ID :
207233
Thu, 09/15/2011 - 05:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207233
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N.K. Leader Thanks Medvedev for Offering Sympathy over Flood Damage
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER
SEOUL (Yonhap) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expressed his gratitude to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for offering sympathy over recent flood damage in his country, the North's media said on Sept. 10.
Heavy rains and tropical storms pounded North Korea successively in recent months, leaving dozens of people dead, injured or missing while destroying thousands of homes and flooding large farmlands.
"I express thanks to you for sending me a message of sympathy in connection with the recent flood damage in our country," Kim told Medvedev in the message, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim met with Medvedev in a Siberian city in August during his first visit to Russia since 2002. Right before the summit, Russia announced plans to provide North Korea with 50,000 tons of food aid.
In a separate report, KCNA said Medvedev sent a congratulatory message to Kim over the 63rd anniversary on Sept. 9 of the North's founding.
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North Korean Leader Inspects DVD Factory in Pyongyang: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son, heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, have inspected a newly-built factory producing DVDs in Pyongyang, the North's state-run news agency said on Sept. 10.
While touring the Mokran Video Company, the leader praised the workers and technicians of the company and related officials for "successfully building a DVD factory in a brief span of time," the KCNA said.
Kim Jong-il called it a "model factory that can represent the age of knowledge-based economy," the English-language report said.
The report, however, did not mention when the factory was built or the date of visit.
The leader underlined "the need to have DVDs recorded not only with literary and art works but with reminiscences of President Kim Il-sung and other books and distribute them," the report said, referring to the late North Korean founder and former leader.
Other Pyongyang officials accompanying the Kims were Kim Ki-nam and Pak To-chun, secretaries of the Workers' Party Central Committee, Jang Song-thaek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, Ju Kyu-chang, a department director of the party, and Ri Jae-il, first vice department director of the party.
The youngest son was recently anointed successor to the family dynasty that Kim Jong-il took over after his father died in 1994.
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S. Korean Maestro Held Talks with N. Korean Artists in Pyongyang
BEIJING (Yonhap) -- A renowned South Korean orchestra conductor held talks with North Korean artists during his visit to Pyongyang, the North's state media reported on Sept. 14, a trip he said is aimed at promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Chung Myung-whun, who leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and doubles as a UNICEF "goodwill ambassador," arrived in Pyongyang on Sept. 12 with two senior Seoul orchestra officials with hopes of discussing a variety of cultural exchange programs with North Korean artists.
The 59-year-old Chung said he hopes to ease strained relations between the two nations through inter-Korean art projects, such as holding concerts and music programs for children.
In a two-sentence dispatch late Sept. 14, the KCNA reported that Chung watched and conducted performances of the North's State Symphony Orchestra and the Unhasu Orchestra and had "a talk with creators during his stay here." Jung and his colleagues also visited the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in Pyongyang, it added.
The report gave no other details about how long the meeting was or what they discussed.
His visit comes as Seoul moves to improve ties with Pyongyang. In late August, the Unification Ministry in Seoul, which handles inter-Korean relations, allowed a Buddhist delegation to visit Pyongyang for a joint Buddhist service.
The 59-year-old Chung earlier had said in Seoul that he believes inter-Korean art projects could help ease strained relations between the two nations. "I hope this visit could result in good projects," he added.
In 2006, the world-renowned musician was invited to participate in a peace concert in North Korea as a conductor, but the concert was called off after the socialist state conducted a nuclear test that year.
Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since President Lee Myung-bak took office in early 2008 with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs. The already-frayed ties plunged to the lowest level in decades after the North's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010.
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North Koreans Enjoy Chuseok Holiday with Various Events
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Koreans observed Chuseok, the Korean harvest holiday which fell on Aug. 15 of the lunar calendar, attending wreath-laying ceremonies at the national cemeteries, according to the North's official media.
On Chuseok, floral wreath-laying ceremonies were held at the graves of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's ancestors and at the national cemeteries, Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mt. Taesong and the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery, the KCNA said on Sept. 12.
High-ranking North Korean officials, including Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), took part in the ceremonies, according to the KCNA.
But the North Korean leader sent floral wreaths under his name, instead of attending the ceremonies, the news agency added.
On the same day, the KCNA said many people visited national food restaurants in Pyongyang to eat Pyongyang Onban (cooked rice served in chicken soup), traditional food for Chuseok.
The (North) Korean Central Television Broadcasting Station also aired the taped final of the 9th National Ssirum Tournament for the Grand Bull Prize, which was held from Aug. 24 to 26 in Pyongyang.
Women enjoyed sitting on swings and neolttwigi, a Korean jumping game similar to see-sawing, while kids flew kites and played a top-spinning game, according to TV broadcasts.
North Korea once banned official celebrations of Chuseok under the socialist banner that rejects Korea's feudal traditions, but it allowed visits to ancestral graveyards in 1972.
In 2003, Chuseok was made a one-day holiday thanks to the North Korean leader's directions, according to Choson Sinbo, a Korean-language pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan.
