Paek Nam Sun and his party leave for Brunei Darussalam
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - Foreign minister Paek Nam Sun and his party left here today to attend the ministerial meeting of the 9th ASEAN slated to be held in Brunei Darussalam.
They were seen off at the airport by Choe Su Hon, vice-minister of foreign affairs, Wu Donghe, Chinese ambassador to the DPRK, and D. Sukh Ochir, Mongolian charge d' affaires ad interim here.
Pyongyang film festival to be held
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) -- The 8th Pyongyang film festival of non-aligned and other developing countries will be held from September 4 to 13.
The festival will take place, divided into a competition section (lengthy feature films, documentaries and short films included), a special and information screening section and a film market. Colorful cultural functions including visit to scenic and historic spots of Korea will be held during the festival.
The Pyongyang film festival to be held in the idea of independence, peace and friendship will encourage the development of the national films of the non-aligned and other developing countries aspiring after independence and contribute to strengthening friendship and solidarity among moviemakers of the world and their exchange and cooperation in the moviedom.
Pyongyang international judo tournament held
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - The Pyongyang international judo tournament was held at the combat sports gymnasium in Chongchun Street from July 26 to 29.
The tournament took place, divided into junior and adult classes.
At the tournament DPRK judoists bagged 24 gold medals, 26 silver medals and 28 bronze medals.
Chinese judoists carried off four gold medals, one silver medal and four bronze medals, Mongolian judoists two gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze medals, Russian judoists two silver medals and one bronze medal and judoists of Chongryun (the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan) one bronze medal.
DPRK Taekwon-do players prove successfulv
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - The DPRK came first in the team standing at the second Asian Taekwon-do championships in Ulaan Baatar, Mongolia.
It bagged 23 gold medals, 6 silver medals and one bronze medal at the championships.
Swiss scientific, technological and cultural book exhibition opens
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - A Swiss scientific, technological and cultural book exhibition opened here yesterday on the occasion of the national day of Switzerland.
Present at the opening ceremony were Hong Son Ok, vice-chairwoman of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries who is chairwoman of the Korea-Switzerland Friendship Association, officials concerned and Ulrich Muller, resident coordinator of the Swiss agency for development and cooperation of federal department of foreign affairs to the DPRK.
Speeches were made at the ceremony.
International children's camping begins
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) -- Schoolchildren from different countries began their joyful camping at the Songdowon International Children's Camp in Wonsan city, Kangwon Province, on the east coast of Korea.
The camp will be participated in by schoolchildren from China, Russia, Nigeria, Mongolia, Thailand and Korea.
During the period the campers will participate in maritime activities, mountaineering, sports and amusement games including the day of nation and colorful artistic activities and strengthen bonds of friendship.
A ceremony to receive campers took place on the spot yesterday.
Foreign women leaders on Korean women
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - Foreign women who visited the DPRK were envious of the Korean women who are contributing to the prosperity of the country by taking part in social activities with the equal status and rights with the men.
Onechanh Thammavong, president of the central committee of the Lao Women's Union, said that no women in the world are as dignified and happy as the Korean women who are leading an independent and creative life to their hearts' content, responsible for the state and society.
Leader Kim Jong Il has built such wonderful public health establishments as the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital and facilities for educating and upbringing children and shown deep loving care for the women, pursuing one popular policy after another, she added.
Inne Erna Adriana Soekaryo, president of the Indonesian Women's Congress, noted that the Korean women are working hard to achieve the prosperity of the country in all fields of socialist construction, saying that their mental and moral traits are excellent indeed.
Today the Korean women are respected as flowers of families and society, she said. This is unthinkable without the great loving care of Kim Jong Il.
Sita Pokharel, vice-president of the All Nepal Women's Association, said that the women in Korea are provided with equal political freedom and rights with the men.
Shimizu Sumiko, representative of the Japanese Women's Liaison Council for Solidarity with the Korean Women, stated that the Korean women are playing a big role in building up society into a large harmonious family.
