ID :
62710
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 12:15
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/62710
The shortlink copeid
N. Koreans rally in celebration of nuclear test
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Citizens of Pyongyang held a mass rally to celebrate
the country's second "successful" nuclear test, state media said, hailing the
blast as a self-defense measure against hostile U.S. policy.
The gathering was held Tuesday, a day after the nuclear test was conducted in the
country's northeast. Following the nation's first nuclear test in October 2006,
celebratory rallies were organized 11 days later.
North Korea routinely holds mass rallies in the capital and local towns after
important events in an apparent attempt to maximize propaganda and internal
unity. Such gatherings followed a long-range rocket launch on April 5.
Choe Thae-bok, secretary of the Workers' Party central committee, said military
threats and economic sanctions posed by the United States propelled the North to
conduct the nuclear test.
The nuclear test "was a grand undertaking to protect the supreme interests of the
DPRK (North Korea) and defend the dignity and sovereignty of the country and
nation in face of the U.S. imperialists' unabated threat to mount a preemptive
nuclear attack and sanctions and pressure upon it," Choe was quoted by the Korean
Central News Agency as saying at the gathering.
"The situation of the country is growing tenser," he said, blaming the "vicious
hostile policy" pursued by the U.S., Japan and South Korea's conservative
government.
"But the army and the people of the DPRK with the strong nuclear deterrent for
self-defense will make steady advance along the road of independence," he said.
Watchers say North Korea's foremost goal with the nuclear test was to draw direct
negotiations with the Barack Obama administration. The Choson Sinbo, a
Tokyo-based newspaper that conveys North Korea's perspective to foreign readers,
said on Tuesday that North Korea will continue to raise the stakes no matter how
seriously it is punished by the international community unless Washington takes
direct action.
There was no sign yet of compromise by Washington. Obama strongly condemned North
Korea's nuclear test as "a great threat to the peace and security of the world."
The U.N. Security Council was working to introduce harsher sanctions against the
North.
At the rally, Choe also promoted an internal slogan called the "150-day
campaign," the North's latest efforts to increase labor productivity. The
campaign was launched last month as part of the country's pledge to become a
strong and prosperous country by 2012, the centenary of the country's founder Kim
Il-sung's birth.
The KCNA report did not say how many had gathered at the rally at Pyongyang
Indoor Stadium.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, May 27 (Yonhap) -- Citizens of Pyongyang held a mass rally to celebrate
the country's second "successful" nuclear test, state media said, hailing the
blast as a self-defense measure against hostile U.S. policy.
The gathering was held Tuesday, a day after the nuclear test was conducted in the
country's northeast. Following the nation's first nuclear test in October 2006,
celebratory rallies were organized 11 days later.
North Korea routinely holds mass rallies in the capital and local towns after
important events in an apparent attempt to maximize propaganda and internal
unity. Such gatherings followed a long-range rocket launch on April 5.
Choe Thae-bok, secretary of the Workers' Party central committee, said military
threats and economic sanctions posed by the United States propelled the North to
conduct the nuclear test.
The nuclear test "was a grand undertaking to protect the supreme interests of the
DPRK (North Korea) and defend the dignity and sovereignty of the country and
nation in face of the U.S. imperialists' unabated threat to mount a preemptive
nuclear attack and sanctions and pressure upon it," Choe was quoted by the Korean
Central News Agency as saying at the gathering.
"The situation of the country is growing tenser," he said, blaming the "vicious
hostile policy" pursued by the U.S., Japan and South Korea's conservative
government.
"But the army and the people of the DPRK with the strong nuclear deterrent for
self-defense will make steady advance along the road of independence," he said.
Watchers say North Korea's foremost goal with the nuclear test was to draw direct
negotiations with the Barack Obama administration. The Choson Sinbo, a
Tokyo-based newspaper that conveys North Korea's perspective to foreign readers,
said on Tuesday that North Korea will continue to raise the stakes no matter how
seriously it is punished by the international community unless Washington takes
direct action.
There was no sign yet of compromise by Washington. Obama strongly condemned North
Korea's nuclear test as "a great threat to the peace and security of the world."
The U.N. Security Council was working to introduce harsher sanctions against the
North.
At the rally, Choe also promoted an internal slogan called the "150-day
campaign," the North's latest efforts to increase labor productivity. The
campaign was launched last month as part of the country's pledge to become a
strong and prosperous country by 2012, the centenary of the country's founder Kim
Il-sung's birth.
The KCNA report did not say how many had gathered at the rally at Pyongyang
Indoor Stadium.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
