28th Plenary Meeting of 14th SPA Standing Committee of DPRK Held

Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- The 28th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) of the DPRK took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on Thursday.

Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the C.C., Workers' Party of Korea, first vice-president of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, presided over the plenary meeting.

Attending it were vice-chairmen Kang Yun Sok and Kim Ho Chol and other members of the SPA Standing Committee.

Present as observers were officials concerned of the SPA Standing Committee and the Secretariat of the Cabinet, ministries and national institutions.

Placed on the agenda of the meeting were "On organizing the central election guidance committee for election of deputies to provincial (municipal), city (district) and county people's assemblies of the DPRK" and the issue of deliberating and adopting laws of the DPRK on auditing and house maintenance and the issue of recalling and electing people's assessors of the Central Court.

The plenary meeting adopted a decision of the SPA Standing Committee on the agenda item "On organizing the central election guidance committee for election of deputies to provincial (municipal), city (district) and county people's assemblies of the DPRK" with unanimous approbation.

Then, there was a report on the basic contents of relevant draft laws examined at the SPA Legislation Committee.

The law on auditing stipulates the legal requirements for smoothly ensuring the financial business and definitely guaranteeing its stable and sustained development by thoroughly establishing the system and order in auditing, and the law on house maintenance specifies the principled matters to be observed in house maintenance and use.

The plenary meeting studied and deliberated the draft laws on the agenda, and adopted the decrees of the SPA Standing Committee: "On the Adoption of the Law of the DPRK on Auditing" and "On the Adoption of the Law of the DPRK on House Maintenance" with unanimous approbation.

The plenary meeting recalled and elected people's assessors of the DPRK Central Court. -0-

Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Receives Russian Foreign Minister

 

Pyongyang, October 20 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), received Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, on a visit to the DPRK at the office building of the WPK Central Committee on Oct. 19.

Present there were Andrei Rudenko, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and Alexandr Matsegora, Russian ambassador to the DPRK.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un had a happy meeting with Sergei Lavrov and warmly welcomed his visit to the DPRK before having a talk with him in an atmosphere of comradeship.

On the occasion, Sergei Lavrov courteously conveyed the warm greetings of Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Un expressed deep thanks for it and sent the warm greetings of the WPK and the government and people of the DPRK to Putin and the fraternal Russian people.

He looked back with deep emotion on the meeting he had with Putin at the Vostochny Spaceport in September, leaving a remarkable trace in the history of the traditional DPRK-Russia friendship.

He expressed the steadfast stand of the WPK and the DPRK government to work out a stable, forward-looking, far-reaching plan for the DPRK-Russia relations in the new era by faithfully implementing the agreements made at the DPRK-Russia summit, and to promote the well-being of the peoples of the two countries and push forward with the cause of building a powerful state by dint of the said plan.

Exchanged in an open-minded manner at the talk were views on such important matters of mutual concern as the issue for the two countries to actively cope with the complicated regional and international situation on the basis of their solid political and strategic trust relations and expand in a planned way the bilateral ties in all fields through the joint efforts, and a consensus of views was reached.

The talk proceeded in a friendly and amicable atmosphere. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.10.20.)

Report of Online Meeting for the 97th anniversary of the formation of the Down With Imperialism Union and the 78th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea held on 17.10.2023.

On the 17th of October the Korean Friendship Association of the UK and the British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea hosted an online meeting via Skype at 1830 hours to mark the 97th anniversary of the formation of the Down with Imperialism Union and 78th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea.

Participating were officials and members of the Korean Friendship Association UK and British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea from London , West of England , Staffordshire and Scotland  as well as members of KFA Germany and the People’s Korea Initiative of Poland .

In his speech Dr Dermot Hudson chairman of the Korean Friendship Association UK and Chairman of the British Group for the Study of the Juche addressed the subject of both the anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea and the anniversary of the formation of the Down With Imperialism Union . Dr Hudson pointed out that “The anniversary of the foundation of the WPK is of great significance for not just the people of the DPRK but progressive and revolutionary people all over the world .The WPK shines out as a vanguard force in the international communist movement  because opposes imperialism ,revisionism ,opportunism and big power chauvinism .

