The DPRK has never thought of making such an announcement nor issued any instruction concerning it.

What the Japanese newspapers reported is part of the despicable smear campaign conducted by Japan against the DPRK.

What merits serious attention is that the two newspapers had temerity to let loose sheer sophism intended to hurt the dignity of the DPRK while talking about the "abnormal health condition" of the top leader of the DPRK. Lurking behind this is a sinister intention of the dishonest forces to defame the indestructible political system in the DPRK in which all the servicepersons and people are single-mindedly united around the party and the leader, displeased with it.

As already known well, the two newspapers are known to be typical reptile papers serving the Japanese ultra-right conservatives and have long played the role as media hatching plots against the DPRK in league with those forces hostile toward it.

This time, too, those newspapers released articles peppered with lies and fabrications only to become a laughing stock of the world.

This proves that Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun are made up of wicked money grabbers who do not hesitate to fake up articles about the health condition of the top leader of other country, not content with fabricating stories out of the greed for money.

The DPRK does not recognize the said newspapers as media as they are keen on breeding plots, bereft of any elementary press ethics, nor will deal with them.

The army and people of the DPRK hold the prestige of their top leader dearer than their lives and will never tolerate any act of defaming it.