I was deeply impressed to know that the political status of the women is guaranteed and their creative role is increasing as the days go by, she added.
500-odd-year old larches discovered
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - More than 500 years old larch stocks were recently discovered in a primeval forest in the Mt. Paektu area.
These trees are distributed on the ridges of a mountain east of dike No. 5, a revolutionary battle site (Rimyongsu workers' settlement in Samjiyon county), in the valley along the upper reaches of the River Amnok.
On may 30 officials in the field of the Workers' Party information service and botanists in Ryanggang Province happened to discover exceptionally big trees while collecting plants.
The result of the survey proved that those larches are more than 500 years old.
Very old larches so far known to grow in the area of Mt. Paektu are 200-300 years old ones on the Hihang ridge in Samjiyon township of Samjiyon county and 400 years old ones in Chongbong bivouac.
The recently discovered larches are the oldest ones in the country.
According to researchers, larches have been able to live for so many years thanks to rich humus layer and fertile soil formed over a long period as the area was less afflicted by lava layer caused by the volcano on Mt. Paektu.
Hundreds of big larches occupy nearly 100 hectares in the area of dike No. 5 at the intervals of scores of meters.
New sedentary bird appears
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - It was recently ascertained that a big water-hen, so far believed to be a migratory bird, lives in the basin of the River Taedong flowing along the west coast of Korea in all seasons.
It is about 40 cm in length and 750 g in average weight.
This omnivorous big water-hen normally lives in fresh water and lays 6 to 9 eggs once a year.
It breeds and spends summer in Korea and the northeastern region of China, the areas along the amur of Russia and Scandinavia. In autumn it flies to Southeast Asia and north Africa and other areas to winter there.
It was known to fly into Korea in spring and go back in autumn.
Scientists and people recently confirmed the fact that this bird lives in Unhon and Unryul counties in South Hwanghae Province and other areas with Pam islet in Nampho city as a center in all seasons.
This proves that the ecological environment in the lower reaches and the basin of the River Taedong has turned favorable for big water-hens to live after the appearance of the West Sea Barrage.
The vast river basin linking Jedo-ri and Namhae-ri of Unchon county and Kumbok-ri of Unryul county with pam islet as its center is home to more than 3,000 water hens at present.
KCNA refutes Japanese newspaper's sheer misinformation
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - The Tokyo Shimbun on July 13 carried misinformation that the navy of north Korea might be involved in the heroin traffic detected in Taiwan, groundlessly linking it with the DPRK.
Its story quoted some unconfirmed information to serve its purpose. The story was a sheer lie because it lacked objectivity in news coverage.
What Tokyo Shimbun reported cannot be construed otherwise than a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the DPRK on the international arena as it was in contravention of the press ethic of objectivity, accuracy and impartiality.
This is an unpardonable challenge to the DPRK because what the newspaper did had many things in common with the stereotyped diatribe launched by hostile forces to defame the DPRK whenever an opportunity presented itself.
They are working hard to link the heroin traffic with the navy of the Korean People's Army at a time when some forces of south Korea, the united states and Japan are groundlessly pulling up the DPRK over the recent armed clash in the West Sea of Korea. This is a hostile provocation to the glorious revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK.
In view of the intrinsic nature of the social system in the DPRK that regards man as the most precious being, the smuggling of narcotic is unpardonable in the DPRK as it is intended to benumb the spirit of man and destroy people's physical lives.
The DPRK can never allow such practice as smuggling narcotics into other countries in violation of the international narcotic control law.
It is the invariable principled stand of the DPRK to oppose all forms of criminal narcotic production and smuggling.
U.S. shameless challenge
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - The U.S. Command in south Korea in a statement on July 27 said that it cannot transfer to the south Korea the criminal jurisdiction over GIs who ran an armored car over schoolgirls to death, seoul-based Radio No. 1 reported.
Such behavior of the U.S. military authorities has angered south Korean people as it is a shameless challenge to them.
