Greetings to Slovene Prime Minister
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- Hong Song Nam, premier of the DPRK cabinet, on Dec. 15 sent a message of greetings to Janez Drnovsek upon his reelection as Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia.
The message wished him greater success in his responsible work.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun sent a message of greetings to his counterpart of Slovenia Dimitrije Rupel.
Kim Jong Il praised as captivating leader
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- The Egypt-Korea Friendship Association published a bulletin on Dec. 10 to mark the 9th anniversary of the great leader Kim Jong Il's election as Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army.
Kim Jong Il is a brilliant commander possessed of far-sighted wisdom and matchless courage and will, the bulletin said, and went on:
His organizing ability and commanding art are very extraordinary.
The iron discipline and perfect order in which the whole army and country and all people act as one on the instruction of the Supreme Commander have been established in the DPRK. And the revolutionary commanding system and military discipline have been established and the strong sense of organization and discipline has prevailed within the people's army. All these would have been unthinkable without his distinguished leadership ability.
Benevolent and army-first politics is his peculiar political mode. What attracts particular attention is the policy of giving priority to the army.
He is, indeed, an ideal statesman and fascinating leader perfectly possessed of literary and military accomplishments.
Establishment of diplomatic relations between DPRK and UK hailed
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary hails the recent opening of diplomatic relations between the DPRK and the United Kingdom.
This event is a result of the independent foreign policies and activities of the two countries, the commentary observes, and goes on:
Independence, peace and friendship are the idea of the consistent foreign policy of the Worker's Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK.
Guided by this idea, the DPRK has developed friendly relations with different countries of the world advocating independence and invariably maintained the stand to develop friendly relations with those capitalist countries that respect the DPRK's sovereignty and are friendly to it.
The normalization of relations between the DPRK and countries of the European Union will positively help expand and develop relations with them in various fields and ensure peace and security in northeast Asia and, furthermore, in the rest of the world.
There is increasing concern of the international community for the DPRK and it has become an irresistible trend of the times for different countries to improve relations with the DPRK.
The DPRK government will as ever develop the relations of friendship, cooperation and good-neighborliness with all countries of the world that advocate independence, respect the DPRK's sovereignty and are friendly to it.
Secretary of U.S. Army denies shooting orders for Rogun-ri mass killings
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- Caldera, secretary of the U.S. Army, when interviewed by a U.S. Daily on Dec. 14 denied shooting orders related to the mass killings of civilians in Rogun-ri, according to the South Korean "Yonhap News" (internet).
He said that an investigation of Rogun-ri case that occurred in the summer of 1950 has been made for over 1 year but did not find conclusive evidence that the then u.s. soldiers had orders to shoot civilians.
"Yonhap News" recalled that McCloskey, member of the U.S. private advisory panel in charge of supervising the investigation of Rogun-ri case, had noted in early December he strongly disagrees with the hazy conclusion of an investigation team of the U.S. Army that they did not find enough evidence that the U.S. soldiers had orders to shoot civilians.
McCloskey, saying that the Pentagon was too quick to dismiss the testimony of U.S. Korean war veterans, asserted that there is no question that there were orders, "Yonhap News" held.
Anti-reunification remarks condemned
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- Some countries surrounding Korea recently made remarks harmful to Korea's reunification to throw a wet blanket over the Korean nation's desire for reunification and incite antagonism and confrontation between the north and the south, says Rodong Sinmun today in a signed commentary.
A bright prospect of peace and reunification is opening on the Korean peninsula by the consistent peace-loving and reunification-oriented efforts of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the commentary says, and goes on:
But some countries surrounding Korea are spreading a wrong public opinion that reunification of the Korean peninsula is far off, while turning a blind eye to such positive developments.
They are trying to put a brake on the issue of peace and reunification of Korea on some or other pretext with a view to pursuing their sinister purpose to use the Korean issue in realizing a strategic object and intentionally hampering peace building in this region.
It is a foolish act to reverse the present situation of the Korean peninsula by interfering in the reunification issue of the Korean nation. It is the trend of the times to demand the reunification of Korea.
