DPRK - U.S. Committee for Economic Cooperation inaugurated
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) - A Joint Committee for the Promotion of Economic Cooperation has been inaugurated here for the purpose of coordinating investment and trade cooperation between businesses of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States.
The committee will advance constructive suggestions for encouraging investment and trade. It will also contribute to deepening mutual understanding and promoting exchange between businesses.
Kim Jong Il's work published in Peru
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) - General Secretary Kim Jong Il's famous work "Let Us Reunify the Country Independently and Peacefully through the Great Unity of the Entire Nation" was published in booklet by the Predis Publishing House of Peru on July 16.
The work, which was made public on April 18, Juche 87 (1998), contains the five-point policy of great national unity--maintaining the principle of national independence, uniting under the banner of patriotism, the banner of national reunification, improving inter-Korean relations, fighting against domination by outsiders and against the anti-reunification forces and holding contacts, promoting dialogue and strengthening solidarity among all the fellow countrymen.
Nomination of SPA candidates ends in DPRK
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Nomination of candidates for deputies to the 10th Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) has been successfully completed at all constituencies across the country till July 22 since General Secretary Kim Jong Il announced in an open letter to all the voters throughout the country that he agreed to be registered as a SPA candidate at constituency No. 666, said the announcement of the Central Election Committee for the 10th SPA of the DPRK published on July 22.
It pointed out that officials, People's Army soldiers, workers, peasants and working intellectuals who are boundlessly loyal to the party and the leader and are devoted to the country and people were nominated as candidates for the SPA at meetings.
The voters expressed the expectation that nominees would as ever uphold General Secretary Kim Jong Il with loyalty and filial piety and devote their all to the strengthening and development of the DPRK and to the victory of the socialist cause, the announcement said, adding:
The election committees of constituencies across the country registered SPA candidates according to the law of the DPRK on the election of deputies to the people's assemblies at all levels.
It stressed the Central Election Committee reported that election committees of relevant constituencies correctly registered those people nominated at all voters' meetings as candidates for deputies to the SPA.
More than 5,000 Hyun Dai Motor unionists on overnight strike
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Upwards of 5,000 unionists of the Hyun Dai Motor Company began an overnight strike on July 20 in protest against the management's step for the layoff of workers, a Seoul-based radio said.
From the first day of the industrial action, they showed their firm will after pitching some 100 tents at the plaza in front of the main building of the company and around the building of the trade union and equipping themselves with quilts and cooking utensils.
In another development, on July 20 an ex-chairman of the trade union and two others climbed up to the 40 metres of a chimney of the foundry to go on an all-night strike.
A death-defying team of more than 400 unionists organised to check riot police gave a strong impetus to the struggle of the strikers.
Upset by this, the management tried to break the fighting will of the workers by declaring a three-day suspension of business.
Pro-reunification forces cannot be excluded from August 15 festival
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The clans of the South Korean puppet Ministry of National Unification said that they can give consideration to allowing members of the south headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification (Pomminryon) and the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) to take part in the August 15 Grand Pro-Reunification Festival when they withdraw from their organisations as they are "enemy-benefiting organisations," says Rodong Sinmun in a signed commentary today.
The daily goes on:
The South Korean authorities who are not qualified and have no reason to participate in the festival are talking about who is supposed to take part in it. It is nonsensical and impudent.
The south headquarters of Pomminryon and Hanchongryon have taken the lead in the reunification movement under the banner of national independence, reunification and patriotism in South Korea in the past ten odd years.
As they have fought for national unity and reunification at the risk of their lives, they are eligible for participating in the festival before anyone else.
The puppets are scheming to exclude these two organisations from the festival in a bid to foil the festival.
They intend to send a venal organisation to the festival to let it make splittist utterances.
We make it clear once again that the festival without the south headquarters of Pomminryon and Hanchongryon is unthinkable. This stand of ours remains unchangeable.
Cuban ambassador gives reception
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Cuban ambassador to Korea Jose Ramon Rodriguez Varona gave a reception at the embassy on July 22 to mark the 45th anniversary of the July 26th Armed Uprising of the Cuban People.
Present at the reception were Vice-President Pak Song Chol of the DPRK, Department Director Kim Yang Gon of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, Chairman Ri Song Dae of the External Economic Affairs Commission, Chairman Choe Ki Ryong of the Education Commission who is Chairman of the DPRK-Cuba Solidarity Committee and officials concerned.
The Cuban ambassador, addressing the reception, said the young fighters of Cuba made an attack on the Moncada Barracks when in Korea Kim Il Sung, the invincible and iron-willed commander, had led the people to victory and gave a heavy defeat to the yankees and their stooges for the first time in the world.
Some time ago, the Korean people nominated General Secretary Kim Jong Il as a candidate for the Supreme People's Assembly, he noted, adding that the Cuban people shared the joy with the fraternal Korean people.
In his reply Kim Yang Gon said the attack on the Moncada Barracks was an important historic event that brought about a new change in the revolutionary struggle of the Cuban people for freedom and liberation.
The Korean people highly appreciate the achievements gained by the fraternal Cuban people under the correct guidance of respected Fidel Castro and the Communist Party of Cuba and will as ever express support and solidarity for the just struggle of the Cuban people, he added.
