Official: DPRK not to consider dialogue with S Korea

PYONGYANG, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) could not consider having a dialogue with South Korea considering that Seoul was making an issue of human rights in the country, a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said Saturday.

The fact of South Korea enticed some defectors to hold a so-called North Korea Freedom Week in Washington showed that the South attempted to make the DPRK's human rights international, the spokesman was quoted by the official KCNA news agency as saying in a statement.

This behavior was totally negation and provocation against the regime and dignity of the DPRK, the spokesman said.

The spokesman said South Korea was not qualified to discuss the problems considering that it had itself human rights problems.

The spokesman said the army and people of the DPRK were inflamed by the South's act of defaming or slandering the public. The DPRK could not consider having a dialogue with South Korea at all, he said.

S Korea reports suspected human infection of swine flu

Special Report:Swine flu raises world concern

SEOUL, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government confirms a suspected case of human infection of swine influenza inthe country, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.

A South Korean citizen who recently returned from a trip to Mexico has been classified as a possible swine flu patient, Yonhap quoted an unnamed South Korean government official as saying.

It is the first case of suspected human infection of swine influenza in the country.

The South Korean government on Monday designated swine flu as an infectious livestock disease and allowed authorities to limit movement. It also ordered to destroy and bury the sick animals, and compensate farmers if the outbreak of swine influenza is discovered in the country.

The agriculture and forestry ministry said Monday that the government and the Korea Swine Association are cooperatively setting up new standard operating procedures to check for possible infections of the H1N1 virus, and devising actions to be taken if a sick animal is discovered.

The South Korean government announced last Saturday to tighten quarantine measures for pork from the United States and Mexico after outbreaks of swine influenza in these countries were confirmed by the World Health Organization.

The government on Monday began to conduct inspections of the belongings of tourists who have traveled back from the U.S. and Mexico.

The World Health Organization confirmed on Saturday that dozens of people had been diagnosed with swine influenza in Mexico and the United States.

According to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, South Korea imported 28,726 tons of pork from the United States and 208 tons of pork from Mexico into the first quarter of this year.

Senior CPC official Li Changchun visits S. Korea

Special Report:Li Changchun Visits 4 Nations

Li Changchun, a senior official of the Communist Party of China, says he hopes the South Korean province of Jeju will play a bigger role in advancing bilateral cultural exchanges.

LiChangchun(Rfront),amemberoftheStandingCommittee
ofthePoliticalBureauoftheCommunistPartyofChina
(CPC)CentralCommittee,meetswithJejuGovernorKimTae
Hwan(Lfront),inJeju,theRepublicofKorea(ROK),April
4,2009.(Xinhua/LiuJiansheng)

During his meeting with Jeju Governor Kim Tae Hwan, Li said China and South Korea are close neighbors. Bilateral ties have witnessed rapid growth in political, economic and cultural areas.

Jeju, a tourism destination, attracts many Chinese travelers and has direct flights to a number of Chinese cities.