Although the WPK under the leadership of great President KIM IL SUNG , Chairman KIM JONG IL and respected Marshal KIM JONG UN  has always stressed independence , it has always been an internationalist party . Under the leadership of the WPK the DPRK sent assistance to Cuba , Vietnam , Angola and Grenada to name just a few . During the 1973 October War , pilots of the Korean People’s Army Air Force fought alongside the Arab people in Egypt and Syria against the Israeli Zionist aggressors”

Referring to the 97th anniversary of the formation Dr Hudson said “The formation of the DIU marked a clean break with the stagnant  ideas of factionalism , flunkeyism and dogmatism  thus, it was a decisive leap forward in the task of building a revolutionary working-class party in Korea “ and added “Under the leadership of the dear respected leader Marshal Kim Jong Un , the general secretary  of the  Workers' Party of Korea , the Korean people and WPK carry forward the militant revolutionary anti-imperialist tradition of the DIU. Indeed the DPRK raises the flag of anti-US ,anti-imperialist struggle”.

Comrade Alan Bolon, Organisation Secretary of KFA UK and head of KFA West of England read out the extract of the Condensed Biography of KIM IL SUNG, published in 2001, which made particular reference to the formation of the DIU .It said in part “The Down-with-Imperialism Union formed by KIM IL SUNG was a van­guard organization to lead the Juche revolutionary cause to victory and a genuine communist revolutionary organization, the first of its kind in Korea.”

The head of Staffordshire KFA UK and secretary general of the British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea said that great achievements had been made in Party building in Korea under the banner of the Juche idea and that the WPK is a shining example of a revolutionary party . He recalled the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the formation of the DIU in 2006 and the first nuclear test of the DPRK.

The vice-chairman of KFA Germany said “, President KIM IL SUNG, founded the Workers' Party of Korea on 10 October 1945, which became the leading force of the Korean revolution and led the Koreans to 

victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War and in post-war reconstruction, turning the DPRK into a socialist paradise with free housing, free education and free medical care. Without taxation 

and exploitation.”

Participants praised the international role of the WPK.

The documentaries “The Workers Party Of Korea Makes Selfless Devoted Efforts For The Good Of The People” and  the music video “Hold high the Banner of the Down-with-Imperialism Union! 높이 들어라 《ㅌ ㄷ》의 기발” were shown .

The online meeting concluded at 20.15 hours BST

Russian Foreign Minister Arrives in Pyongyang

 Pyongyang, October 19 (KCNA) -- At the time when the traditional DPRK-Russia relations have reached a new strategic level to meet the requirements of the new era, Sergei Lavrov, foreign minister of the Russian Federation, arrived here on Wednesday to pay an official visit to the DPRK at the invitation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry.

Pyongyang International Airport was filled with a warm welcome atmosphere to greet the Russian missions visiting the DPRK amid the enthusiasm of friendship growing higher than ever before thanks to the recent historic meeting of the top leaders of the two countries.

Members of the guard of honor of the Korean People's Army lined up at the station before the airport terminal where the flags of the DPRK and the Russian Federation are fluttering.

The peoples of the two countries are further strengthening the bonds of friendship through significant celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as a common holiday.

Lots of people were waiting at the airport to receive the Russian foreign minister and his party visiting Pyongyang.

The guests were received by Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and officials of the DPRK Foreign Ministry and Russian Ambassador to the DPRK Alexandr Matsegora and staff members of his embassy.

A woman worker presented a bouquet to Sergei Lavrov.

Many citizens warmly welcomed the close Russian friends, waving the national flags of the two countries and bouquets.

The Russian foreign minister's visit to the DPRK will mark a significant occasion in further consolidating the friendship and solidarity between the two countries, promoting the mutual trust, further energizing the bilateral relations in all fields and developing them onto a new high stage, true to the noble intention of the top leaders of the two countries. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.10.19.)

KCNA Commentary on Japanese Politicians' Visit to Yasukuni Shrine

Pyongyang, October 19 (KCNA) -- Politicians of Japan have continued to visit the Yasukuni Shrine.

On October 17, Prime Minister Kishida made a ritual offering to the shrine and the minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, ministers for Economic Security and Economic Revitalization, the speaker of the House of Councilors and other government officials and those of the Diet visited the shrine one after another and paid tributes to it.

