Present at the meeting were Kim Yong Nam, Choe Thae Bok, Kim Jong Gak, Kim Jung Rin and Kim Ki Nam and officials in the field of media, journalists, editors, anchorpersons, officials in the field of the ideological work of the Workers' Party of Korea and journalists and other media persons under the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.

General Secretary Kim Jong Il's message to the participants of the meeting titled "Journalists and Other Media Persons Are Buglers Sounding Advance in Dynamic Drive for Building a Great Prosperous and Powerful Nation" was conveyed by Kim Yong Nam, member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly.

Kim Jong Il in his message clearly indicated tasks and ways for bringing about a fresh turn in the work in the field of media in the era of Songun as required by the revolution and the developing reality.

Kim Ki Nam delivered a report at the meeting.

He recalled that Kim Jong Il provided an immortal great programme to be upheld by the media in the DPRK long ago on the basis of President Kim Il Sung's Juche-oriented idea of media and his exploits, adding he has wisely led the media of the WPK to creditably perform their role as a powerful ideological weapon.

The great leadership of Kim Jong Il on the media was more strikingly demonstrated in the days of enforcing the Songun politics in all fields, the reporter noted, and continued:

The journalists and other media persons have fully displayed the might of pens in a do-or-die struggle for foiling the reactionary ideological offensive of the imperialists through a revolutionary one and making a breakthrough in building a thriving nation.

The journalists and other media persons are faced with a duty to give fullest play to the mental power of the service personnel and people in order to bring earlier the emergence of a thriving nation, the reporter pointed out, calling on all of those media persons to become vanguard on the ideological front who will eternally glorify the idea and leadership exploits of Kim Jong Il and consolidate the single-minded unity of the revolutionary ranks.

He also underscored the need for them to contribute to accomplishing as early as possible the cause of national reunification by the concerted efforts of all Koreans under the banner of the north-south joint declaration and firmly protecting the sound political and ideological traits and life style in the society of the DPRK from all sorts of challenges and counter-revolutionary offensives of the imperialists.

The report was followed by speeches made by Kim Ki Ryong, editor-in-chief of Rodong Sinmun, Kim Pyong Ho, general director of the Korean Central News Agency, and other delegates.

They vowed to bring about great innovations and big leap forward with the might of pens, enshrining the historic message of Kim Jong Il to the participants of the meeting.

They declared that all the journalists and other media persons would creditably perform their honorable missions and tasks as vanguard on the ideological front and first-line buglers sounding an advance in the drive for accomplishing the revolutionary cause of Juche.