SEOUL (Yonhap) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il expressed his gratitude to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for offering sympathy over recent flood damage in his country, the North's media said on Sept. 10.
Heavy rains and tropical storms pounded North Korea successively in recent months, leaving dozens of people dead, injured or missing while destroying thousands of homes and flooding large farmlands.
"I express thanks to you for sending me a message of sympathy in connection with the recent flood damage in our country," Kim told Medvedev in the message, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim met with Medvedev in a Siberian city in August during his first visit to Russia since 2002. Right before the summit, Russia announced plans to provide North Korea with 50,000 tons of food aid.
In a separate report, KCNA said Medvedev sent a congratulatory message to Kim over the 63rd anniversary on Sept. 9 of the North's founding.
------------------------
North Korean Leader Inspects DVD Factory in Pyongyang: Report
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his son, heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, have inspected a newly-built factory producing DVDs in Pyongyang, the North's state-run news agency said on Sept. 10.
While touring the Mokran Video Company, the leader praised the workers and technicians of the company and related officials for "successfully building a DVD factory in a brief span of time," the KCNA said.
Kim Jong-il called it a "model factory that can represent the age of knowledge-based economy," the English-language report said.
The report, however, did not mention when the factory was built or the date of visit.
The leader underlined "the need to have DVDs recorded not only with literary and art works but with reminiscences of President Kim Il-sung and other books and distribute them," the report said, referring to the late North Korean founder and former leader.
Other Pyongyang officials accompanying the Kims were Kim Ki-nam and Pak To-chun, secretaries of the Workers' Party Central Committee, Jang Song-thaek, vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, Ju Kyu-chang, a department director of the party, and Ri Jae-il, first vice department director of the party.
The youngest son was recently anointed successor to the family dynasty that Kim Jong-il took over after his father died in 1994.
------------------------
S. Korean Maestro Held Talks with N. Korean Artists in Pyongyang
BEIJING (Yonhap) -- A renowned South Korean orchestra conductor held talks with North Korean artists during his visit to Pyongyang, the North's state media reported on Sept. 14, a trip he said is aimed at promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries.
Chung Myung-whun, who leads the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and doubles as a UNICEF "goodwill ambassador," arrived in Pyongyang on Sept. 12 with two senior Seoul orchestra officials with hopes of discussing a variety of cultural exchange programs with North Korean artists.
The 59-year-old Chung said he hopes to ease strained relations between the two nations through inter-Korean art projects, such as holding concerts and music programs for children.
In a two-sentence dispatch late Sept. 14, the KCNA reported that Chung watched and conducted performances of the North's State Symphony Orchestra and the Unhasu Orchestra and had "a talk with creators during his stay here." Jung and his colleagues also visited the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren's Palace in Pyongyang, it added.
The report gave no other details about how long the meeting was or what they discussed.
His visit comes as Seoul moves to improve ties with Pyongyang. In late August, the Unification Ministry in Seoul, which handles inter-Korean relations, allowed a Buddhist delegation to visit Pyongyang for a joint Buddhist service.
The 59-year-old Chung earlier had said in Seoul that he believes inter-Korean art projects could help ease strained relations between the two nations. "I hope this visit could result in good projects," he added.
In 2006, the world-renowned musician was invited to participate in a peace concert in North Korea as a conductor, but the concert was called off after the socialist state conducted a nuclear test that year.
Relations between the two Koreas have been tense since President Lee Myung-bak took office in early 2008 with a pledge to link aid to the impoverished neighbor to progress in efforts to end its nuclear programs. The already-frayed ties plunged to the lowest level in decades after the North's two deadly attacks on the South in 2010.
------------------------
North Koreans Enjoy Chuseok Holiday with Various Events
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Koreans observed Chuseok, the Korean harvest holiday which fell on Aug. 15 of the lunar calendar, attending wreath-laying ceremonies at the national cemeteries, according to the North's official media.
On Chuseok, floral wreath-laying ceremonies were held at the graves of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's ancestors and at the national cemeteries, Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mt. Taesong and the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery, the KCNA said on Sept. 12.
High-ranking North Korean officials, including Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), took part in the ceremonies, according to the KCNA.
But the North Korean leader sent floral wreaths under his name, instead of attending the ceremonies, the news agency added.
On the same day, the KCNA said many people visited national food restaurants in Pyongyang to eat Pyongyang Onban (cooked rice served in chicken soup), traditional food for Chuseok.
The (North) Korean Central Television Broadcasting Station also aired the taped final of the 9th National Ssirum Tournament for the Grand Bull Prize, which was held from Aug. 24 to 26 in Pyongyang.
Women enjoyed sitting on swings and neolttwigi, a Korean jumping game similar to see-sawing, while kids flew kites and played a top-spinning game, according to TV broadcasts.
North Korea once banned official celebrations of Chuseok under the socialist banner that rejects Korea's feudal traditions, but it allowed visits to ancestral graveyards in 1972.
In 2003, Chuseok was made a one-day holiday thanks to the North Korean leader's directions, according to Choson Sinbo, a Korean-language pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan.