On October 18, nearly 100 members of the "Meeting of Dietmen for Visiting the Yasukuni Shrine" thronged to the shrine in group to pay a tribute to the war criminals.

The shrine, which has served as an ideological and spiritual breeding ground of Japanese militarism for overseas aggression and expansion, is the citadel of Japan's aggressive and extreme nationalism and symbol of militarism.

The visit to it is a criterion for Japan to decide whether to break with the past and opt for peace or to go along the road of reinvasion as it shows the Japanese government's attitude towards the war of aggression.

However, Japan has formulated and put the visit to the shrine on a regular basis despite strong protest and denunciation by the international community. Its politicians have visited the shrine on the spring and autumn ancestral rite days, August 15 when Japan was defeat in the Second World War, the day when the Japanese imperialists provoked the Pacific War and other opportunities every year to call back the "spirit" of top-class war criminals who earned notorious fame in the war of aggression on the continent.

The war criminal state, which had inflicted indelible damage on mankind, is consoling and praising the soul of provocateurs and war criminals. This is an open war agitation act and an insult to the peoples in the afflicted countries and challenge to human conscience and international justice as it is an expression of praise for war crimes.

The ceaseless visits to the shrine clearly show the true picture of Japan, a war criminal state which has never changed its militarist constitution. Lurking behind them is its dangerous ambition to realize the old dream of "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" at any cost.

Far from feeling guilty of the past crimes, Japan, obsessed by revenge for its defeat, is trying to paralyze the soul of its people with poison of militarism through the shrine and incite the craziness for reinvasion in the whole society and finally drive the war chariot.

Nearly 80 years have passed since Japan's defeat and a century has changed, but militarism adapted with the dangerous trend of thought of all kinds, still pervades the contemporary Japanese society and xenophobia, hatred and national chauvinism are rampant.

This is the inevitable result from the infiltration of reactionary idea, the distortion of history and the moves to praise the past crimes which have been enforced by the reactionary forces of militarism.

Today, Japan, revived under the active patronage and support of the U.S. after its defeat in the war, has perfected the "legal foundation" for overseas aggression and fully betrayed its true colors as a war state possessed of the capability for preemptive attack on other countries.

Japan's expansion of military force has reached an uncontrollable phase.

The Japanese archipelago turned into an outpost and a sortie base for the U.S. war of aggression, and Japan is now pushing ahead with the deployment for action of long-range missiles capable of directly striking the DPRK, China and other neighboring countries, while openly crying out for the possession of long-distance striking capability.

Japan no longer refers to such words as "maintenance of the least self-defense force" and "exclusive defense" it had used as an adornment to deceive the world.

What should not be overlooked is that Japan seeks to get deeper involved in the issue of the Korean peninsula by taking an active part in the triangular military cooperation with the U.S. and south Korean puppets, while raising the "free and open Indo-Pacific initiative", an expanded version of the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere", to join such U.S.-led alliances as QUAD and getting frantic with overseas dispatch of its troops under various pretexts.

It is self-evident that Japan's reckless moves will lead to reinvasion sooner or later, and this is just a matter of time.

If the moves of Japanese reactionaries, oblivious of the lesson of history, are connived, the Korean peninsula and the region will get into the disaster of war and the world peace and security will be seriously threatened.

The final ruin is the terminal to be reached by Japan scheming to dominate other countries and nations and achieve its "prosperity" through aggression and war. -0-

www.kcna.kp (Juche112.10.19.)

Great Changes in Rural Areas

True to the Workers’ Party of Korea’s new programme for rural construction, the rural areas in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are undergoing a sea change. It is an unshakable will and determination of the WPK to make the countryside modern and wealthy in the near future.

 

Secret of the Self-supporting Economy of the DPRK

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea advocates building a self-supporting economy. How is it possible to build it?

Spirit of Self-reliance

The spirit of self-reliance is the first factor that promotes the building of a self-supporting economy. 

This spirit is rooted in the Juche idea which was created by President     Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) and developed by Chairman Kim Jong Il (1942-2011). The Juche idea is, in a word, the idea that man is the master of his own destiny and he also has the strength with which to shape his destiny. 

