Kim Yong Nam Meets Iranian Delegation
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, met and had a friendly talk with the delegation of the Physical Education Organization of Iran led by Head Mohammad Ali Abadi, who is vice-president of Iran, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall today.
Present there were Mun Jae Dok, chairman of the Korean Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission, officials concerned and Hamid Reza Sadegh, Iranian charge d'affaires a.i. here.
On the occasion the head of the delegation said that it is the firm stand of the Iranian government to boost relations of friendship with the DPRK. And he declared that Iran would further develop the relations of cooperation with the DPRK in different fields including sports.
Gift to Kim Jong Il from Iranian Government
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il received a gift from the Iranian government.
The gift was handed to Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, by Iranian Vice-President Mohammad Ali Abadi on a visit to the DPRK on Thursday.
Talks between Delegations of DPRK and Iran Held
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- Talks between the delegation of the Korean Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission and the delegation of the Physical Education Organisation of Iran were held in Pyongyang on December 12.
Present there from the DPRK side were the members of the delegation of the DPRK Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Commission led by Chairman Mun Jae Dok and from the Iranian side the members of the delegation of the Physical Education Organisation of Iran led by Head Mohammad Ali Abadi, who is vice-president of Iran, and Iranian Charge d'Affaires a.i. here Hamid Reza Sadegh.
At the talks both sides exchanged views on boosting the cooperative relations between the two countries in the field of sports.
DPRK, China Cooperate in Science and Technology
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- A protocol of the 42nd meeting of the DPRK-China intergovernmental committee for cooperation in science and technology was inked in Pyongyang on Thursday.
Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were Ri Song Uk, vice-president of the State Academy of Sciences, and officials concerned and from the Chinese side were members of the Chinese government scientific and technological delegation led by Cheng Jinpei, vice-minister of Science and Technology, and Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK.
The protocol was signed by Ri Song Uk and Cheng Jinpei.
Anniversary of Kim Jong Il's Work Observed
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- A seminar was held at the Central Youth Hall Thursday to mark the 25th anniversary of the publication of Kim Jong Il's famous work "On Increasing Obedience to Socialist Laws".
The work clarifies that it is the obedience to the socialist laws for all members of the society to work and live as required by laws and regulations instituted by the socialist state and explains the position of the socialist laws in the obedience to laws.
The seminar heard papers proving in depth the validity and vitality of the ideas and theories expounded by Kim Jong Il in the work and explaining the issues arising in increasing the obedience to the socialist laws.
The speakers said that the work provides ideological and theoretical guidelines for consolidating the state social system and powerfully pushing forward the revolution and construction in the DPRK as it specifies the fundamental mission of the socialist laws and duty to be fulfilled by law-enforcement officials and comprehensively indicates the orientation of increasing the obedience to the socialist laws with the revolutionary spirit and fighting trait displayed by the servicepersons of the Korean People's Army as examples and ways to do so.
Kim Jong Il in the work scientifically and theoretically formulated and systematized the idea of President Kim Il Sung on obedience to socialist laws and developed it in depth as required by the Songun era, thus helping all members of society abide by the socialist laws with high revolutionary and voluntary spirit and a high sense of organization and discipline.
The speakers explained practical issues arising in increasing the obedience to the socialist laws so as to strictly abide by law and order of the state and give full play to the advantages of the system whereby to guide the obedience to the socialist laws.
Present at the seminar were Vice-President Yang Hyong Sop and Secretary General Choe Yong Rim of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, members of the socialist law observance guidance committees of different levels, officials of juridical organs, law-enforcement officials and explainers of law observance, teachers and researchers of universities.
New Book Sees Light
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- The Literature and Art Publishing House published full-length novel "Stars Shine" written by Ri Tong Gu and Ri Ryong Chol from a cycle of novels "On the Road of Loyalty" created by the April 15 Writing Group recently.
The novel was written with the period from late Juche 34 (1945) to early Juche 37 (1948) as its setting. It tells about how energetically anti-Japanese war hero Kim Jong Suk worked to implement the line of building regular revolutionary armed forces put forward by President Kim Il Sung right after the liberation of the country.
Through the moving stories about how the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK were built up into invincible regular armed forces the novel artistically represents the fact that the DPRK has revolutionary armed forces today thanks to Kim Jong Suk who dedicated her whole life to the work to uphold the idea and leadership of the President like sunflower.
National Exhibition of Landscape Paintings and Handicrafts Held
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- A national exhibition of landscape paintings and handicrafts was held at the Pyongyang International Cultural Centre on Dec. 12 on the occasion of the 90th birth anniversary of anti-Japanese war hero Kim Jong Suk.
