Agreement Signed between DPRK and Laos

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- An agreement for establishing the DPRK-Laos Youth Friendship Centre was signed in Vientiane. It was inked by Jang Yong Chol, secretary of the Central Committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League who is head of the delegation of the league, and a vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union.

Talks between Delegations of DPRK and Mongolian Ministries Held

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- Talks were held between the delegations of the DPRK Ministry of Land and Environment Preservation and the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment at the Mansudae Assembly Hall Tuesday. At the talks both sides exchanged views on developing cooperation in the field of land and environment preservation between the two countries.
    Present there were members of the delegation of the DPRK Ministry of Land and Environment Preservation led by Minister Jang Il Son and members of the delegation of the Mongolian Ministry of Nature and Environment headed by Minister Ulambayaryn Barsbold and Mongolian Ambassador to the DPRK Janchivdorjyn Lomvo.
    The talks proceeded in a friendly atmosphere.

Regional Headquarters of South Side's Preparatory Committee Formed

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- A ceremony of inaugurating the Taegu-North Kyongsang Provincial Headquarters of the South Side's Preparatory Committee for joint functions of Koreans in the south and the north and overseas to implement the June 15 joint declaration was reportedly held at Kyongbuk National University on May 6. Present there were Han Sang Ryol, permanent representative chairman of the Reunification Solidarity, and more than 150 representatives of 85 civic and social organizations in the Taegu- Kyongbuk (North Kyongsang Province) region.
    The ceremony elected 19 permanent representatives of the headquarters, 2 joint steering chairmen, 23 steering members and 2 secretary generals.
    An inaugural declaration said that the June 15 joint declaration is the declaration for independence, peace and great national unity as it would put an end to the history of division and confrontation and usher in a new era of national reconciliation, unity and reunification and it is a milestone of reunification common to the nation because it paved a wide avenue for achieving peace and reunification by the independent forces of the nation.
    It is necessary to solve the issue of national reunification by pooling the efforts and wisdom of Koreans responsible for it without depending on others, the declaration noted, stating that the organization would make every possible effort to free the Korean Peninsula from the potential danger of war and achieve peace this year which marks the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Korea and the 5th anniversary of the joint declaration.

National Cooperation Called for by Korean-Americans

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- It is the only way of preventing the Korean nation from going to ruin to combat flunkeyism towards the U.S. and realize national cooperation. Such unity of the Korean nation is more powerful than any type of nuclear weapon. An Internet homepage in the U.S., Minjok Thongsin, said this in its editor's commentary titled "Unity Is More Powerful than Nuke" posted on May 3.
    The commentary referred to the fact that the U.S. has massively stockpiled nuclear weapons for years and considered them as leverage for domination and interference to retain its supremacy.
    It continued:
    The U.S. has shipped at least 1,000 ultra-modern nuclear weapons into south Korea and staged ceaseless nuclear war exercises targeted against the DPRK.
    It has already worked out war scenarios for mounting preemptive nuclear attacks on the DPRK.
    This situation has driven the Korean nation to the crossroads of war or peace. The south Korean government, however, seems to be unaware of this and only cries for "south Korea-U.S. alliance," seized by flunkeyism.
    Persistently toeing the U.S. line is little short of pushing the nation to ruin.
    This practice would lead to war, not to peace, to subordination, not to sovereignty and to division, not to reunification.

Kim Jong Il Praised by Russian President

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin praised leader Kim Jong Il in his interview with the U.S. CBS TV on Sunday, according to ITAR- TASS. Recalling that he met with Kim Jong Il three times, he said:
    I think Kim Jong Il is a man striving to turn the DPRK into a land better to live in. What disturbs this is not only historic situation but today's relentless pressure from outside.
    A host of matters of today as well as the past obstruct this. Also interfering with this is a very harsh pressure from some partners.
    We should not drive the situation to a dead end.

