Floral Baskets to Kim Jong Il from Chinese and Japanese

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il was presented with floral baskets by children of Chinese Zhang Weihua and their party, Takashi Nata, representative of the Japan, Ehime, Institute for Modern Korean Studies, and Fusatoshi Fujisawa, representative of the Love and Peace of Japan, on the occasion of his birthday. The ribbons of the floral baskets bore words "Best wishes for the good health of the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il" and "Best wishes for the good health of His Excellency General Secretary Great Kim Jong Il."

Performance of Russian Dancing Troupe Draws Capacity Audience

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The Russian Beriozka Dancing Troupe gave a successful performance at the Ponghwa Art Theatre Monday. It was enjoyed by working people in the city and staff members of the Russian embassy here.
    The State Academy Beriozka Dancing Troupe Named after N.S. Nadezhdina came to the DPRK with boundless reverence for leader Kim Jong Il on the occasion of the auspicious February holiday. Its artistes staged colorful numbers.
    The audience was deeply impressed by such numbers as female group dance "Lace-Knitting Girls" and male group dance "Carters" representing the work of the optimistic and diligent Russian people and the mixed group dance "In Memory of Defenders of the Motherland" reminding one of the feats performed by Russian soldiers who fell in action while courageously fighting during the sacred war to defend the country from fascism.
    The Russian artistes also staged a dance representing the scene of the flower pond from the Korean revolutionary opera "Tell the Story, Forest!" and Russian songs and dances well known among the Korean people.

Public Presentation Held

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- A public presentation of experience gained in cultivating Kimjongilia was held at the Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia Exhibition Monday. It was attended by scientists and technicians in the field of botany and horticulture, florists and flower fanciers in the DPRK.
    The speakers referred to fresh scientific and technological achievements made in the process of cultivating the flower representing the sun which goes by the august name of the peerlessly great man.
    The presentation offered a good occasion in swapping scientific and technological experience gained in cultivating the flower and widely introducing achievements made in it.

Reception Given at Russian Embassy

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- A reception was given at the Russian embassy here Monday evening on the occasion of the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il. Present there on invitation were Vice-President of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly Yang Hyong Sop, Minister of the People's Armed Forces Kim Il Chol, Vice-Premier of the Cabinet Ro Tu Chol, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Kung Sok Ung and officials concerned.
    Ambassador Andrei Karlov said in his speech that Kim Jong Il is well known to Russians as the leader of the Korean party, army and people with distinguished political calibre and as a close friend of the Russian people.
    The Russia-DPRK relations are good-neighborly and friendly ties, he said, recalling that the Russia-DPRK Joint Declaration and Moscow Declaration were adopted through a series of meetings and talks between the top leaders of the two countries.
    He hoped that the Korean army and people would register greater successes in their efforts to increase the national defence capability and build a great prosperous powerful nation under the wise guidance of Kim Jong Il this significant year which marks the 60th anniversaries of the Workers' Party of Korea and the liberation of Korea.
    Yang Hyong Sop said February 16 is a historic day in which the dignity and honor of Kim Il Sung's nation were demonstrated and the eternal foundations laid for the revolution. It is thanks to this day that the DPRK has bright today and will have a rosy future, he added.
    He further said: It is the desire of the leaderships and peoples of the two countries to boost the bilateral relations of friendship and cooperation in various fields in the spirit of the treaty and the joint declarations adopted between the two states. This would also make a positive contribution to global peace, security and development.
    The two countries should as ever make concerted efforts to accomplish the just cause of establishing a fair world order, opposed to inequality and injustice such as aggression and war, interference and double-standards, domination and subjugation, he said.

Art Performances Given

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- Art performances were given on Feb.14 to celebrate the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il (February 16). The Korean People's Army Song and Dance Ensemble gave a performance at the April 25 House of Culture.
    The curtain raiser was the mixed chorus "General on a Galloping White Horse" praising the greatness of Supreme Commander Kim Jong Il, which was followed by the female group singing "February Is Spring", the group singing to the accompaniment of Oungum "Ye, Bright Moon over My Country", the female vocal solo "I Do Not Know a Warmer Bosom than It", and other numbers.
    The colorful program represented the proud endeavors of the army and people of the DPRK in performing exploits in the building of a great prosperous powerful nation, while displaying their unity in single mind.
    A performance of art groups of ministries and national institutions celebrating February 16 took place at the People's Palace of Culture. Put on the stage were numbers showing the fervent zeal, revolutionary creed and elevated enthusiasm of officials of the ministries and national institutions and all the people to rush forward with fortitude on the road of the Juche revolution under the Songun leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea.
    Meanwhile, artistes of the workers art squad of the Central Committee of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea performed "Song of Workers in Praise of Songun Dedicated to the February Holiday" at the Central Workers Hall and the workers of the Rakwon Machine Complex performed the grand chorus "We Will Hold Fatherly General in Higher Esteem."
    And members of the Korean Democratic Women's Union gave a celebration performance on the theme "We Will Hold Our General in Higher Regard" and the 9th national oratorical and narrative contests of hobby group members of the schoolchildren's palaces and halls took place.

