North Korea to hold nuclear dismantling ceremony; Invites journalists

Castle Romeo (yield 11 Mt) – an atmospheric nuclear test carried out by the U.S. on 1 March 1954 at Bikini Atoll, Marshal Islands. It was the third largest test ever detonated by the United States the first deployed thermonuclear device. Image in the public domain Image: U.S Government

Photo: The Official CTBTO Photostream

Press Release of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Date: 05/12/2018


Pyongyang, May 12 (KCNA) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea issued a following press release on Saturday:

In accordance with the decision of the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground of the DPRK in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test.

A ceremony for dismantling the nuclear test ground is now scheduled between May 23 and 25, depending on weather condition.

Dismantlement of the nuclear test ground will be done in the following sequence-making all tunnels of the test ground collapse by explosion; completely blocking entries; removing all observation facilities, research institutes and structures of guard units on the ground.

In parallel with dismantlement of the nuclear test ground, guards and researchers will be withdrawn and the surrounding area of the test ground be completely closed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK is authorized, in this regard, to release the following decisions.

First, it has intention to allow not only the local press but also journalists of other countries to conduct on-the-spot coverage in order to show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground to be carried out in accordance with the decision of the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

In due consideration of small space of the test ground, journalists from other countries will be confined to those from China, Russia, United States, United Kingdom and south Korea.

Second, the following steps will be taken for providing convenience of visit and coverage to international journalists.

1) All international journalists will be provided with charter flight from Beijing to Wonsan, and other related steps such as opening territorial air space will be taken.

2) Special accommodation will be arranged in Wonsan for stay of the international journalists, and press center be set up for their use.

3) Special charter train will be arranged from Wonsan to the northern nuclear test ground for the international journalists.

4) In consideration of the fact that the test ground is located in the uninhabited deep mountain area, the international journalists will be accommodated in the special charter train and be provided with appropriate conveniences.

5) Necessary conditions and cooperation will be provided to the international journalists so that they can transmit at the press center about dismantlement of the test ground which they have covered on the spot.

The DPRK will, also in the future, promote close contacts and dialogue with the neighboring countries and the international society so as to safeguard peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and over the globe. -0-

Trump Should Be Sent to Lunatics Asylum, Has Nasty Smell, America Will Go to the Hell

Photo Courtesy KCNA.
Commentary courtesy Rodong Sinmun, North Korea State Media.
In the recent “State of the Union Address”, old lunatic Trump said that the DPRK is threatening the U.S. mainland by “reckless nuclear and missile pursuit”. Not content with slandering the DPRK over “degeneration” and “oppression”, he took issue with the non-existent “human rights”.

This is the intolerable politically-motivated provocation and tyrannical blackmail of the boss of gangsters and hysteric fit of a lunatic against the DPRK.

No matter how desperately Trump may try to defame the dignified and just system in the DPRK with worst invectives, he can not deodorize nasty smell from his dirty body woven with frauds, sexual abuses and all other crimes nor keep the U.S. from rushing to the final destruction.

There is a foolish attempt to make pretence for provocation and pave the road for invasion ahead of conducting the military adventure “bloody nose strategy” in the invectives of Trump recalling Bush’s reckless remarks of “axis of evil”.

Dolt-like Trump should know that his backbone would be broken, to say nothing of “bloody nose”, and the empire of America would go to the hell and the short history of the U.S. would end forever, the moment he destroys even a single blade of grass on this land.

It is the only way for the U.S. and the world concord and peace to urgently detain Trump, who is putting the U.S. and the world in turmoil, in the isolated hospital of psychopaths.

Pak Chol Jun

White Paper on Human Rights Violations in U.S. in 2017 Issued in DPRK

Pyongyang, January 30 (KCNA) — The DPRK Institute of International Studies Tuesday released the “White Paper on Human Rights Violations in U.S. in 2017”.

According to the white paper, soon after being inaugurated as president, Trump filled the important posts of his administration with billionaires, who had “contributed” to his election campaign, and their mouthpieces.

Secretary of State Tillerson, Secretary of Commerce Ross and also the secretaries of Treasury and Defense are all billionaires from conglomerates. The total assets of public servants at the level of deputy secretary and above of the current administration are worth of 14 billion US$.

The anti-popular policies the Trump administration pursued openly in one year were, without exception, for the interests of a handful of the rich circles.

In the U.S., where genuine freedom of the press and expression does not exist, intervention in and crackdown on the press grew more intensified over the past one year.