Message to Kim Jong Il Adopted in Ukraine

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- A message to leader Kim Jong Il was adopted at a national meeting held in Ukraine to commemorate the Day of the Sun. The message says that in Ukraine the organizing committee for commemorating the Day of the Sun held a national meeting in Kiev on April 5, political parties, scientific institutions and public organizations sponsored mass functions, and traditional regional meetings took place in Rovno, Donetsk and other cities on the occasion of April 15 this year. Referring to the feats and noble traits of President Kim Il Sung, it stresses that the present-day history knows no activist like the President in greatness.
    Noting that the President won boundless trust of the world progressives fighting against exploitation and oppression, pressure of big powers and "globalization," the message says April 15, 1912, was the day when the planet opened up a new era, the era of the independence of the popular masses in its history.
    The message says the past days attested that their option in holding Kim Jong Il as the successor to the revolutionary cause started by the President was absolutely correct. It goes on:
    You prove this by the Songun policy and your tireless leadership for the building of a great prosperous powerful nation and the independent reunification of the country. The Songun policy pursued by you is rooted in the Juche idea founded by the President.
    You are advancing with a tight grip on the torch of Juche lighted by the President.

Friendly Meeting with Iranian Embassy Officials

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The DPRK-Iran Friendship Association arranged a friendly meeting with officials of the Iranian embassy here at the Taedonggang Club for the Diplomatic Corps Tuesday on the occasion of the week of DPRK-Iran friendship. Present there on invitation were Ambassador Jalaleddin Namini Mianji and officials of the Iranian embassy.
    On hand were Vice-Chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries Jon Yong Jin who is vice-chairman of the DPRK-Iran Friendship Association, members of the friendship association and officials concerned.
    Speeches were made at the meeting.
    Noting that the visit of Seyed Ali Khamenei to the DPRK in May 1989 helped toward the development of the bilateral relations, the speakers called for further boosting friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.
    Then the participants appreciated an art performance given by schoolchildren and played sports and amusement games, deepening sentiments of friendship.

Chief of KPA General Staff Meets Cuban Delegation

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- Vice Marshal of the Korean People's Army Kim Yong Chun, member of the DPRK National Defence Commission and chief of the KPA General Staff, Tuesday met and had a friendly talk with the delegation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba headed by Lieut. General Leonardo Andouo Valdes, vice-chief of the General Staff and director of the Operations Department of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. Present there were General Ri Myong Su, Col. General Pak Sung Won, general officers and officers of the KPA, Cuban Ambassador to the DPRK Ruben Perez Valdes and Military Attache Giraldo Abreu Morales of the Cuban embassy.

U.S. Chiefly Accountable for Space Arms Race

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The United States is chiefly to blame for sparking a new space arms race and it is the world's biggest war force. The U.S. should stop its criminal moves for space militarization and arms race at once. Rodong Sinmun Wednesday says this in a signed commentary. It goes on:
    The Bush warlike forces are contemplating going ahead with a program to develop satellites equipped with interceptor missiles. This is a dangerous military move as it will spark a new space arms race.
    They have already deployed ground interceptor missiles in Alaska and California. As if it were not enough with this, they are going to spend an exorbitant amount of money for pushing ahead with the above-said development program. This is aimed at building missile bases not only on the ground and the sea but in space as well in a bid to cover the world with a dense network of missiles, threaten, blackmail and contain other countries with its unchallenged military edge and realize its ambition for world supremacy.
    The U.S. stepped-up moves to develop satellites equipped with interceptor missiles and establish the missile defence system (MD) are designed to establish a military monopoly on space and secure an absolute strategic edge and an unchallenged position there. Through this it seeks to aim at any region and country of the world from its space military bases and mount a preemptive attack on them any time without difficulty in a bid to establish world supremacy. Herein lies the reactionary and dangerous nature of the above-mentioned U.S. moves.
    If the Bush warlike forces persist in their frantic moves to develop and deploy new-type space arms, obsessed by an anachronistic daydream, this will compel other countries to take actions against them. Then this will no doubt trigger off a new space arms race.

