Ｐyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- A national preparatory committee was inaugurated in Madagascar to celebrate the 55th birthday of comrade Kim Jong Il. The chairman of the Korea-Madagascar Friendship Association was elected chairman of the committee at the ceremony held in Antananarivo on December 6. At the ceremony it was decided to set the period from the beginning of 1997 to the end of February as the month of celebration and to hold various celebration events on a nationwide scale according to the action program of the preparatory committee.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- Ri Song Ho, acting chairman of the central committee of the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Friday sent an emergency letter to Kang Yong Hun, president of the South Korean Red Cross, as the illness of old Kim In So, an unconverted long-term prisoner and POW in South Korea, is getting more serious. recalling that old Kim In So fell ill from a cerebral hemorrhage at the end of July last and did not receive medical help from a hospital until he was taken to hospital in mid-October and that he is now worrying about medical fee with his illness getting worse, the letter says that "we cannot remain an onlooker to the miserable lot of the old man even a moment." It goes on to say that in September last the prosecution of South Korea prolonged a "period of supervision for the preservation of public peace" for continued watch and political persecution against the old man, who is suffering from the cerebral hemorrhage, contending that he is "liable to commit offences against public peace in the event of contingency" because he still refuses to be converted, has daughters and sisters in the northern half of Korea and continues to cry for the repatriation. It is clear to anyone that his safety cannot be guaranteed under such conditions, it says, and continues: "his illness goes from bad to worse day after day and an accidental misfortune to his health will bring nothing helpful toward the efforts to improve inter-Korean relations, and your red cross cannot flee from the responsibility for it. "Your side should no longer take its back on the repatriation of the unconverted long-term prisoners, including old Kim In So, on the humanitarian principle of Red Cross. "I strongly demand again that, as we already proposed, your side adopt an immediate measure for the two daughters and a medical team of the north to give treatment to the old man in the south and for his immediate repatriation on the principle of humanitarianism and international laws."
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- The Kim Young Sam group on November 29 imposed a "ban on exit" on So Jun Sik, representative of the "sarangbang for human rights movement", according to a radio report from Seoul. When the artificial "spy-ring case in campus" was announced in 1971, So Jun Sik had to serve imprisonment for 17 years. Since his release, he has been under observation. However, the Kim Young Sam group imposed the "ban on exit" on So Jun Sik, saying that they will investigate his "suspected violation of the rules of supervision for public peace." He branded this step as incomprehensible and filed a suit urging its cancellation to the western branch of the puppet Seoul district court.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today comes out with a by-lined commentary laying bare the true intention of the Japanese authorities who advocate the setting up of the "Northeast Asian Forum for Security- Oriented Dialogue". Some time ago, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan in its diplomatic policy declared that it would urge the DPRK to accept the call for setting up the "Northeast Asian Forum for Security-Oriented Dialogue", which it claims would replenish and complete the "four-way talks". This is for Japan to internationalize the question of the Korean Peninsula, poke its nose into this question and lord it over in Northeast Asia through the "Northeast Asian Forum for Security-Oriented Dialogue", the author of the commentary says, and continues: Such an intention of Japan is as foolish as a daydream. The inter-Korean relations are placed in the state of confrontation owing to the anti-national, anti-reunification and anti-dialogue moves of the South Korean puppets. Japan's anti-DPRK policy has not changed in the least. Japan has not yet liquidated any of its crimes committed against the Korean people but dreams of reinvading Korea. The DPRK and the United States are technically in the state of war. It is only too clear that any multi-party dialogue or multi-party security-oriented dialogue on the Korean question cannot be held unless the inter-Korean confrontation is removed and the trust between the DPRK and Japan and between the DPRK and the United States is built. Even if they are held, they will bear no fruit and, accordingly, no success can be expected from them. Japan would be well advised to throw away its foolish design to internationalize the Korean question for its sinister purpose and thus attain its dominationistic ambition.