In 2017 the cases of searching and confiscation against journalists accounted for 12 and the cases of violation against them for 11. Moreover, 19 persons in the domestic press circles and four foreign journalists were arrested or detained.

Racial discrimination and misanthropy are serious maladies inherent to the social system of the U.S., and they have been aggravated since Trump took office.

The racial violence that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, on August 12 is a typical example of the acme of the current administration’s policy of racism.

In the U.S. the absolute majority of the working masses, deprived of elementary rights to survival, are hovering in the abyss of nightmare.

As a result, during the first week of March, 241 000 persons joined the large contingent of the unemployed; in May 9 000 public servants were fired from governmental agencies; in September the number of the unemployed increased by 33 000 as compared to that of the previous month.

In particular, unemployment of young people has become a matter of serious social concern; currently the unemployment rate of young people under 25 is 7.9%, and 31% of graduates from high schools do not have proper jobs.

According to what the U.S. administration made public, in 2017 the homeless numbered 554 000, about 10% increase as compared to that two years ago, and number of the poor families, living in rented rooms devoid of elementary facilities for living, is on the steady rise.

The soaring school expenses are plunging the students into the hell of loans.

Those who are diagnosed with a disease but cannot afford to pay their medical fees total 50 million. Flu, lung diseases and asthma cause 36 000, 40 000 and 150 000 deaths, respectively, on an annual average.

On the other hand, health-hazardous disqualified products are on sale across the country, which often leads to an outbreak of infectious diseases.

The U.S. is one of the world’s two countries that have yet to embrace paid maternity leave.

Over the past decade the proportion of American women who live below the poverty line has risen from 12.1% to 14.5%, and they usually receive 25% less salary than their male colleagues of the same post.

A woman is sexually abused every 89 seconds.

According to basic statistics, about 61 100 gun-related crimes took place in the U.S. last year, leaving 15 488 dead and 31 058 wounded.

According to data, the number of marijuana users in the U.S. was more than 20 million, a 3% increase as compared with that a decade ago; and over 90 people lose their lives on a daily average from drug abuse.

In the U.S. where crimes and evil are rampant, the number of imprisoned criminals tops 2.3 million and 70 million are ex-offenders.

The U.S., “guardian of democracy” and “human rights champion”, is kicking up the human rights racket but it can never camouflage its true identity as the gross violator of human rights, the white paper said.

North Korea abruptly calls off Olympic event at Mt Kumgang; Blames Biased Media Reports

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) — North Korea has called off a joint cultural event scheduled to be held in its country to celebrate the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, Seoul officials said Monday.

The abrupt notification came in a telegram sent to South Korea at 10:10 p.m., saying the North was canceling the event scheduled to be held Feb.4, according to Seoul’s unification ministry.

The communist state was known to have cited what it claimed to be “biased” media reports about the upcoming event.

The unification ministry said the North also took issue with South Korean reports about its “internal event,” apparently referring to reports about a possible military parade marking the 70th anniversary of its military on Feb. 8, one day before the start of the Winter Olympic Games.

North Korea to mark Army Founding Day February 8, Day Before  PyeongChang Olympics, South Korea Announces

The Seoul government expressed disappointment, noting the North’s decision may undermine what it earlier called a “hard-earned” chance to improve inter-Korean relations.

“It is very regrettable that an event agreed by the South and the North will not be held due to North Korea’s unilateral notification (decision),” the ministry said in a statement. “What has been agreed must be implemented under the spirit of mutual respect and understanding as the South and the North have only taken a hard-earned first step toward improving the South-North relationship.”

The event at Mount Kumgang was to be part of a series of events to be held in the divided Koreas ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The agreement to hold such events came after three rounds of talks between the two Koreas that also marked the first inter-Korean dialogue in more than two years.

North Korea has also agreed to stage art performances and taekwondo demonstrations in South Korea to commemorate its participation in the Winter Olympics.

Many local news outlets here, however, have voiced concerns over the joint events in that they may be in violation of U.N. Security Council sanctions currently in place against the communist North for its military provocations, including six nuclear tests.

The North is also set to host a group of South Korean skiers for a joint training session with its own athletes at its Masikryong Ski Resort on the east coast, reportedly from Wednesday.

Whether the other events will be held as scheduled could not immediately be confirmed. The scheduled events include art performances by a North Korean art troupe in Gangneung, near the host city of the Winter Olympic Games, and Seoul.