We have had the proposal for reunification by a federal means which enjoys full support and sympathy at home and abroad. The proposal conforms with the interests of the countries surrounding Korea and the desire of the world peace-loving people.
Peace and reunification of Korea is a pressing issue directly related to peace and stability of the Asia-pacific region. The United States and those countries should clearly see the developments on the Korean peninsula and act with discretion. They should do nothing harmful to the reunification of Korea, though they do not make a substantial contribution to it.
Many films produced
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- Many films of high ideological and artistic value have been released in Korea this year.
What is noteworthy is serials of multi-part feature films "Forest Sways" and "the Nation and Destiny".
"Forest Sways" part 12 deals with the arduous march which ended with triumph in the period of the anti-Japanese revolutionary war.
The film depicts the superb tactics of the President Kim Il Sung and his warm love of soldiers, the transparent view of anti-Japanese heroine Kim Jong Suk on the leader manifested in defending the headquarters of the revolution at the risk of her life, and warm sense of obligation and comradeship of soldiers.
Multi-part feature film "the Nation and Destiny" part 53 portrays Choe Hyon, an anti-Japanese revolutionary fighter, who commands a corps of the Korean People's Army behind the enemy lines to mercilessly punish the aggressors in defence of the security of the supreme command.
Feature films "Green Shoulder-Strap," "Son Comes Back Home", "White Smoke", "Echo of Life" and "My Family" have enriched the treasure house of cinematic art.
The feature film "Green Shoulder-Strap" reflects the spirit of devoted service to the people and the self-sacrificing spirit displayed by people's security men. The film tells a true story about a security officer who on a train detects an enemy spy infiltrating into Pyongyang to destabilize the socialist system and dies a heroic death.
The film "Son Comes Back Home" portrays a soldier of the Korean People's Security Forces who is arrested by the enemy while drifting about in rough storm in the sea on military duty but remains true to his revolutionary faith and comes back to the homeland. The film "White Smoke" depicts a young researcher who succeeds in his study of an important subject related to the power production at a thermo-power plant.
"A Soldier with No Epaulette," "Wives of Officers" and other feature films are of great cognitional and educational significance as they represent those who think of others more than themselves and devote themselves to society and the collective.
Many other films portray young people who give a steadfast continuity to the revolution.
Repeal of SL urged in S. Korea
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- The people's solidarity for the repeal of the "Security Law" held the second pan-national rally for the abrogation of SL around the building of the "Democratic Party" on December 15 with an attendance of over 500 students, dissident figures and others, according to Seoul-based "Yonhap News" (internet).
The organization demanded the repeal of this evil law, saying it is a shame that the SL, mechanism symbolic of underdeveloped country in human rights, remains unabolished.
The ralliers made public a list of eight typical opponents to the abrogation of the SL and held a ceremony to burn pictures showing the "Intelligence Service" and the newspaper Chosun Ilbo as well as portraits of those opponents to it and the list of their names.
Earlier, on December 12 the organization held a press conference in front of the "National Assembly" building, urging the repeal of the SL.
Removal of concrete wall urged
Pyongyang, December 18 (KCNA) -- The chairman of the Society for the Study of the Juche Idea of the University of Madagascar on December 12 made public a statement titled "Concrete wall, legacy of 20th century, should be pulled down."
December 29 will be 21 years since the building of the concrete wall symbolic of division of the Korean peninsula, the statement said, and went on:
The 240-odd-kilometre-long concrete wall built by the South Korean authorities in the area south of the Military Demarcation Line is the biggest wall ever in history which cut off the blood ties of the Korean nation and its territory. It is a symbol of the national division and confrontation between the north and the south of Korea.
Now when the Cold War ended the world public is urging the immediate removal of the concrete wall physically bisecting Korea.
It is a challenge not only to all Koreans but also to justice and conscience of humankind to leave the wall, a symbol of division and confrontation in the 20th century, intact though the 21st century is at hand.
The South Korean authorities should pull down this concrete wall and courageously take the road of reunification, far from going against the desire and aspiration of all the Korean people and the world progressives.