With this idea as the guiding idea, the Korean people have advanced the revolution and construction.

Looking back, the Korean people suffered indescribably severe damages in the Korean war (1950-1953) forced upon them by the US. In the case of the capital city of Pyongyang alone, everything was destroyed to the ground except for a few buildings. The US claimed that Korea would never be able to rise again even in one hundred years. 

However, the Korean people completely rehabilitated the country’s economy in less than three years and realized socialist industrialization in a matter of 14 years. Later they continuously created world-startling miracles like the building of a 10 000-ton press, large-sized oxygen plants and the West Sea Barrage. A factor for all this was the spirit of self-reliance.

Today, the Korean people are constantly promoting the country’s economic development by relying on this spirit, not with the help of others or any external assistance.

Powerful Resources of Skilled Personnel 

The DPRK chose the road of self-reliance also in preparing its own powerful resources of skilled personnel. 

Soon after the country was liberated (August 15, 1945) from the Japanese military occupation (1905-1945), there was no university or college in the northern part of the country. The number of native scientists and technicians was ten or so. The cause of this was that the Japanese imperialists had enforced the colonial policy of keeping the Koreans in ignorance.

However, the DPRK has developed education rapidly and trained a great number of native technical personnel with its own efforts over the past seven decades. It introduced universal compulsory elementary education in 1956, universal compulsory secondary education in 1958, and universal 11-year compulsory education in 1975. As a result, by the 1980s, all the working people in the country possessed the general knowledge of a secondary school graduate and the country had over 1.3 million intellectuals and over 230 universities. How much effort the country directed to training its native technical personnel can be seen in the fact that the ratio between the population and intellectuals in the country was 12 to 1 in 1993, whereas it had been 700 000 to 1 immediately after liberation.

Recent years has witnessed continuous development of education in the country. Having extended the period of compulsory education to twelve years by adding another year, it is dynamically pushing forward the work of putting the contents and methods of education on a modern footing. Under the slogan of making all the people well versed in science and technology, the country is striving to turn all the members of society into intelligent workers possessed with the knowledge level of a university graduate, and into developers of science and technology. As a result, the number of holders of academic degrees and masters of invention is rapidly increasing.

What is noteworthy is the fact that all types of education is free and for the sake of the entire population. It is clear that these intellectuals trained under such educational system will reliably support the country’s self-supporting economy.

Reliable Foundations of the Economy

Even though its people have strong spirit of self-reliance and it has a powerful force of skilled personnel, it would be a daydream for a country to realize self-sufficiency in the economy without powerful economic foundations.

In this context, the DPRK has always paid close attention to laying reliable and powerful economic foundations.

First, it has created an independent, modern heavy industry. Second, it has expanded a multi-faceted and comprehensive economic structure. Third, it has built its own firm raw materials bases. And fourth, it has equipped all sectors of the economy with modern technology.

All these have proved highly beneficial throughout the history of the country’s economic development. After the line of developing heavy industry on a preferential basis while promoting light industry and agriculture simultaneously was advanced, the value of total industrial output was increased by 3.5 times between 1957 and 1960 and the industrial output increased by an annual average of 15.9 per cent between 1970 and 1979. By the end of the late 1980s, production boomed on an unprecedented scale in all sectors of industry.

Entering the 1990s the country was faced with harsh difficulties in economic construction due to the collapse of the socialist market, the imperialists’ vicious schemes against it and a succession of natural disasters. But it raised its position into a state of manufacturing and launching earth satellites by relying on its own self-supporting economic foundations. Moreover, the country remained unperturbed in the 2000s when many countries were floundering as giant banks and conglomerates were going bankrupt due to the global financial crisis.

A few years ago the Workers’ Party of Korea set forth a new five-year plan for national economic development at its Eighth Congress. In pursuance of this plan, serious efforts are made to consolidate the economic foundations of key industries including metallurgical and chemical industries and build 50 000 flats in Pyongyang, houses in the countryside and large-scale greenhouse farms for improving the people’s standard of living. And this will be inconceivable separated from the powerful foundations of its independent national economy which has been consolidated in the past several decades.