Artists of fine art production institutions across the country including the Mansudae Art Studio, the National Art Studio and Pyongyang University of Fine Arts presented more than 400 pieces of landscape paintings and handicrafts of various themes to the exhibition.
The works truthfully depict historic battle sites and sites associated with the history of the revolutionary activities of the three generals of Mt. Paektu and the appearance of the socialist country where the noble desire of Kim Jong Suk has come true, etc.
Displayed in the center of the exhibition hall was an oil painting showing Kim Jong Suk leaving immortal handwritings.
Also on display were landscape paintings and handicrafts dealing with the great vitality and might of the Songun politics and the scenic beauty of the country and the long history and culture of the nation.
DPRK Shooters Prove Successful
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- Shooters of the DPRK bagged three gold medals at the 11th Asian Shooting Championships.
They took the first places in the men's team event of the 25-meter standard pistol competition and the women's team event of the skeet shooting. Meanwhile, Pak Jong Ran came first in the women's individual event of the skeet shooting.
DPRK shooters also bagged silver medals in the women's team event of the trap shooting and the men's individual event of the 25-meter standard pistol.
They snatched bronze medals in the women's team event and the men's individual event of the 10-meter air pistol, in the women's individual event of the trap shooting, in the men's individual event of the 25-meter standard pistol and in the women's individual event of the skeet shooting.
Fruitful Year of Juche Literature and Art
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- Juche 96 (2007) has witnessed an efflorescence of the Juche literature and art.
The stage work "Blue Sky over My Country" (Part Dawn), which consummates the Songun literature and art, depicts on a grand epical canvas the gigantic efforts of the Korean people who are on the general march of Songun revolution toward the dawn of a great, prosperous and powerful nation, thus stirring up their revolutionary fervor.
The grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang," a world famous masterpiece, was registered in the Guinness World Records to be handed down through generations as a treasure of human culture and art.
The song "The Glow over Kangson," a masterpiece of the times, was newly arranged for instrumental music and soprano trio. The song inspires all the people to live and work in the spirit of Chollima.
The performance of servicepersons of companies of the Korean People's Army who participated in the 31st art festival of KPA servicepersons and the10th joint performance of art groups of servicepersons' families of the KPA, which were appreciated as the paragon of the Songun culture, and the performance of the art group of employees in the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex show the high standard of art popularization in the country.
Dozens of revolutionary poems and novels have seen the light this year, which has been recorded as a year in the annals for building a great, prosperous and powerful nation. Among them there are the epics "The Supreme Commander and Comrades-in-arms", "The Land of Spring in April" and "Envy the Youth of Mt. Paektu", and "Chongsan Plain" which belong to the cycle of novels "Immortal History" and novel "Ushering in the New Day" (first volume).
Thousands of fine art works were on display at the National Fine Art Exhibition and fine art shows, enriching the treasure house of the Juche-oriented fine art.
This year artists of the Mansudae Art Studio presented Korean paintings reflecting the efforts and life of the Korean people and traditional porcelain pieces of the nation to the 10th Beijing International Art Exposition and the 2007 Northeastern China International Porcelain Fair, winning the "Ten Most Famous Artists" prize and diploma, gold prize and first prize.
At the 11th Wuqiao International Acrobatics Festival, Korean acrobats performed the aerial trapeze "Diverse Flight" and were honored with "Gold Lion Prize" Cup, the highest prize, and certificate, thus demonstrating the might of the Juche acrobatics.
Pyongyang Circus
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- "Gold Lion Prize" Cup, the highest prize, was awarded to DPRK's aerial trapeze "Diverse Flight" at the 11th Wuqiao International Acrobatics Festival held in China recently.
The performers are acrobats of the Pyongyang Circus who successfully presented latest technical movements for aerial flight such as treble flip-flap with simultaneous pirouette, quadruple flip-flap in the air and 16-meter-long distance flight.
The Pyongyang Circus (then State Pyongyang Circus) founded on June 10, Juche 41 (1952) is one of the most famous acrobatic art groups in the country, winning fame at home and abroad.
The first work of aerial fight was staged in May 1957. From the 1970s, it developed as one of traditional programs of the country's acrobatics, and now dominates the world in this program.
"Aerial Swing Flight", "Cycle Stunt" and "Tightrope-Walking" won in the 5th International Acrobatic Festival held in France.