Kissinger rejects ‘freeze-for-freeze’ with North Korea

EPA file photo shows former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. (Yonhap)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) — South Korea could push to indefinitely postpone joint military exercises with the United States in exchange for North Korea taking steps to denuclearize, a U.S. expert said Tuesday.

The allies earlier agreed to suspend the annual drills for the duration of the PyeongChang Winter Games. North Korea views the exercises as an invasion rehearsal and has protested with various provocations in the past.

2018/01/26 01:47

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) — Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said Thursday he does not believe North Korea will abandon its nuclear weapons in exchange for a suspension of U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea.

Kissinger, who served under the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s, spoke before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the security challenges facing the U.S.

“The most immediate challenge to international peace and security is posed by North Korea,” he said in his opening statement, posted on the committee’s website. “Paradoxically, it is only after Pyongyang has achieved nuclear and intercontinental missile breakthroughs, accompanied by threatening assertions and demonstrations, that measures to thwart these activities have begun to be applied.”

Kissinger acknowledged some success in the Donald Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign to curb the North’s nuclear ambitions, but added there has been no breakthrough.

“North Korea acquired nuclear weapons to assure its regime’s survival; in its view, to give them up would be tantamount to suicide,” he said. “An outcome that was widely considered unacceptable is now on the verge of becoming irreversible.”

Kissinger called for an agreement on Korea’s future through the revival of the now-stalled six-party talks or a separate forum led by the U.S. and China. That, he said, would be the best road to the denuclearization of the peninsula.

A “freeze-for-freeze” under which the U.S. and South Korea would suspend their regular military exercises in exchange for the North halting its nuclear and ballistic missile testing “will not … fulfill this purpose or even advance it.”

“That would equate legitimate security operations with activities which have been condemned by the U.N. Security Council for decades,” he said. “And it would encourage demands for additional restraints on, and perhaps the dismantling of, America’s alliances in the region.”

A freeze, pushed by China and Russia, would also give legitimacy to North Korea’s nuclear establishment and results of its previous tests.

“Interim steps towards full denuclearization may well be part of an eventual negotiation,” Kissinger said. “But they need to be steps towards this ultimate goal: the dismantlement of Pyongyang’s existing arsenal.”

The mistake of past negotiations, which only helped North Korea buy time to advance its weapons development, must not be repeated, he added.

Films, newspapers, magazines and intranets and other media spread decadent ideologies, cultural poisoning

Photo courtesy KCNA.

North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun Calls for Foiling Ideological and Cultural Poisoning by Imperialism

Date: 20/01/2018 | Source: KCNA.kp (En) | Read original version at source

Pyongyang, January 20 (KCNA) — For all the nations aspiring to independence and opposing imperialism to combat the poisoning of decadent ideologies and culture of every description precisely means a fierce struggle to defend their sovereignty and dignity, says Rodong Sinmun in an article Saturday.

The article goes on:

The imperialists regard the reactionary ideological and cultural poisoning as the most effective way for attaining their aggression and predatory aims with ease.

The degenerate reactionary ideology and the American outlook on value, which were employed as a guide to aggression, play the main role in aggression at present.

The imperialists consider the rising generation as the main target of their corrupt ideological and cultural poisoning.

Through films, newspapers, magazines and intranets and other media which the young people enjoy very much, the imperialists make them corrupt and degenerate and spread illusions about imperialism.

Those young people infected with luxury and enjoyment are reduced to renegades of their countries and stooges of imperialism unwittingly.

North Korean Defector: Return DPRK to State Sponsored Terrorism List

Some countries witnessed regime changes and government falls and the young people took the lead in causing such abnormal situations. That is because they were infected with the imperialist ideological and cultural poisoning.

The struggle in the ideological and cultural field is a war without gunfire. And a wrong struggle results in the worse consequences than the defeat in war.

The bourgeois ideological and cultural poisoning is more dangerous than a formidable enemy coming in attack with guns.

Any hesitation and concession to the ideological confrontation would give way to the bourgeois ideological and cultural poisoning and then it would make mess of the destiny of a nation and country.

The Amazing Kims: Mythology and the Cult of Personality in North Korea

North Korea Abruptly Cancels Trip to Prepare for Olympics: Now Reschedules

This photo, provided by South Korea’s unification ministry on Jan. 15, 2018, shows Hyon Song-wol, the leader of the all-female Moranbong Band, attending inter-Korean talks on the North’s plan to send an art troupe to the South during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. (Yonhap)

UPDATE: NK has now rescheduled and the visit to South Korea is back on.