The south Korean people are now indignant at the arrogance of the U.S. forces' side that is patronizing the killers and those related to the murder by invoking the status of forces agreement, far from punishing them. They are urging the U.S. Forces to abandon the criminal jurisdiction at once and bring the killers to the court of south Korea.
The statement of the U.S. military authorities is another criminal act of ignoring the just demand of the south Korean people and seeking to maintain their extraterritorial privileges of the U.S. forces.
Introduction of U.S. combat system rejected
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - South Korean organizations strongly demanded a halt to the south Korean ministry of defense's introduction of the U.S. combat system of destroyers of the next generation.
A press conference was held on July 24 under the sponsorship of the joint measure committee against the U.S. missile defense system (MD) and for peace.
It was stressed at the press conference that the decision of the ministry to introduce the U.S. combat system is a proof that south Korea is joining the U.S. in its md establishment.
A statement released at the press conference urged the ministry to withdraw the decision, saying it will give profits to U.S. munitions companies only.
The solidarity for implementing the south-north joint declaration in a statement on July 25 denounced the introduction of the combat system as a shameless mockery of the people and an anti-national act of victimizing the fellow countrymen for the U.S. nuclear war plan.
It demanded an immediate stop to the introduction of the combat system and vowed to invigorate the anti-U.S. struggle.
U.S. plan for preemptive attack assailed
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - The U.S. Department of Defense has reportedly drawn up the 2004-2009 guidelines of national defense in secrecy. The main content of this five-year plan is to develop high-tech weapons to surreptitiously attack the "new enemies" including the DPRK.
The fact shows the U.S. is going to begin executing the new strategy of preemptive attack for the purpose of the world domination, says Minju Joson Tuesday in a signed commentary.
It goes on:
We take it seriously that the U.S. takes the DPRK as the main target of their aggressive preemptive attack.
The Korean people will never make a concession in strengthening the self-defense capabilities since the U.S. pursues it as its national policy to attack and stifle the DPRK by military force.
The army and people of Korea are fully ready to answer the U.S. preemptive attack with an annihilating retaliation. If the bellicose forces of the U.S. misjudge the will and power of the Korean army and people and take a choice of military action, it will lead to the U.S. doom.
Thai parliamentary delegation here
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - A delegation of the senate of Thailand headed by Pichet Pattanachote, first vice-president of the Senate, arrived here today.
They were greeted at airport by officials concerned.
UN under-secretary general arrives
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - Kenzo Oshima, under-secretary general of the United Nations, and his party arrived here Tuesday.
They were greeted at the airport by Choe Su Hon, vice-minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK, David Morton, resident coordinator of UN and resident representative of the UNDP, and members of international organizations here.
Korean people's cause supported
Pyongyang, July 30 (KCNA) - Rallies, round-table discussions and photo exhibitions were held in Mexico, Democratic Congo, Egypt and Vietnam from July 9 to 17 in the month of the anti-U.S. joint struggle (June 25-July 27).
The secretary general of the Egyptian Asian-African Writers' Permanent Office and the chairman of the Democratic Congo-Korea Friendship and Solidarity Association, addressing the rallies, said that the heroic Korean people and People's Army could humble the U.S. imperialists who had boasted of being the "strongest" in the world because President Kim Il Sung led the Fatherland Liberation War to victory.
The Korean people will certainly reunify the country by themselves, singleheartedly united around leader Kim Jong Il under his unique army-based revolutionary leadership, they added.
The general secretary of the central committee of the Socialist People's Party of Mexico at a round-table discussion expressed solidarity with the Korean people in their efforts to carry out the lines and policies for national reunification put forward by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, stressing that they are the most just lines and policies based on the most correct analysis of the specific conditions of the Korean peninsula and the world political situation.
Meanwhile, Martin Lotshces, chairman of the Swiss Committee for Supporting Korea's Reunification, released a statement on July 23 in support of the Korean people's cause of national reunification.