North Korean agency says army day celebrated in foreign countries

Pyongyang, May 2 (KCNA) - Seminars, lectures, friendship meetings and film shows took place in Cambodia, Mongolia, Democratic Congo, Ethiopia, India and Russia between April 22 and 25 on the occasion of the 78th birthday of the heroic Korean People's Army.

Displayed in the venues were photographs on the immortal songun [military-first] leadership exploits performed by President Kim Il Sung [Kim Il-so'ng] and leader Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il] and books and photographs introducing the Korean people in the struggle for building a thriving nation and the advantages of Korean-style socialism centring on the popular masses.

The participants of the film shows watched Korean films including "The Army of Korea", "Fireworks for a Thriving Nation", "We will Follow You to the End of the Earth" and "The Country I Saw".

The senior minister of Cambodia said in his addresses made at a seminar and film show that Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il] has wisely led the whole affairs of the country under the banner of songun [military-first] while regarding the military affairs as the most important state affairs.

The chairman of the National Committee of the Genuine Lumumbist Patriotic Party of Democratic Congo in his lecture warmly hailed the exploits performed by the President by building the army, liberating the country and leading a war to victory.

The Korean People's Army has grown to be an invincible army equipped with modern offensive and defensive means and powerful nuclear deterrent under the leadership of Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il], he added.

The chief of a branch of the Ethiopian Youth Study Group of the juche [juche] Idea at a friendship meeting referred to the fact that the President founded the immortal juche [juche] Idea and Kim Jong Il [Kim Cho'ng-il] has dynamically led the Korean people in the struggle for building a thriving nation with his original songun [military-first] politics.

Source: KCNA website, Pyongyang, in English 0527 gmt 2 May 10