Diplomatic Envoys and Representatives of Intfl Organizations Feted

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged a reception on Monday on the occasion of the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il. Present on invitation were foreign diplomatic envoys and representatives of international organizations in Pyongyang.
    Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun in his speech noted that Kim Jong Il has performed distinguished feats for the country and the people with his outstanding political ability and extraordinary leadership art over the last 40 odd years. The people of the DPRK will accelerate the building of a great prosperous powerful nation and the cause of national independence and reunification by giving fuller play to the might of Songun, he stated.
    Palestinian Ambassador Shaher Mohammed Abdlah, who is doyen of the diplomatic corps, in a speech said the Korean people under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il are energetically pushing ahead with the building of a great prosperous powerful nation today. He expressed his will to help toward boosting the friendly and cooperative relations between the Korean people and peoples of different countries around the auspicious February fete.

Egyptian Ambassador on Relations with DPRK

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The government of the Arab Republic of Egypt always supports the Korean people in their efforts to reunify the country independently and peacefully, declared Egyptian Ambassador to the DPRK Ahmed Ramy. He was addressing a reception he hosted at the embassy on Feb. 14 on the occasion of the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il.
    He further said:
    Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army, born in Mt. Paektu, is successfully carrying the revolutionary cause started by President Kim Il Sung into reality.
    The friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries provided by President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak and President Kim Il Sung will continue to develop in the future amid the deep concern of the top leaders of the two countries.
    DPRK Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun in his speech said the Korean people are encouraged by the celebration of the auspicious February fete by the Egyptian friends with them.
    The relations between the DPRK and Egypt, he noted, are friendly and cooperative relations provided by President Kim Il Sung, eternal leader of the Korean people, with President Muhammad Hosni Mubarak and other leaders of Egypt.
    He further said: It is the consistent stand of the DPRK government to constantly expand and develop the relations with Egypt in various domains.
    The Korean people will as ever extend support and solidarity to the government and the people of Egypt in their efforts for the stability and prosperity of the country and a lasting peace in the Mideast region.
    Present at the reception on invitation were Kim Yong Jin, minister of Education, Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, Choe Su Hon, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, Kim Tang Su, director of the General Bureau of Diplomatic Corps Affairs, and other officials concerned.

Bush's State of Union Address under Fire

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The South Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification reportedly released a commentary on Feb. 3 slamming U.S. President Bush's state of the union address. The address is peppered with belligerent remarks auguring a war on this land, the commentary said, and went on:
    The U.S. has pursued a hard-line policy toward the north, watching for every chance to provoke a nuclear war. It should stop talking about "nuclear ambition" but face up to the trend of the times and immediately give up its plot to provoke the nuclear war.
    By letting loose a spate of belligerent and high-handed balderdash against a sovereign state to provoke a new war the Bush administration revealed that it is a war cabinet.
    The Bush administration, an empire of evil professing war-first policy, should immediately roll back its policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK, though belatedly.
    The Korean nation will never remain an on-looker to the U.S. plot to provoke a war in a bid to lord it over the Korean nation but foil it by its concerted efforts.

Floral Basket to Kim Jong Il from CPC Central Committee

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il received a floral basket from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the occasion of his birthday. The floral basket was conveyed to an official concerned by Chinese Ambassador e. p. to the DPRK Wu Donghe on Tuesday.
    A floral basket to Kim Jong Il from the Chinese embassy and a congratulatory letter and a gift to him in the name of the ambassador were also conveyed.

Floral Basket and Gifts to Kim Jong Il

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il were presented with a floral basket and a gift by a delegation of the National Liaison Council of the Japanese Society for the Study of Kim Jong Il Works and a gift by a delegation of the Mongolia-Mt. Paektu Association on the occasion of his birthday. They were handed to an official concerned by Masaaki Arimoto, secretary general of the Society of Citizens in Osaka Prefecture Demanding Earlier Normalization of the Relations between Japan and DPRK, and N. Sarantuya, executive chairman of the Mongolia-Mt. Paektu Association, who are leading the visiting delegations.
    Kim Jong Il also received a basket of flowers from Masakazu Yokobori, secretary general of the Japan-Korea Society for Scientific and Educational Interchange.