U.S. Reckless Military Moves under Fire

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- An officer concerned with the U.S. forces in south Korea announced that the arms buildup program attendant on the on-going "cutback" of the U.S. troops in south Korea has already progressed more than half. According to him, new-type AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, unmanned planes and new-type PAC-3 interceptor missiles have been shipped in and the commanding system has been improved in south Korea. In this regard a Minju Joson analyst Wednesday says:
    This is an irrefutable proof that the U.S. imperialists' preparations for a preemptive attack on the DPRK have already gone beyond the danger line and the danger of the outbreak of a new war has become real.
    The arms buildup program is a scenario of preparations for a war against the DPRK drawn up and pushed forward according to the new concept of war of the U.S. to contain it with strength.
    The U.S. imperialists are outwardly making a splash about a "peaceful settlement" of the nuclear issue between the DPRK and the U.S. But, in actuality, they have never given up their scheme to stifle the DPRK by force of arms but are hastening at fever pitch the preparations for a preemptive nuclear strike at it behind the curtain of "cutback."
    The DPRK's possession of nuclear weapons is a just measure for self-defense to check a war and defend its idea and system in face of the daily increasing nuclear threat of the U.S. and its scheme to launch a preemptive nuclear attack. The DPRK will continue to increase its self-defensive nuclear deterrent as the U.S. gets evermore desperate in its moves to stifle the DPRK intended to bring it to its knees by military force.
    The army and people of the DPRK are now fully prepared to cope with the U.S. moves to stifle it which are getting more malicious.
    The U.S. should look straight into this and promptly abandon its extremely dangerous arms buildup.

Useful Animals Protected in DPRK

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- Broad masses are drawn into the March-July activities for protecting useful animals in the DPRK. The Central Committee of the DPRK Natural Conservation Union is explaining to working people and school youth and children across the country in easy terms the significance and importance of the protection of useful animals and its ways.
    On the other hand, it is putting efforts into the protection and propagation of more than 100 species of animals and over 410 species of birds inhabiting at least 200 nature reserves including such mountains of scenic beauty of Korea as Mts. Paektu, Kumgang, Myohyang and Kuwol and in parks.
    Well-combined species of tall trees, shrubs and fodder plants are being planted in the nature reserves in Hyangsan, Pakchon and Nyongbyon counties, North Phyongan Province, northwestern region of Korea, for the habitation of useful animals.
    Measures to prevent diseases affecting the life and growth of animals have been taken in spring in Pyoksong County, South Hwanghae Province, and Kangdong County, Pyongyang City, by sterilizing habitats of animals and spraying parasiticide there.
    In North Hwanghae and North Phyongan provinces, thousands of pheasants are set free regularly every year.
    Middle and primary schoolchildren all over the country hang out lots of bird nests around their villages, at the foot of mountains, in parks and recreation grounds.

History of Land Rezoning in DPRK

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The vast standardized fields are now vibrant with transplantation of rice seedlings in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The rezoned fields are a fruition of the wise leadership of Kim Jong Il .
    In the 1990s, the U.S. imperialists were engaged in their moves to stifle the DPRK by completely blocking all the economic channels to it, staging various kinds of military exercises and shipping latest military hardware into south Korea.
    On top of this, natural disasters submerged or washed away hundreds of thousands of hectares of arable land, severely damaging agricultural production.
    The Korean people had to undergo the unprecedented "Arduous March" and forced march, arousing apprehensions on the part of the international community.
    It was on a field of Kangwon Province in May Juche 87 (1998) that leader Kim Jong Il, who was on a continued inspection tour of army units to defend the country and socialism, made public his long-matured far-reaching plan of land rezoning for the prosperity of the country.
    On July 22 that year, he issued the order of the DPRK National Defence Commission "On rezoning land of Kangwon Province through the general mobilization of the whole country" and gave a minute guidance to the project so that it might be carried out in a perspective way.
    In January 2003 when a touch-and-go situation was created after the publication of the statement of the DPRK government on withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, he found himself on the Anju plain to inspire those mobilized in the project.
    He gave field guidance to the land rezoning in Kangwon Province several times in a matter of one year and to nearly 30 farms for five years from May 1998 to May 2003. Under his guidance, the Korean people rezoned hundreds of thousands of hectares of land for seven years.