"Aerial Somersault Flight", "Three-stage Trapeze Flight", "Flying Girls", "Fliers", "Aerial Iron Bar Flight", "Double Trapeze Flight" and others were also awarded gold prize, technical prize and special prize in international acrobatic festivals including the Monte Carlo International Acrobatic Festival, World Acrobatic Championship, World Acrobatic Olympic Festival, Wuhan International Acrobatic Festival, Rome International Acrobatic Festival and Wuqiao International Acrobatics Festival.
The circus has created more than 1,000 acrobatic pieces and staged tens of thousands of performances over the last years.
A lot of its acrobats have been conferred high state orders and honorable titles.
Koreans Called upon to Give Momentum to Atmosphere of Reconciliation and Unity
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- All Koreans are called upon to give further momentum to the atmosphere of reconciliation and unity and boost their solidarity and alliance with a view to proudly glorifying the June 15 era of reunification and bringing earlier the historic day of independent reunification. This call is made by a signed article of Rodong Sinmun Thursday.
Unity is what keeps the nation alive and serves as an engine propelling the cause of reunification, the article says, and goes on:
For the Koreans, a homogeneous nation, the issue of unity is vital to the nation and indispensable for the national prosperity. Koreans should go united not only for their existence but for national prosperity and the demonstration of the might of the nation to the world.
National unity is essentially required by the nature and characteristics of the struggle for national reunification.
Koreans were not split because of any contradictions and conflicting elements within the nation. The issue of Korea's reunification is not aimed to eliminate any contradictions within the nation or remove institutional antagonism but to rejoin the blood ties of the nation severed by the foreign forces and achieve national reconciliation.
It is unbearable national misfortune and tragedy for the Koreans to have been forced to live separated in the north and south for over six decades due to the outside forces. All Koreans should go united in order to put an end to this tragedy of the national history at an early date. The reconciliation and unity of the entire nation precisely mean the reunification of the country.
Outsiders and ultra-right conservatives of south Korea, their lackeys, have spoken ill of "By our nation itself," the idea common to the nation, by hook or by crook, displeased with it. Lurking behind this is their sinister intention to deter the Koreans from achieving the national unity and foster antipathy and confrontation among fellow countrymen.
All Koreans should work harder to achieve the unity of the entire nation on the basis of the achievements made in the course of the struggle for unity.
Kim Il Sung's Work Published in Nicaragua
Pyongyang, December 13 (KCNA) -- President Kim Il Sung's famous work "For a Free and Peaceful New World" was published in pamphlet by a Nicaraguan publishing house on Dec. 5.
The work, published on April 29, Juche 80(1991), clarifies the tasks for building a free and peaceful new world and ways to do so.
Search for Tokushima Prefectural Headquarters of Chongryon Protested
Tokyo, December 11 (KNS-KCNA) -- Officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) in Jushikoku Area of Japan went to the Tokushima prefectural police station on Dec. 4 and lodged a protest with the prefectural police authorities against their frantic fascist search operation.
In a written protest they condemned the prefectural police authorities for searching the prefectural headquarters after faking up what they called "fraud and swindle" as regards social insurance and confiscating a lot of articles which had nothing to do with it on Nov. 28.
They termed this an unpardonable politically motivated suppression of Chongryon, adding that it was quite an unreasonable action for the police to have searched even the prefectural headquarters of Chongryon because if there would be anything wrong with the application for social insurance it was the issue to be settled by the social insurance office.
They strongly demanded the police authorities apologize for the search operation against the prefectural headquarters, stop at once the unreasonable investigation and immediately return the confiscated articles.
For Spanish-speaking people
Iniciadas conversaciones militares a nivel de general N-S
Pyongyang, 13 de diciembre (ATCC) -- Quedaron iniciadas la vispera en la parte Sur de Phanmunjom la 7a ronda de las conversaciones militares a nivel de general entre el Norte y el Sur de Corea.
A esa cita participaron la delegacion de la parte Norte encabezada por el teniente general del Ejercito Popular de Corea, Kim Yong Chol, y la de la parte Sur presidida por el delegado-jefe Ri Hong Gi, jefe de Planificacion de Politica del Ministerio de Defensa Nacional.
Ambas partes discutieron las medidas para garantizar en lo militar la cooperacion y el intercambio bilaterales en la "Zona especial de cooperacion pacifica del Mar Oeste" segun el acuerdo logrado en la segunda ronda de las conversaciones entre los ministros de las fuerzas armadas Norte-Sur.
Sobre todo, el jefe de la delegacion nortena ratifico la invariable posicion del EPC de asegurar consecuentemente en sentido militar la ejecucion de la historica Declaracion del 4 de Octubre.