International delegation of youths and students visits Panmunjom
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The visiting international delegation of youths and students led by General Secretary Harchand Singh of the World Federation of Democratic Youth calling for the demolition of the concrete wall inspected Panmunjom on July 21.
They looked round the conference hall for armistice talks and other places of Panmunjom and saw the concrete wall built by the U.S. and the South Korean puppet clique in the area south of the Military Demarcation Line.
The head of the delegation said the concrete wall is evidence of the manoeuvrings of the vicious U.S. and the South Korean puppet clique for permanent division of Korea.
He strongly called for the demolition of the concrete wall and vowed to conduct powerful world- and nation-wide activities to support the reunification of Korea.
U.S. decides to deploy nuclear submarines around Korean peninsula
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The U.S. decided to deploy warships, including nuclear submarines and sea-patrol planes of the U.S. Seventh Fleet under the U.S. Pacific Command in the seas near the Korean peninsula, a South Korean newspaper said.
The decision came with the U.S. old fiction of "provocation by north Korea."
The U.S. also decided to issue an alarm warning to all the operation theatres of the U.S. Pacific Command, including the Korean peninsula in response to the call of the puppet clique for keeping a closer eye on north Korea.
All this proves that the U.S. are frantically increasing military threats and pressure against the DPRK.
Stop to describing Ponminryong as "enemy-benefiting organisation "called for
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Permanent Chairman Kang Hui Nam of the south headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification (Pomminryon) released a statement on July 21 strongly calling upon the self-styled "people's government" to immediately stop describing the organisation as an "enemy-benefiting organisation," the South Korean Choong-Ang Daily said.
In the statement he said the south headquarters of Pomminryon and the South Korean Federation of University Student Councils (Hanchongryon) have been opposed to the regime of the past because it was viewed as anti-reunification one in every respect, and demanded that a stop be put to describing the two organisations as "enemy-benefiting organisations."
He called attention to the fact that the present ruler said that he would implement the inter-Korean agreement.
He asked how the "National Security Law" can hold good and how an "enemy-benefiting organisation" can exist in this land in view of the July 4 North-South Joint Statement and the inter-Korean agreement.
Battle to defend Wolmi Island
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- The U.S. launched an attack on Wolmi Island in September Juche 39 (1950).
It is an 0.66-square-kilometre island located in the sea off Inchon, Kyonggi Province of Korea.
It is linked with Inchon by a breakwater and located in the waterway leading to Inchon Port.
Motivated by an ulterior intention to "encircle and annihilate" the main force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) by landing on Inchon, the U.S. hurled more than 1,000 warplanes, hundreds of warships and as many as 50,000 military personnel into the attack on the island, the gateway to Inchon.
At that time, a coastal artillery company with four guns and an infantry company of the KPA were defending the island.
The defenders of the island were far smaller than the attackers in number and force. Such a balance of power was not recorded in the world history of war.
The enemy started the landing operation on September 13 after turning the island into the sea of fire through three days of intensive bombing and firing from warships.
Its defenders allowed the enemy warships to approach the island up to 800 metres and then dealt a surprise strike at them. In this way, they destroyed two enemy destroyers and sank two small vessels.
The enemy made desperate efforts to occupy the island, firing thousands of shells, but in vain.
Next day, macarthur and other bosses of the U.S. aggression army showed up at the sea off Inchon by a flagship to command the landing operation on the spot.
Its defenders sank one more destroyer and six landing ships of the enemy, bringing the attempt of the enemy to a rupture.
Only one gun and a few exhausted and wounded defenders were left in the island on September 15, the third day after the enemy started the attack.
Having failed in two rounds of landing operations, the enemy mounted a desperate attack on that day.
The enemy fired and dropped more than 3,000 shells and bombs on the island in 15 minutes before the start of the landing operation.
The KPA soldiers heroically fought in defence of the island until they ran out of shells. Then, they fired bullets at the enemy and, finally, went over to a hand-to-hand fight, thus honorably discharging their duty to defend the island for three days.
In this period, its defenders destroyed or sank 13 enemy warships including three destroyers and made great contributions to the KPA's operation to defend Inchon and Seoul.
At present, the mass heroism and matchless self-sacrificing spirit of the defenders of Wolmi Island serve as a model of the Korean people and servicemen.
Vice-presidents meet foreign guests
Pyongyang, July 23 (KCNA) -- Vice-President Ri Jong Ok on July 23 met and had a conversation with the visiting international delegation of youths and students calling for the demolition of the concrete wall led by General Secretary Harchand Singh of the World Federation of Democratic Youth at the Mansudae Assemly Hall.
Cristiano Pinto, vice President of the federation and representative of the October 8 Revolutionary Youth of Brazil said that though the imperialists are resorting to every conceivable scheme to destroy all things created by the Korean people, no one is a match for the united and powerful Korean people.
He stressed that the federation would express full support and solidarity to the Korean people in their struggle for national reunification.
Vice-President Pak Song Chol met and had a talk with Pakistani ambassador to Korea Rehmdil Bhatti, who paid a farewell call on him at the Mansudae Assemly Hall.