Tokyo, December 12 (KNS-KCNA) -- A Nagano Prefectural Society for Assistance to Korean Flood Victims was inaugurated with due ceremony in Japan on December 9. Present at the ceremony were an agent of former Japanese Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, Isamu Shimizu, chairman of the Nagano Prefectural People's Council for Supporting the Independent and Peaceful Reunification of Korea, and others who proposed the society as well as figures of various strata in the prefecture. Yasuko Kanehara, chairwoman of the Nagano Prefectural Federation of Women's Societies, addressing the ceremony, called upon the participants to assist the flood victims of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. At the ceremony the chairman of the society was elected and the action programme, organisation, finance and membership of the society were discussed.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- The U.S. warmongers and the South Korean puppets carried out a military drill in secrecy in a forward area of South Korea on December 5 with sorties of their aircraft, according to a news report. Among the mobilized aircraft was Okinawa-based AWACS (airborne warning and control system". a South Korean newspaper said it was the first time that a joint exercise was staged in South Korea with U.S. AWACS and the puppets and the U.S. agreed to intensify such a drill. The puppet military had an air force officer aboard AWACS and mobilized South Korean Jet fighters in the drill. The U.S. and the puppet clique have staged various kinds of provocative manoeuvres as large as team spirit, going ahead with war preparations against the north.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- A meeting was held here Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the newspaper Minju Joson. There Ri Jong Ok, politburo member of the C.C., the Workers' Party of Korea and vice-President of the DPRK, conveyed a joint congratulatory message of the WPK Central Committee and the DPRK government to journalists, editors and employees of the newspaper Minju Joson. The message noted that the newspaper, which was founded by the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung on June 4, 1946, basing himself on the brilliant traditions of the revolutionary press media he personally established in the flames of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, has creditably discharged its revolutionary mission and duty as the organ of the DPRK government over the past 50 years. It also highly praised the journalists, editors and employees for having made a great contribution to strengthening the people's power and cementing Korean socialism as an invincible fortress by conducting energetic press activities with intense loyalty to the party and the leader and patriotic devotion. And the message expressed the belief that they would effect a constant innovation in the newspaper edition intended to display the revolutionary spirit of Korean socialism under the red flag, closely rallied as one in mind around the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il. At the meeting, Kim Jong Suk, chief editor of the newspaper, made a report, which was followed by speeches. The reporter and speakers stressed that the entire officials, journalists and editors of the newspaper should bring about a fresh, great turn in edition of the paper in hearty response to the tasks set forth in the congratulatory message and thus add lustre to Minju Joson as the genuine government organ of Juche type which resolutely defends the great comrade Kim Jong Il and remains loyal to the party's ideology and intention. a letter of pledge to comrade Kim Jong Il was adopted at the meeting.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- Minju Joson today accuses the U.S. and Japanese reactionaries of persistently trying to maintain the U.S. military base in Okinawa. In a commentary the daily says: The withdrawal of U.S. military bases in Futenma, Okinawa and other areas of Japan has become a serious matter which the U.S. and Japanese authorities can no longer ignore. They have never let a chance pass by without saying that "the U.S. military system should not be undermined" in a solution to the U.S. military presence in Okinawa and "the reduction of U.S. troops in Japan is out of question". In this way, they intend to assuage the Japanese people's anti- U.S. sentiments and voices calling for the withdrawal of the military bases and maintain and strengthen the "U.S.-Japan security system". It is against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea that they have tried to increase the U.S. military presence in Japan allegedly to "cope with "emergency". The United States has further strengthened its military bases in South Korea too, linking them closely with its bases in Japan and the Japanese "self-defense forces". The U.S. bases in and around the Korean Peninsula have remained a major factor of the very strained situation in Korea. Foreign military bases, legacies from the Cold War, should be dismantled as early as possible.