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) — South Korea on Saturday demanded North Korea explain the abrupt canceling of a visit by its team in preparing for performances during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month in the South.

“We sent a document (to the North) at around 11:20 a.m. via the Panmunjom communications channel demanding an explanation for the North’s cancellation to dispatch its cultural advance inspection team,” Unification Minister Cho Myung-gyon said in a press briefing at the ministry.

The minister’s remarks came as the North notified the South late Friday that it will suspend the seven-member team’s trip originally slated for earlier Saturday to check the venues for its proposed art performances in the South.

The two-day trip was originally arranged after Pyongyang said it would send a team led by Hyon Song-wol, leader of the North’s all-female Moranbong Band. The band was created by order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in July 2012 and features Western-style music and outfits.

Meet the Moranbong Band: NK’s All Female Pop Group & Dennis Rodman Favorite

In working-level talks with the South held Monday, North Korea agreed to send a 140-member art troupe, consisting of an orchestra, singers and dancers, for concerts in Seoul and Gangnueng, 260 kilometers east of the capital, during next month’s Winter Olympics.

North Korea to participate in four sports at PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics

Photo:In figure skating, the pair of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik appears to be the logical choice for the North. They qualified for an Olympic spot last September but missed an Oct. 30 deadline to confirm their participation.  

2018/01/18 14:02

Lee Hee-beom, head of the organizing committee for PyeongChang 2018, said North Korea will send athletes in pair figure skating, alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and women’s ice hockey.

Lee said the agreement was reached during working-level inter-Korean talks on Wednesday. But he declined to disclose the number of North Korean athletes as agreed on by the two sides because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will have the final say on the matter.

In this file photo from Dec. 27, 2017, Lee Hee-beom, head of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics organizing committee, speaks during the opening ceremony of a promotional center for the games at KEB Hana Bank's headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)In this file Photo from Dec. 27, 2017, Lee Hee-beom, head of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics organizing committee, speaks during the opening ceremony of a promotional center for the games at KEB Hana Bank’s headquarters in Seoul. (Yonhap)

Lee left for the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, where IOC President Thomas Bach will chair a meeting Saturday on North Korea’s participation. The occasion is formally titled the “North and South Korean Olympic Participation Meeting,” and will include Lee, heads of the national Olympic committees for the two Koreas and IOC members from both nations.

“Basically, the IOC is the one that invites countries to the Olympics,” Lee told reporters at Incheon International Airport. “And the agreement between South and North Korea must follow the IOC’s standards.”

In figure skating, the pair of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik appears to be the logical choice for the North. They qualified for an Olympic spot last September but missed an Oct. 30 deadline to confirm their participation. The International Skating Union (ISU) has noted that Ryom and Kim have “met all the necessary technical requirements” to skate in the Olympics.

Door Still Open to North Korean Figure Skaters to Compete in Winter Olympics

In women’s hockey, the Koreas have agreed on a joint team. The exact size of the roster will be determined at the upcoming IOC meeting, but the Korea Ice Hockey Association (KIHA) announced a 23-player roster, pending changes.

South Korea coach objects to proposed unified Korean team in women’s hockey

Earlier on Thursday, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said in a lecture at a university that the two Koreas have agreed to add “five to six” North Korean players to the current South Korean team.

The Koreas have competed as one nation at the world table tennis championships and world under-20 football championships but never at the Olympics.

Also during Wednesday’s talks, the Koreas agreed to march together under the Korea Unification Flag at the opening ceremony on Feb. 9. It will be their 10th joint march at an international multi-sport competition and their first in 11 years.

The IOC will try to finalize protocols related to North Korea’s participation, such as the country’s flag, uniform and anthem.

Lee is part of a delegation that also includes Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan, Korean Sport & Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung and IOC member Ryu Seung-min.

South Korea coach objects to proposed unified Korean team in women’s hockey

Update: 1.16.18

South Korea women’s hockey head coach Sarah Murray speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Jan. 16, 2018. (Yonhap)

“I think there is damage to our players,” Murray told reporters at Incheon International Airport. “It’s hard because the players have earned their spots and they think they deserve to go to the Olympics. Then you have people being added later. It definitely affects our players.”

S. Korea hockey coach says ‘damage’ inevitable if N. Koreans are added for Olympics

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2018/01/16/0401000000AEN20180116010500315.html

JINCHEON, South Korea, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) — South Korea has proposed assembling a joint women’s hockey team with North Korea at the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics, a senior government official said Friday.