Congratulations to Kim Jong Il from Mil. Attaches Corps and For. Embassy Officials

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- Leader Kim Jong Il was presented with floral baskets and congratulatory letters by the military attaches corps and officials in charge of cultural and friendly relations of foreign embassies here on the occasion of his birthday. The floral baskets and congratulatory letters were handed to Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army Kim Il Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces, by Military Attache of the Iranian embassy Abdullah Hamidi Benam who is the doyen of the corps and to an official concerned by First Councilor of the People's Bureau of Libya Mahmoud Masoud Amer on behalf of officials in charge of culture and friendship Tuesday.

Colorful Activities Conducted to Celebrate February Holiday

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea finds itself in a festive mood on the eve of the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il (February 16), the most auspicious holiday of the nation. Servicepersons and people of all walks of life from different areas of the country have visited the old home of Kim Jong Il in the secret camp in Mt. Paektu. On the 13th of February, fireworks were shot in the sky over Jong Il Peak. Pyongyang and local towns are in festive attire and political and cultural functions have been held.
    At the national seminar on leader Kim Jong Il's undying Songun revolutionary feats, the speakers explained his exploits and the great Songun politics pursued by him, who has creditably led the struggle for defending socialism and building a great prosperous powerful nation while successfully carrying forward President Kim Il Sung's Songun-based revolutionary idea and line.
    Meetings of agricultural working people, workers, trade unionists and other people were held in celebration of February 16.
    The 9th Kimjongilia Festival, opened on February 12, and Kimjongilia shows are going on in many units throughout the country including the Ministry of the People's Armed Forces and the Ministry of People's Security.
    A national art show and ten-day film show are now under way.
    Art performances have been given at the Mansudae Art Theatre, Pyongyang Grand Theatre and other theatres in the capital and local areas.
    Meanwhile, industrial establishments, co-op farms and educational institutions across the country have organized art performances and sports games to mark the holiday.
    A synchronized swimming exhibition, performances of overseas Koreans' art troupes, the 14th International Figure-skating Festival for Paektusan Cup and performances of the Russian Beriozka Dancing Troupe have stirred up the festive mood.

Kimjongilia Festival Going On Successfully

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- The 9th Kimjongilia Festival which was opened on February 12 in Pyongyang is going on with success amid deep interest of Koreans and foreigners. Every day tens of thousands of servicepersons and people, overseas compatriots and foreigners visit the Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia Exhibition, the venue of the festival on the bank of the picturesque Taedong River.
    On display there are over 19,000 Kimjongilia pots presented by state commissions, ministries, national institutions, military organs, various units, people of all social strata, youth, students, overseas Koreans, diplomatic missions and international organizations in Pyongyang, foreign organizations and individuals.
    The number is 3,000 more than last year's.
    The festival venue is decorated with Kimjongilia flowers and many sorts of beautiful and rare flower plants, pot-plants and other plants.
    Kimjongilia has been highly appreciated at well-known international flower festivals, shows and fairs and registered as a new species at the International Society for Horticultural Science.
    Participants explain about their stands to visitors and horticulturists and flower-lovers exchange their experience in cultivating Kimjongilia.
    A meeting for presenting experience in the cultivation of Kimjongilia was held on February 14 as part of the festival with the attendance of botanical and horticultural scientists and technicians and flower-lovers.
    The festival continues till Feb. 21.

