Kim Jong Il inspects KPA unit no. 156
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) - General Secretary Kim Jong Il inspected KPA unit no. 156 on June 6.
He was greeted on the spot by the commanding officers of the unit.
He dropped in at an operation command room and acquainted himself in detail with the performance of the unit's duty before advancing highly important tasks to be fulfilled to increase its combat capacity in every way.
He went to an operation lecture room to see a tactical lecture for officers and went round a library and other places.
Saying that the soldiers of the unit have grown to be matchless combat ranks fully prepared politically and ideologically and in military technique through vigorous endeavors to carry through the wpk's military line of self-defence, he highly praised their proud achievements.
Then, he moved on to a company under the unit to see the soldiers' weapon handling.
Seeing their training, he expressed great satisfaction with the fact that all the soldiers of the company have grown to be one-match-for-a-hundred fighters capable of repelling any invasion of the enemy at a single blow.
He took warm care of their living with paternal love, going round an education room, a newspaper board, a bedroom, a mess, a daily provision store, a washroom and other entertainment and logistic facilities of the company.
He also appreciated an art performance given by soldiers of the company.
Expressing the expectation and conviction that the soldiers of the company would firmly defend the precious revolutionary gains with arms provided by the working class, he gave them a pair of binoculars and an automatic rifle as gifts and had a picture taken with the soldiers of the unit.
Russia gives humanitarian aid materials to DPRK
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- The government of the Russian Federation gave food and foodstuffs to the DPRK in humanitarian aid.
The sincere presentation of aid goods will encourage the Korean people in their efforts to cope with natural disasters of consecutive several years and contribute to developing the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.
A presentation ceremony took place at Sopho Youth Railway Station in Pyongyang yesterday.
At the ceremony speeches were made and Russian ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov and Ri Yong Sok, vice-chairman of the DPRK Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee, exchanged relevant documents.
Present at the ceremony were officials of the Russian embassy here and officials of the Russian ministry of extraordinary situation staying in Korea.
More minor power stations appear
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- Many minor power stations are being built in different local areas of the country to settle the shortage of electricity by themselves.
Jagang Province has become a model in this construction because it has more than 800 big and small rivers and streams and a big difference in the topography of various areas. Lots of minor power stations built in the province in the spirit of self-reliance in recent years are paying off profusely.
At least 210 minor power stations are in full capacity operation in the province.
The electricity being produced at the stations is basically meeting the needs of not only dwelling houses in the province including Kanggye city but of the local industrial establishments and co-op farms.
Songgan county is putting its surplus electricity into the nation's power grid.
The province is widely known not only for the construction of power stations but for land management, two-crops-a-year cultivation and cultured practices in production and life, etc.
Signal success in potato cultivation
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- Great efforts have been exerted for potato cultivation in the DPRK in recent years.
It is the avowed policy of the Workers' Party of Korea to solve the issue of food by bringing about a signal turn in the potato cultivation.
The state helped Taehongdan county, Ryanggang province situated in the northern alpine land set an example in potato farming.
All processes of potato farming from sowing to harvest in a vast expanse of potato fields are carried out by modern machines.
Virus-free good potato suited to the climatic and soil condition of the fields and advanced methods of potato cultivation are being introduced to the cultivation.
There are modern pig farms, composite microbiofertilizer factory and potato starch factory in the county.
Following the example of Taehongdan county, Samjiyon and Paekam counties of the province each increased the area under potato to thousands of hectares.
The area under potato has also swelled in different parts of south and north Hamgyong provinces such as Musan, Yonsa, Jangjin and Pujon counties and rural villages in the highlands of Jagang and south Phyongan provinces.
Potato sowing for this year has been finished in all areas much earlier than the preceding year.
State measures have been taken for harvesting, storing and processing in conformity with the increasing area under potato.
Russian ambassador gives reception
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- Russian ambassador to the DPRK Andrei Karlov gave a reception at the embassy yesterday.
The ambassador said in his speech that the recent Russia visit of the DPRK foreign minister further strengthened friendship and cooperation in political, economic and all other domains between the two countries based on the close friendship forged between chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission Kim Jong Il and Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, top leaders of the two countries.
The 2003-2004 plan for exchange between foreign ministries signed by two foreign ministers serves as a legal foundation to develop cooperation and contact between Russia and the DPRK, he said, and went on:
The two foreign ministries should make positive efforts to carry out the agreed points.
