calendar>>May 20. 2015 Juche 104

British Bodies Denounce Japanese Authorities' Suppression of Chongryon

Pyongyang, May 20 (KCNA) -- The British Association for the Study of Songun Policy, the British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea and the Korean Friendship Association UK made public a joint statement on May 14 denouncing the Japanese authorities for their suppression of officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon).

On May 12 the Japanese police authorities hurled many policemen into an operation to arrest officials of Chongryon and search their houses, the statement said, and went on:

Chongryon is playing the role of a diplomatic mission of the DPRK in Japan while protecting the democratic national rights of Koreans in Japan.

Therefore, the arrest of Chongryon officials is an act of encroaching upon the rights of Koreans in Japan and a blatant challenge to the dignity and honor of the DPRK.

It is also a dangerous act of blocking the way for normalizing the relations between the DPRK and Japan and escalating tensions in Northeast Asia.

The statement strongly demanded the Japanese authorities set free all the illegally detained Chongryon officials.

It called on all progressive people to stage an international solidarity movement in defence of the rights of the Koreans in Japan.