Vice Sports Minister Roh Tae-kang said putting together the unified Korean team was discussed during Tuesday’s inter-Korean meeting, along with a proposal for a joint parade into the opening ceremony at the Feb. 9-25 Olympics.

Roh made the comment while visiting Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 90 kilometers of Seoul, for a new year kickoff meeting.

Roh was a member of the South Korean delegation at the meeting, after which North Korea agreed to send a delegation to PyeongChang 2018, the first Winter Olympics to be held in South Korea. The South’s proposal of a joint hockey team wasn’t immediately made public on Tuesday.

The North didn’t immediately respond to the joint march proposal. The two Koreas are likely to hold working-level talks next week to further discuss the issue before a Jan. 20 meeting to be chaired by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IOC said the meeting will involve the PyeongChang Olympics organizing committee, leaders of the national Olympic bodies for the two Koreas and other high-ranking government officials. The meeting “will take a series of essential decisions,” including the number and names of North Korean athletes to participate in PyeongChang, and also issues related to flags, anthems, ceremonies and uniforms.

Seoul’s Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan first raised the possibility of one hockey team in June last year, though it was immediately met with criticism. Those who opposed the idea said it was unfair to take away roster spots from South Korean players to make room for North Koreans and risk disrupting team chemistry.

In this file photo taken April 6, 2017, members of the South Korean and North Korean women's hockey teams -- in white and red, respectively -- join for pictures after their game during the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division II Group A tournament at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)

In this file photo taken April 6, 2017, members of the South Korean and North Korean women’s hockey teams — in white and red, respectively — join for pictures after their game during the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division II Group A tournament at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)

The Koreas fielded joint teams at the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships and the 1991 FIFA World Youth Championship. But they have never had a unified team in any sport at multi-sport competitions like the Olympics or the Asian Games.

Roh didn’t elaborate further on whether the North had agreed to form one hockey team. But he did say he is seeking cooperation from the IOC and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to add extra roster spots for the Korean team, which would keep the current South Korean team intact.

“Even if we have one Korean team in women’s hockey, we’ll make sure it will not come at the expense of South Korean players,” Roh said, adding that the IOC and the IIHF are currently seeking understanding from other participating nations.

The women’s hockey roster is set at 23. An official from the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC) said South Korea is hoping to expand it to 35 players to accommodate North Koreans.

South Korea, ranked 22nd, will make its Olympic debut against No. 5 Sweden, No. 6 Switzerland and No. 9 Japan.

North Korea is ranked 25th. In April last year, South Korea, coached by former Canadian star Sarah Murray, defeated North Korea 3-0 at the IIHF Women’s World Championship Division II Group A tournament in Gangneung, the host city for all hockey games during PyeongChang 2018.

For the PyeongChang Olympics, North Korea doesn’t have any qualified athletes, and will need special wild-card spots granted by the IOC. In figure skating, the tandem of Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik could receive a spot. They qualified on merit last September but North Korea didn’t confirm their PyeongChang participation on time the following month.

In this file photo taken April 6, 2017, South Korean and North Korean women's hockey players -- in white and red, respectively -- are in action during the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division II Group A tournament at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)

In this file photo taken April 6, 2017, South Korean and North Korean women’s hockey players — in white and red, respectively — are in action during the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship Division II Group A tournament at Gangneung Hockey Centre in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)

North Korea now expected to send 400-500 people to PyeongChang Olympics

2018/01/10 15:51

On Tuesday, South and North Korea agreed, in their first high-level talks since 2015, that the North would send high-ranking officials, athletes, cheering and performing arts squads, taekwondo demonstration teams and journalists, to next month’s Winter Games.

“A massive delegation totaling between 400-500 people is expected to come,” Lee said during a meeting with companies sponsoring the PyeongChang Olympics, adding that the two Koreas will work out details of the delegation’s visit.

Lee said the PyeongChang Games should leave an important legacy, just as the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul did.

Taekwondo, Performing Artist, Cheering Squad: North Korea Offers Participation in Winter Olympics

“It will be difficult to say that the festival of mankind taking place in PyeongChang, just 100 kilometers from the Demilitarized Zone, will make no contribution to the human history,” Lee said. “It is bound to make contributions of a sort and leave traces.”

Lee said he hopes the PyeongChang Games will help reduce security risks on the Korean Peninsula.

“Just as the ’88 Olympics contributed to dismantling the Cold War, we earnestly hope that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics will improve the current state of the Korean Peninsula, which is in a grave security situation and … contribute to world peace by reducing security risks,” he said.