on an IT basis, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed article. To modernize the national economy and put it on an IT basis provides an important guarantee for the building of a great prosperous powerful nation, the article says, and continues:
    The modernization and informationalization of the national economy are an important work to provide a material guarantee for the building of an ideologically strong nation.
    If the national economy is modernized and put on an IT basis, material means for ideological education will be replaced by modern and IT based equipment to bring about greater successes in the ideological education.
    The modernization and informationalization of the national economy also provides a material guarantee for the building of a military power.
    The heavy industry is the field of key significance in developing the national defence industry.
    The production of ultra-modern military hardware suited to the specific feature of modern warfare would be unthinkable without the modernization and informationalization of the heavy industry.
    The modernization and informationalization of the light industry and agriculture are an important factor of building up a strong national defence industry.
    All this proves that the modernization and informationalization of all the fields of the national economy provide a material guarantee for the building of a military power.
    The modernization and informationalization of the national economy provides an important guarantee for building an economic power.
    It converts man's work into an intellectual work, making it plays a decisive role in producing material wealth. When the rate of intellectual work significantly increases with the realization of modernization and informationalization of the national economy and becomes a key factor in creating material wealth, the people will enjoy a boundlessly happy material and cultural life.

DPRK Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Meets Chinese Officials Concerned

     Beijing, November 25 (KCNA - Correspondent) --Kim Yong Il, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, separately met Member of the Chinese State Council Tang Jiaxuan, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Vice-Ministers of Foreign Affairs Dai Bingguo and Wang Yi and conversed with them over the issue of the bilateral relations and matters of mutual concern in Beijing between Nov. 22 and 24. He was staying there en route to Kuala Lumpur to attend the function of "DPRK Week" to be held there on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and Malaysia.

For Spanish-speaking people

Kim Jong Il defiende con invencible poderio militar el socialismo

     Pyongyang, 25 de noviembre (ATCC) -- Con motivo del 12 aniversario del nombramiento del Dirigente Kim Jong Il como Comandante Supremo del Ejercito Popular de Corea (EPC) y del 86 aniversario del nacimiento de la heroina de lucha antijaponesa Kim Jong Suk tuvieron lugar del 3 al 18 del mes en curso las conferencias en Etiopia, Bielorrusia y Congo Democratico. El jefe del Grupo de Estudio de la Idea Juche de Addis-Abeba de Etiopia, en su conferencia, dijo que el nombramiento del Dirigente como Comandante Supremo del EPC fue un evento historico que reviste una significacion decisiva en el desarrollo y el fortalecimiento de la heroica RPDC y la lucha por llevar a feliz termino la causa revolucionaria del Juche. El presidente de la Asociacion de Estudio de la Idea Juche de Bielorrusia, en su conferencia, senalo que la politica de Songun (priorizacion militar) es un extraordinario modo de politica del Dirigente y anadio que gracias a esta politica, Corea defiende firmemente el socialismo frustrando la arbitrariedad y el despotismo de EE.UU.
    El presidente del Comite Nacional de Estudio de la Idea Juche del Congo Democratico, en su conferencia intitulada "El gran Dirigente, camarada Kim Jong Il defiende con invencible poderio militar el socialismo", se refirio a la esencia e inagotable vitalidad de la politica de Songun y elogio altamente al Dirigente quien fortalece por todos los medios las fuerzas militares del pais.
    Tambien, dio a conocer detalladamente la gran vida revolucionaria e inmortales hazanas de la heroina de lucha antijaponesa Kim Jong Suk y enfatizo que el nombre de esta brillara eternamente en el corazon de la humanidad.

Inaugurada la Embajada de Suecia en la RPDC

     Pyongyang, 25 de noviembre (ATCC) -- Tuvo lugar el dia 24 una ceremonia inaugural de la reconstruida Embajada del Reino de Suecia en la Republica Popular Democratica de Corea. Al acto fueron invitados Kung Sok Ung, viceministro de Relaciones Exteriores y otros funcionarios coreanos, los representantes diplomaticos de varios paises, los representantes de las organizaciones internacionales acreditados en Corea y los miembros de las entidades de cooperacion no gubernamentales que trabajan aqui.
    Estuvieron presentes el embajador Paul Beijer y otros miembros de esta sede diplomatica y los miembros de la delegacion del Ministerio de RR.EE. de Suecia presidida por Anders Liden, jefe del Departamento General de Asuntos Politicos de visita en Corea.
    En el acto Anders Liden y Kung Sok Ung pronunciaron discursos de felicitacion.
    Por la noche del mismo dia, el embajador sueco ofrecio un banquete en relacion con la inauguracion de la embajada.

Varios paises: cursillo sobre la idea Juche y proyeccion filmica

     Pyongyang, 25 de noviembre (ATCC) -- El cursillo sobre la Idea Juche tuvo lugar el dia 16 en Phnom Penh, Camboya. En la ocasion se dieron las lecciones intituladas "Sobre el contenido principal de la idea Juche" y "Sobre la justeza y la vitalidad de la politica de Songun (priorizacion militar) del Partido del Trabajo de Corea".
    Terminado el cursillo, el presidente del Grupo de Jovenes Camboyanos para el Estudio de la Idea Juche dijo que la idea Juche da una preciosa verdad a hacer que el pueblo camboyano, consciente de que es dueno de su patria y de su destino, al apoyarse en sus propias fuerzas, construya una Camboya prospera, y que los jovenes y estudiantes se preparen como dignos trabajadores futuros de Camboya.
    Tambien en el futuro -subrayo- aprenderemos activamente esta valiosa verdad y contribuiremos a adelantar un excelente porvenir.
    Por otra parte, el dia 10, en la Universidad Intercontinental de Mexico se proyecto el documental coreano "El Ejercito Popular de Corea, fila de acero".

Inevitable responsabilidad de Japon

     Pyongyang, 25 de noviembre (ATCC) -- En estos dias, al publicarse la lista de una parte de las victimas del arresto forzoso a coreanos perpetrado por el imperialismo japones en el pasado, las victimas, sus familiares y toda la nacion coreana demandan energicamente al gobierno japones liquidar inmediatamente su pasado criminal y levantan la voz insistiendo en que de no ser realizada la liquidacion, jamas habra la mejora de las relaciones entre la Republica Popular Democratica de Corea y Japon. Tal demanda es muy justa, innegable e ineludible.
    Senala asi el periodico "Minju Joson" en un comentario individual del dia 25 y continua:
    Tal demanda sobre la disculpa y la indemnizacion formulada al gobierno japones por las victimas y sus familiares, perjudicados seriamente por el gravisimo acto criminal de violacion de derechos humanos de los imperialistas japoneses, conviene enteramente a la concepcion general de los derechos humanos, al principio del derecho internacional y a la corriente de la presente epoca.
    Sin embargo, las actuales autoridades japonesas ni siquiera reconocen sus actos criminales antieticos so pretexto de la supuesta falta de "legalidad", "pruebas" y el "periodo de validez", y al contrario, cometen atrevidamente canalladas de justificarlos y camuflarlos.
    Esta actitud constituye un insulto insoportable a los difuntos, sobrevivientes del mencionado acto cruel e inhumano y sus familiares, y una burla a la dignidad de toda la nacion coreana.
    Las autoridades japonesas deben aceptar la propuesta de la RPDC destinada a sostener cuanto antes las conversaciones gubernamentales entre ambos paises para abordar el problema de indemnizacion a las victimas identificadas hasta hoy.
    Si ellas insisten en su injusta posicion en cuanto a sus crimenes del pasado sin tomar en consideracion dicha propuesta, asumiran todas las consecuencias que emanen de ello.