THE EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA TO SWITZERLAND
Pourtalésstrasse 43 Tel: +41-31 951 6621
3074 Muri/Bern Switzerland Fax: +41-31 951 5704
E-mail: dprk.embassy@bluewin.ch
No. 48/22 June 15, 2022
1. DPRK Seen Through Its Housing Construction
2. Disturber of Global Peace and Stability
3. Indo-Pacific Region Is Changing into Forefront of New Cold War
4. National Musical Heritage—Songs of Enlightenment Period
5. Day-Care Centre for Children at Factory
DPRK Seen Through Its Housing Construction
This is an artist’s impression of a residential district being built in the Hwasong area in Pyongyang, the capital city of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Similar impressions can be found in the Komdok area, a leading nonferrous minerals production base, in the Ryonpho area, where construction of a large-scale greenhouse farm is under way, and even in rural villages.
Through these artists’ impressions, the international community not only sees the houses this country is going to build; it is what the country aspires to through housing construction.
In recent years the country has built one modern street after another, starting with Changjon Street built in downtown Pyongyang in 2012 to Unha Scientists Street, apartment houses for the educationists at Kim Il Sung University and Kim Chaek University of Technology, Wisong Scientists Dwelling District, Mirae Scientists Street, Ryomyong Street, 10 000 flats in the Songsin and Songhwa district and the Pothong riverside terraced houses district.
Construction in Samjiyon in a northern area of 1 300m above sea level, which was conducted in three stages for four years, was finished in 2021. Low- and multi-storyed apartment houses with thousands of flats have been built in this city. When the Yangdok Hot Spring Resort was under construction in the middle part of the country, thousands of houses were built; when a large-scale vegetable greenhouse farm and a tree nursery was under construction in the northeastern part of the country, hundreds of houses were also built for their employees. Last year alone thousands of houses were built in various parts of the country.
Now a hydropower station of national significance is under way, and the state has given priority to the construction of houses. This shows the meticulous care of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and the government of the country that try its best not to make people experience any difficulty in their living by giving precedence to housing construction in anticipation of the removal of houses for the project.
In 2015, 2016, 2020 and 2021 flooding, heavy rain and typhoon hit the country, making many people homeless. Each time the Party and the government designated housing construction as a major thrust area in the rehabilitation projects, and enlisted all the human, material and technical resources of the country, thus building houses more wonderful than those of the past.
Today housing construction is being conducted on a larger scale. The above artist’s impression envisages construction 10 000 flats, and a district of tens of thousands of flats is planned to be built in this area within three years or so. Construction of a mountain gorge city, a cultured mining city, with a unique character is under construction in the Komdok area; as 5 000 houses are being built every year, 25 000 houses will be built by 2025. And all the regional areas are pushing ahead with housing construction as suited to the local features.
The housing construction is not designed for the pursuit of financial profit; it is aimed at turning the state’s assets and the fruits of the people’s creative labour into benefits for the working masses. This demonstrates the aspiration of the country that regards promotion of the people’s wellbeing as the supreme principle of its activities and does its utmost to provide the people with stabler and more civilized living conditions.
 |
 |
Disturber of Global Peace and Stability
With each passing day, Japan is exceeding the limits in its move to join in the war disturbing the global peace and stability.
Japanese government is now reviewing the revision of the “three principles of defense equipment transfer” to enable it to export not only defense equipment but also lethal weapons such as weapons and ammunitions.
Prior to this, Japan provided Ukraine, in the name of “assistance”, with drones that can be used for military purpose in April, to say nothing of a large quantity of conventional equipment. This has aroused public criticism at home and abroad.
Japan is taking advantage of the Ukrainian crisis to review the revision of the “three principles of defense equipment transfer” and this is an extremely dangerous move to openly participate in the war.
If Japan’s export of weapons becomes a reality, it is crystal clear that it will foster bloodshed and conflict in the troubled areas and plunge the world into a whirlpool of greater tension.
Japan’s weapon export also has its danger in expanding its munitions industry so that Japan can go to reinvasion.
The world vividly remembers the fact that Japan defeated in the 2nd World War was turned into an armory for the U.S., supplied vast amount of war materials, and opened the road to revival of militarism at the cost of blood of millions of Koreans.
The reality clearly shows that Japan, which is in a bid to revise the “three principles of defense equipment transfer”, is indeed one of the culprits disturbing the global peace and stability.
The world should stand alert to Japan’s reckless moves to participate in the war.