Expreso la posicion de tomar medidas con rumbo a aumentar el tiempo del paso en la Zona Industrial de Kaesong y la Zona Turistica del monte Kumgang, asegurar la rapidez y flexibilidad de las comunicaciones y a acortar el tiempo de la tramitacion aduanera en estas zonas.
Lamento que en cuanto al problema del Mar Oeste, la parte Sur pone escollos artificiales en la solucion de este asunto sin cambiar su posicion de siempre en contraposicion a la imparcial y justa propuesta y sinceros esfuerzos de la parte Norte.
A continuacion, presento el borrador del acuerdo sobre la fijacion del area de pesca conjunta y la franja de paz en el Mar Oeste, que refleja la imparcial y justa posicion de la parte Norte.
Ese documento aborda el problema de determinar dichas zonas en el principio de fomentar los intereses y prosperidad comunes de la nacion y preservar la paz, las medidas para garantizar en lo militar la cooperacion en ellas, los remedios para mantener apartadas a sus respectivas fuerzas navales enfrentadas en el Mar Oeste, etc.
Por ultimo, expreso su esperanza de que la parte Sur de una respuesta positiva a la propuesta de la parte Norte tras examinarla seriamente.
Le siguio en usar la palabra el delegado-jefe de la parte Sur.
Las conversaciones continuan.
Kim Jong Il recibe presente del gobierno irani
Pyongyang, 13 de diciembre (ATCC) -- El Dirigente Kim Jong Il recibio presente que le dirigiera el gobierno de la Republica Islamica de Iran.
El vicepresidente irani Mohammad Ali Abadi, de visita en Corea, lo entrego este jueves a Kim Yong Nam, presidente del Presidium de la Asamblea Popular Suprema de la Republica Popular Democratica de Corea.
Conversaciones entre las delegaciones de Corea e iran
Pyongyang, 13 de diciembre (ATCC) -- Tuvieron lugar el dia 12 en esta capital las conversaciones entre las delegaciones del Comite de Direccion de Deportes de Corea y del Comite de Organizacion de Educacion Fisica de Iran.
En la ocasion estuvieron presentes por la parte coreana los miembros de la delegacion del Comite de Direccion de Deportes de la Republica Popular Democratica de Corea encabezada por su presidente Mun Jae Dok y por la parte irani los miembros de la delegacion del Comite de Organizacion de Educacion Fisica de Iran presidida por su presidente Mohammad Ali Abadi, vicepresidente de la Republica Islamica de Iran y el encargado de negocios a.i., Hamid Reza Sadegh, en Corea.
Ambas partes se intercambiaron sus opiniones sobre el problema de desarrollar mas las relaciones de cooperacion entre los dos paises en la esfera deportiva.
Rodong Sinmun exhorta a todos los coreanos a unidad y solidaridad
Pyongyang, 13 de diciembre (ATCC) -- Todos los coreanos deben hacer mas fuerte el clima de reconciliacion y unidad y fortalecer la alianza solidaria para dar brillos a la epoca de reunificacion iniciada el 15 de Junio y lograr lo mas pronto posible el historico dia de reunificacion independiente.
Asi senala el periodico Rodong Sinmun en un articulo individual del dia 13 y continua:
La unidad es el modo de subsistencia de la nacion coreana y fuerza motriz de la causa de reunificacion.
Para la homogenea nacion coreana ese asunto deviene un problema vital que decide la vida o la muerte de ella y un factor indispensable para la prosperidad nacional.
La unidad nacional es el requisito que parte de la esencia y el caracter de la lucha por reunificar la patria.
La reunificacion de Corea no es el problema para acabar con cualquier contradiccion interna de la nacion o el antagonismo del sistema, sino la labor para reanudar los vasos sanguineos partidos por las fuerzas foraneas, lograr la unidad de la nacion y exaltar el poderio de esta.
Ya pasaron 60 anos desde cuando la nacion coreana fue dividida en el Norte y el Sur por las fuerzas foraneas, lo cual deviene para ella insoportable desgracia y tragedia. Para poner fin lo mas pronto posible a esta tragedia de la historia nacional y reunificar la patria, todos los coreanos deben reconciliarse y unirse.
Pero, las fuerzas extranjeras y las conservadoras ultraderechistas surcoreanas, que se confabulan con aquellas, estan disgustadas del ideal de "entre nosotros, los connacionales" y lo censuran de una u otra forma. Esta conducta parte de su siniestra ambicion de obstaculizar la unidad nacional y fomentar la discordia y enfrentamiento fratricida.
Todos los coreanos deben impulsar con mas vigor la unidad pannacional basandose en los exitos logrados en la lucha por el particular.