National Meeting Celebrates Birthday of Kim Jong Il

     Pyongyang, February 15 (KCNA) -- A national meeting was held at the April 25 House of Culture here Tuesday to celebrate the birthday of leader Kim Jong Il (February 16). Present there were senior officials of the Workers' Party of Korea, the state and the army, chairpersons of the friendly parties, members of the Cabinet, servicepersons of the Korean People's Army and people from all walks of life.
    Also present were congratulatory groups of compatriots from Japan and other parts of the world, overseas Koreans and the chief of the Pyongyang Mission of the National Democratic Front of south Korea.
    Diplomatic envoys of different countries in Pyongyang and foreign guests were present there on invitation.
    Choe Thae Bok, alternate member of the Political Bureau and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, made a report at the meeting.
    The birth of Kim Jong Il in Mt. Paektu was a great fortune for Korea as it brought a bright future of the revolutionary cause of Juche and a great event for the Korean nation, he said, adding that thanks to this day the Korean revolution could win victory after victory through generations, firmly preserving the bloodline of Juche and dynamically steering the advance of the times.
    He continued:
    Kim Jong Il has developed in depth the Juche idea of President Kim Il Sung and formulated it as a revolutionary philosophy, political philosophy serving the popular masses in their practical struggle to achieve independence. By setting out the Juche philosophy he performed a brilliant ideological and theoretical feat as he established a perfect revolutionary outlook on the world centered on the popular masses, the first of its kind in the human history of the development of progressive philosophy and provided the people with a powerful weapon for the revolutionary struggle for independence and socialism and the training of independent human-beings.
    He has carried forward the Songun idea and line set out and consistently embodied by the President and further developed them in depth as required by the times and the revolutionary development, clarifying from a new angle the idea and theory on the Songun politics.
    The tremendous vitality of his revolutionary idea lies in the fact that it scientifically indicates the road to be followed by the times and revolution as it is based on the Juche idea, which crystallizes the popular masses' idea of independence, and takes the Songun idea as its cornerstone.
    Kim Jong Il has strengthened the WPK into an invincible militant party leading the Songun revolution and the DPRK into a powerful revolutionary regime based on the Songun politics and consolidated the single-minded unity of the society as firm as a rock.
    The reporter called for bringing about an eternal prosperity of the country by dynamically speeding up the general march for the Songun revolution under the slogan "Let the Whole Party and Army and All the People Unite as One in Mind and More Strikingly Demonstrate the Might of Songun!"
    He underscored the need for the whole Party and army and all the people to fully apply the idea of attaching importance to the army and military affairs, true to the Songun politics of the WPK, and thus augment the military muscle of the country in every way. It is necessary to effect a fresh revolutionary surge on all fronts of the socialist construction by dynamically speeding up the general march for the Songun revolution and bring about a decisive turn in the economic construction and the improvement of the standard of people's living this year which marks the 60th anniversaries of the WPK and the liberation of the country, the reporter noted, and continued:
    We should concentrate all efforts on doing farming well this year, build monumental edifices for eternal prosperity and effect an uninterrupted boost in production to translate Kim Jong Il's plan for the building of a great prosperous powerful socialist nation into a brilliant reality.
    We will achieve the historic cause of national reunification at any cost by realizing the three forms of cooperation for national independence, peace against war and reunification and patriotism under the banner of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration provided by Kim Jong Il.
    The U.S. administration disclosed its real intention to escalate its policy to isolate and stifle the DPRK. If the U.S. recklessly opts for a war of aggression despite the repeated warning of the DPRK, our army and people will mobilize all potentials, built up pursuant to the Songun politics, and deal merciless crushing blows at the aggressors and achieve a final victory in the confrontation with the U.S.

For Spanish-speaking people

Kim Jong Il envia ofrenda floral ante feretro del difunto To Yong Sop

     Pyongyang, 15 de febrero (ATCC) ? El Comandante Supremo del Ejercito Popular de Corea, Kim Jong Il, envio el dia 14 una ofrenda floral ante el feretro del difunto To Yong Sop, actor del pueblo y compositor del Coro Benemerito Estatal del EPC, en senal de profundo pesame por su fallecimiento.

Kim Jong Il recibe cesto de flores del CC del PCCh

     Pyongyang, 15 de febrero (ATCC) -- Con motivo del cumpleanos (16 de febrero) del Dirigente Kim Jong Il, el Comite Central del Partido Comunista de China le hizo llegar un cesto de flores. Wu Donghe, embajador extraordinario y plenipotenciario de la Republica Popular China en Corea lo entrego el dia 15 a un funcionario coreano.
    El mismo dia, fueron entregados un cesto de flores de la Embajada de la RPCh en Corea y una carta congratulatoria y presente del embajador chino, todos dedicados al Dirigente.

Kim Jong Il recibe cestos de flores y cartas de extranjeros

     Pyongyang, 15 de febrero (ATCC) -- El Dirigente Kim Jong Il recibio cestos de flores y cartas congratulatorias que le dirigieran con motivo de su cumpleanos el Cuerpo de Agregados Militares y los funcionarios encargados de asuntos culturales y de amistad de las embajadas de varios paises en Corea. El agregado militar de la Embajada de la Republica Islamica de Iran, Abdullah Hamidi Benam, quien preside el Cuerpo los entrego el dia 15 al vicemariscal del EPC Kim Il Chol, ministro de las Fuerzas Armadas Populares.
    En representacion de los funcionarios encargados de asuntos culturales y de amistad, Mahmoud Masoud Amer, primer consejero de la Oficina Popular de la Gran Jamahiria Arabe Libia Popular Socialista hizo lo mismo a un funcionario coreano.