Foreign minister Paek Nam Sun said in his speech that his visit to Russia marked an important occasion in promoting the development of the DPRK-Russia relations brought onto a new high stage by the tireless efforts of the two leaders.
He noted that during his visit to Russia, he met foreign minister Ivanov and other officials and exchanged views on bilateral relations and on the matters of mutual concern and reached a consensus of views on many matters.
What was agreed in negotiations with Russian friends marked an important occasion in developing the DPRK-Russia relations in depth, he said, sincerely wishing the Russian government and people greater success in the work for the stability and prosperity of the country.
Oun Health Complex
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) --Mmany public service centres have been built in the DPRK in recent years.
The Oun Health Complex, which opened in April last year, is a service complex in Ryongsong district in the suburbs of Pyongyang. It has a total floor space of 2,300 square meters.
The 2-storeyed health complex has more than 10 bathrooms with a daily accommodating capacity of over 1,600, a barbershop, a beauty salon and counters.
This complex fitted with modern facilities reminds the visitors of the well-known Changgwang Health Complex in Pyongyang.
It has peculiar architectural style.
The floor of the large lobby and steps of the complex were built with good quality granite and marble.
A large mosaic mural on the wall of the lobby and its fountains and big chandelier are reminiscent of a theatre.
The complex is popular for its good service.
Historical remains and relics well preserved in DPRK
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- It is 15 years since President Kim Il Sung published his famous work "On Properly Excavating and Reconstructing Historical Remains and Relics."
Since then many remains and relics that bear witness to the time-honoured history of the Korean nation and its brilliant cultural tradition have been excavated and restored to their original state.
The energetic guidance of the president who was possessed of a noble patriotic intention, resulted in the successful reconstruction of the mausoleum of king Tangun, the ancestral father of Korea, the mausoleum of king Tongmyong, founder king of Koguryo, and the mausoleum of king Wang Kon.
A site of fortress dating back to the era of Tangun was discovered in Kangdong county, Pyongyang while a tomb of slaves buried alive was excavated in Ryongsan-ri, Songchon county, south phyongaiaihe 31st century b.c.
The recently discovered anthropological fossil "Hwadae man", the "Thaesong-ri tomb no. 3" believed to be a mural tomb in the period of Koguryo and a king-level tomb dating back to the period of Palhae and a set of harnessing, etc. are a clear reminder of the time-honored history and culture of the Korean nation.
DPRK stand on Pyongyang visit of U.S. special envoy clarified
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry today gave the following answer to the question raised by KCNA as regards the absurd remarks made by the U.S. side about the Pyongyang visit of a special envoy of the U.S. state department:
A deputy spokesman for the White House in a press conference on June 4 said that Pritchard's Pyongyang visit is delayed as the U.S. administration's policy towards the DPRK has not yet been formulated, adding that this matter would be discussed at the meeting of the U.S.-Japan-South Korea North Korean policy coordinating group.
And some media including the Washington Post are floating wild rumour that the U.S. policy makers are divided over the issue of Pritchard's Pyongyang visit and they would judge the DPRK's real intention regarding the issue of reducing the deployment of armed forces and arms export.
As for his visit, this issue was raised when the U.S. suggested the DPRK to restart the dialogue on several occasions from late last year and recently informed the latter through the New York contact channel that it would send a special envoy of the state department to Pyongyang to explain its stand toward the restart of the dialogue.
As the U.S. stand toward the restart of the dialogue remains unclear, the DPRK consented late in April to its proposal to dispatch its special envoy to Pyongyang to give an explanation about its intention to restart the dialogue and decided to receive him and hear it.
The attitude taken by the U.S. side as regards Pritchard's Pyongyang visit, however, only increases the dprk's doubt about its proposal for the restart of the dialogue.
It is the principled stand invariably maintained by the DPRK that a true dialogue is possible only when the U.S. respects its dialogue partner and deals with it on an equal footing.
Our stand is that the U.S. side may do as it pleases if it has any unavoidable reason behind the proposed dispatch of the special envoy.
Greetings to Swedish king
Pyongyang, June 7 (KCNA) -- Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK, on June 4 sent a message of greetings to Carl Gustaf, king of the Kingdom of Sweden, on its national day.
The message congratulated him and the Swedish people and expressed belief that the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries would continue to expand and develop.