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- The exhibition of achievements in education and science set up at Kim Il Sung University is drawing the attention of academic circles. On display at the exhibition are more than 5,000 pieces of materials showing the proud achievements made by the teaching staff and students of the university in educational work and scientific researches over the past 50 years. Divided into two sections -- social science and natural science, the exhibition shows part of nearly 10,000 kinds of teaching materials on social and natural sciences, reference books and over 680 kinds of educational books written and published by its teachers and researchers. Among them are "eldest son of the school", "People's University," "Korea, I will glorify thee", "genius of guidance" and other books dealing with the undying leadership exploits of the respected leader President Kim Il Sung and the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il. True to the intention of the party on combining the theory with practice, the teaching staff of the university developed a system of searching 120,000 pieces of materials for the study of the Juche idea, an automation system for management activities, a search system for relics and remains and an electronic dictionary of Chinese characters. The exhibits of the teachers and students include a foreign-language-translating machine system, a computer programme for dictionary compilation, a depository of data on an electronic computer network, an electronic dictionary of mathematics, an electronic dictionary of origins of geographical designation, a letter-cognising programme, a phonetic-cognising programme, a system of predictive diagnosis of cerebral apoplexy and many other computer programmes. Exhibited are a fabric-dissolving enzyme, an enzyme of dissolving chloroplasts, a limitation enzyme, high-purity reagents and materials essential to the semi-conductor industry, preventive medicines including capulated Chonggok kinase, high-purity hydrogen and nitrogen catalyzer and other 17 kinds of catalytic agents and so on. Also exhibited are materials showing achievements made in the study of the history of Korea with Koguryo as an axis, successes gained in the development of the Juche-based nonferrous metallurgical process and other scientific and technical inventions which are greatly helpful toward the Juche-orientation, modernisation and scientification of the national economy. On December 7, comrade Kim Jong Il visited Kim Il Sung University and saw the exhibits associated with unknown efforts of its teaching staff and students faithful to the socialist cause. He expressed deep satisfaction with the fact that the university has made tremendous achievements in training a large number of able native cadres who play a pivotal role in the revolution and construction, developing the Juche-based theory on social science, solving scientific and technical matters cropping up in socialist economic construction and building new scientific and technical spheres by conducting scientific researches from the Juche point of view, and highly praised their exploits.
Pyongyang, December 14 (KCNA) -- A meeting was held at the People's Palace of Culture today to mark the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Saenal Children's Union by the great leader Generalissimo Kim Il Sung. The Saenal Children's Union formed on December 15, 1926, was a revolutionary organization of communist children of new type guided by the Juche idea, whose mission was to overthrow the Japanese imperialists, liberate the country and build a new society for the working masses. Present at the meeting were Pak Song Chol, politburo member of the C.C., the Workers' Party of Korea and vice- President of the DPRK, and other senior party and state officials. Choe Ryong Hae, first secretary of the central committee of the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, made a report there. He said: Its formation was an important occasion in expanding the scope of activities of the Down-With-Imperialism Union (DIU) and a historic event which ushered in an epochal change in the revolutionary struggle of the Korean people and in the development of the communist children's movement of Korea. The protracted course covered by the children's movement of Korea since the formation of the Saenal Children's Union is associated with the wise guidance and undying exploits of Generalissimo Kim Il Sung and the respected General Kim Jong Il for the children's movement of Juche. The glorious revolutionary tradition of the communist children's movement of Korea which was established in the anti-Japanese struggle was successfully inherited by the Korean Children's Union after the country was liberated and the red flag of the Saenal Children's Union and the anti- Japanese children's corps developed into the flag of the children's union. Generalissimo Kim Il Sung, who founded the Korean Children's Union, set it the slogan "Let us always learn and be ready for new Democratic Korea !" and wisely led it along the road of victory in each period and at each stage of the developing revolution. The reporter called upon the members of the children's union to prepare themselves firmly to be juvenile vanguards who have absolute loyalty to General Kim Jong Il and are determined to devote their all to him by conducting the movement of loyalty to learn from him under the slogan "Let us always be ready for the respected General Kim Jong Il !"