Present there were diplomatic envoys of different countries and representatives of international bodies to the DPRK and military attaches and staff members of foreign embassies and foreign correspondents here.

Army General Kim Yong Chol, vice-chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army and director of its General Reconnaissance Bureau, informed of the situation in Korea which was inching close to the brink of war due to the ceaseless anti-DPRK political and military provocations by the U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces and of the truth about their shameless smear campaign.

He said:

Amid the intensified anti-DPRK moves of the south Korean puppet forces at the instigation of the United States in August, the puppet military war maniacs cooked up the case of "shelling by the north" in the afternoon of August 20 and, under this pretext, committed such grave military provocation as firing 36 shells at KPA civil police posts.

The case is a groundless intrigue and fabrication.

The south Korean puppet forces invented the "mine explosion" case, a "provocation by the north", in bid to shift the blame for the present bedeviled north-south relations onto the DPRK and justify such moves for confrontation among compatriots as an anti-DPRK leaflet scattering operation.

The psychological warfare against the DPRK is, in essence, the most undisguised action for aggression on it.

Under the prevailing grave situation, an emergency enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea was convened at night of August 20. At the meeting the KPA Supreme Commander issued an order that the KPA frontline large combined units should enter a wartime state, fully armed to launch surprise operations and the area along the front be put in a semi-war state from 17:00 of August 21.

The reckless provocation by the enemies deserves severe punishment, he said, and went on:

The army and people of the DPRK are closely watching the ceaselessly and recklessly confrontational hysteria of the provocateurs.

The U.S. imperialists and the south Korean puppet forces should behave themselves, squarely seeing the reality.

The world will clearly see how the DPRK army and people will shatter the confrontation moves of the aggressors, provocateurs.