Anti-U.S., Anti-War Struggle Called for

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- All Koreans in the north, the south and abroad should turn out as one in the anti-U.S., anti-war struggle to protect peace and security of the nation from the U.S. moves to ignite war of aggression against Korea and achieve the historical cause of national reunification, urges Rodong Sinmun Wednesday in a signed article titled "Anti-U.S., anti-war struggle is to protect peace." The article says:
    The Koreans should defend peace in the Korean Peninsula by themselves under any circumstances. Now that a war to break out in the peninsula is certain to be a nuclear war which would bring a holocaust to both the north and the south, every Korean, whether he or she is in the north or the south or overseas, is called upon to come out in the anti-U.S., anti-war struggle on which the destiny of the nation hinges.
    All Koreans should fully realize the three forms of cooperation for national independence, peace against war and reunification and patriotism in the idea of "By our nation itself".
    The south Korean people should not be taken in by the U.S. lip-service to a "peaceful solution" to the DPRK-U.S. nuclear issue but intensify the struggle for scrapping the south Korea-U.S. "alliance", a mere tool for implementing the U.S. imperialist warhawks' policy of aggression, and forcing the U.S. aggression troops to quit south Korea.
    They should never tolerate such criminal acts as siding with the U.S. in its anti-DPRK campaign, yielding to its pressure and blackmail, and supporting its moves for arms buildup and war in an effort to strain the situation and harass peace, going against the wishes of the fellow countrymen.
    All Koreans in the north, the south and abroad will turn out as one in decisive resistance against the U.S. and war, an action urgently required by the nation's history to cope with the prevailing situation, and thus firmly protect peace and security in the peninsula and achieve the cause of the independent and peaceful reunification of the country, the nation's greatest desire, without fail.

CPRF on Passage of "Law on Past History" through S. "National Assembly"

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) Wednesday issued its information bulletin No. 902 in connection with the passage of the "law on the past history" (basic bill on adjusting the past history for truth and reconciliation) through the "National Assembly" of south Korea on May 3. By origin the bill was raised to meet the demand of the public circles for probing the truth about what happened in south Korea in the past history because facts about cases had been misinterpreted and faked up, the suppression of the movement for democratization and the patriotic movement for reunification during the fascist dictatorial regimes in particular.
    But the recently adopted "law on the past history" is quite different from its original purport as it calls for including "those forces negating or antagonizing the "true nature" of the south Korean "system" among the objects of the probe into the truth about the past history.
    The law is no more than leverage for inciting confrontation with the north and mocking at the progressive forces in south Korea who waged a self-sacrificing struggle for independence, democracy and reunification, the information bulletin said, and went on:
    This is entirely attributable to the vicious moves of the Grand National Party.
    The whole course of the debate about the "law on the past history" at the south Korean "National Assembly" goes to clearly prove once again that no matter how frequently the GNP disguises itself, its true colors as an anti-reunification party, a party for confrontation with the north and a fascist dictatorial party can never change and the GNP remains, indeed, the biggest hurdle in the way of progress and reform.
    If such conservative forces as the GNP come to power again, south Korea will return to the era of darkness and the north-south relations to those of confrontation.

KPA Navy Command Denounces S. Korean Forces' Military Provocations

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The Navy Command of the Korean People's Army in a press release Wednesday denounced the south Korean forces for their recent military provocations in the West Sea of Korea. The press release said: These days the military provocations of the south Korean forces have become pronounced in the West Sea of Korea.
    Since the outset of May the south Korean military authorities have illegally infiltrated their warships into the waters of the north side five or six times a day.
    They keep infiltrating their warships into the controversial waters during the blue crab catching season, a season that had already witnessed two "skirmishes in the West Sea." This is a very dangerous action which may spark a fresh naval skirmish.
    This is a wanton violation of the agreement adopted at the north-south general-level military talks held about this time last year to prevent military conflict in the West Sea. If they truly wish to implement the agreed points of the north-south agreement, they should not try to justify their intrusion under the absurd pretext but take practical measures to stop it.
    This is the only way to prevent the third "skirmish in the West Sea."

Congratulations to British Prime Minister

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- Pak Pong Ju, premier of the DPRK Cabinet, sent a congratulatory message to British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The message extended congratulations to him upon the victory of the British Labour Party in the recent general election in Britain and his reappointment as its prime minister.