Ra Guk Chol, Researcher of the Institute for Studies of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DPRK
Indo-Pacific Region Is Changing into Forefront of New Cold War
The situation in the Indo-Pacific region is getting ever more unstable by the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.
The U.S. conducted bilateral training with Japan Maritime “Self-Defense Force” (JMSDF) in the Philippine Sea from May 24 to 26.
It is said that USS “Ronald Reagan” Carrier Strike Group and the warships of JMSDF participated in the training where exercises were conducted to enhance interoperability and surface operations.
This training was in the limelight of the international attention as it coincided with the “Quad” Summit fabricated by the U.S. to maintain its hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region.
At the “Quad” Summit held on May 24, the U.S. stated its position that it will respect so-called freedom, rule of law, democratic values and freedom of navigation and that it will jointly cope with any unilateral attempt hindering the peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world. Through this, the U.S. revealed itself that the bilateral training serves its hegemonic policy.
In January, the U.S. conducted a bilateral exercise between the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers “Carl Vinson” and “Abraham Lincoln” and JMSDF in the waters off Okinawa, Japan. After that, it sent two nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike groups into the South China Sea to conduct a maritime exercise. In February, it staged a joint maritime exercise codenamed “Noble Fusion” with JMSDF. In March, it conducted an electronic warfare exercise with JMSDF. Like this, the U.S. waged war exercises more than ten times in the Pacific Ocean this year alone.
The U.S. is also planning to conduct the world’s largest-scale Exercise “Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC)” in the coming August.
In January, the British newspaper “Financial times” has reckoned 3 motive forces – strong military strength, position of key currency state and joint military exercises with its allies – enabling it to maintain its hegemonic position in the world. It also asserted that Exercise “RIMPAC”, in particular, plays a very important role in maintaining the military hegemony of the U.S.
Due to the aggressive and hegemonic Indo-Pacific strategy of the U.S., the region is being exposed to the constant danger of military conflicts. This, in turn, is of negative influence to the Korean peninsula.
Recently, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China criticized the U.S. for organizing “Quad” and “AUKUS” and seeking after its containment and exclusive policy of building a “small fence” and a new cold war.
The world should discern who is the real culprit of violating peace, and remain vigilant about the military moves of the U.S.
Ri Myong Hak, Researcher, Institute for Disarmament and Peace, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
National Musical Heritage—Songs of Enlightenment Period
Among valuable musical heritage created by the Korean nation, there are songs of the enlightenment period.
They are progressive songs produced between the 1920s and before liberation of the country from the Japanese imperialists’ military occupation on August 15, 1945.
The period was the time when the movement of proletarian art and literature reflecting the demand and ideological emotion of the working people was going on along with the growth of labour movement in the country.
Meanwhile, it was also the historic time when the anti-Japanese armed struggle organized and led by Kim Il Sung exerted great effect on the country inside and outside, and thus the anti-Japanese, patriotic idea of the people had grown up and the anti-Japanese national liberation movement as a whole was in full swing.
For this reason, the songs created in the period were featured by strong anti-Japanese enlightening character.
During the period, conscientious literary persons in the country created many songs of enlightenment in order to defend the national music and awake the public to the anti-Japanese idea.
What is common in the ideological and emotional content of those songs is that they mirror vividly the social status and wrath of the Korean people, who were deprived of their country, and their sentiment of resistance against the Japanese imperialists.
Though they failed to reflect revolutionary ideas because of the limitation of the times, they reflected the pains, sorrow and wrath of the Korean nation who was subjected to the colonial slavery.
The reason why they spread widely with strong emotional attraction was that they reflected well the people’s ideology, sentiment, aspirations and emotions arising from daily life, and that the melodies were popular to meet the taste and emotion of the people.
Most of the songs were those about the lost country and villages the people had left, including Spring of Home Village and The Sky over My Home Village.
Some of them sang of the landscape and spots of scenic beauty and historic interest in the country which showed well the love for the country.
Besides, there are a few songs about the wish for and conviction of national liberation such as Balsam and The Tuman River in Tears.
Though the songs of the enlightenment period have some limitations, they are precious musical heritage of the Korean nation for their progressive nature, the historical significance of music and the value of heritage.
Day-Care Centre for Children at Factory
Workers of the Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Silk Mill in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are going home with their children after a day’s work.
As every industrial enterprise in the country has a nursery, kindergarten and clinic, women workers are engaged in worthwhile labour without feeling any worry.