Spent Fuel Rods Unloaded from Pilot Nuclear Plant

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday gave the following answer to the question raised by KCNA as regards the completion of the unloading of spent fuel rods from its pilot nuclear plant: The relevant field of the DPRK has successfully finished the unloading of 8,000 spent fuel rods from the 5MW pilot nuclear plant in the shortest period recently.
    The DPRK had already declared in Dec. 2002 that it would re-operate the above-said plant and resume the construction of two other nuclear plants, one with a capacity of 50,000 kw and the other with a capacity of 200,000 kw which had been frozen according to the DPRK-U.S. Agreed Framework the keynote of which is the provision of light water reactors to the DPRK because the Bush administration threatened the DPRK with nuclear weapons in violation of the AF.
    Accordingly, the DPRK keeps taking necessary measures to bolster its nuclear arsenal for the defensive purpose of coping with the prevailing situation, with a main emphasis on developing the self-reliant nuclear power industry.

GNP's Anti-DPRK Human Rights Racket Assailed

     Pyongyang, May 11 (KCNA) -- The south Korean Grand National Party is working hard to hold a "seminar on legislation calling for the improved human rights of the population in north Korea" at the "National Assembly," while busying itself to fake up an evil "north Korean human rights law." In this regard a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland in a statement Wednesday terms this an unpardonable provocation of a puppet joining the U.S. in its anti-DPRK human rights campaign and an unbearable challenge to it. The statement says:
    The GNP's loudmouthed "human rights issue in north Korea" is nothing but a U.S. sheer fabrication aimed at inventing a pretext for stifling the Korean-style socialist system which was chosen and has been defended by the Korean people themselves.
    The GNP's moves are no more than crimes against the nation as they are intended to throw a wet blanket over the south Koreans' pro-north and pro-reunification tendency which has grown strong in the run-up to the 5th anniversary of the historic June 15 joint declaration and support the U.S. in its efforts to provoke a war against the DPRK and stifle it.
    We will never remain an on-looker to the criminal acts of the GNP whose days are numbered but surely settle accounts with it in the name of the entire Korean nation.

For Spanish-speaking people

Putin elogia a Kim Jong Il

     Pyongyang, 11 de mayo (ATCC) -- Segun la ITAR-TASS, en sus declaraciones exclusivas con la CBS TV que tuvo lugar el dia 8, el presidente de la Federacion Rusa, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, elogio al Dirigente Kim Jong Il. En la ocasion el mandatario ruso hizo mencion de sus tres encuentros con el Dirigente y continuo:
    Pienso que el Dirigente Kim Jong Il es un hombre que trata de convertir a Corea en un pais mas confortable para vivir.
    Lo que pone obstaculo a tal proposito no solo es una circunstancia historica, sino tambien la severa presion exterior de hoy.
    Tambien lo impiden tanto innumerables problemas del pasado y del presente como la cruel coaccion que ejercen algunos acompanantes.
    No debemos poner en un aprieto la situacion.

Kim Yong Chun se reune con delegacion de FAR de Cuba

     Pyongyang, 11 de mayo (ATCC) -- El vicemariscal del Ejercito Popular de Corea Kim Yong Chun, miembro del Comite de Defensa Nacional de la Republica Popular Democratica de Corea y jefe del Estado Mayor General del EPC, departio el dia 10 en un ambiente amistoso con la delegacion de las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR) de Cuba presidida por el general de division Leonardo Andollo Valdes, subjefe del Estado Mayor General y jefe del departamento de operaciones de esta institucion armada. En la ocasion estuvieron presentes el general de ejercito Ri Myong Su, el coronel general Pak Sung Won y otros generales y oficiales del EPC, el embajador extraordinario y plenipotenciario de Cuba en Corea, Ruben Perez Valdes, y el agregado militar de la misma sede diplomatica, Giraldo Abreu Morales.

Acuerdo para establecer centro de amistad de juventud Corea-Laos

     Pyongyang, 11 de mayo (ATCC) -- Quedo firmado en Vientiane un acuerdo para el establecimiento del Centro de Amistad de la Juventud Corea-Laos. Lo rubricaron el secretario del Comite Central de la Union de la Juventud Socialista Kim Il Sung quien preside la delegacion de esta entidad, Jang Yong Chol y el vicepresidente del CC de la Union de la Juventud Popular Revolucionaria Lao.