Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Australian Authorities Urged to Compensate to DPRK Ship

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, March 28 (KCNA) -- The education and information department of the Federation of Koreans in the U.S. made public a commentary on Mar. 7 in which it urged the Australian authorities to make an apology and compensation to the DPRK ship Pongsu that was declared not guilty. Recalling that the Australian authorities unilaterally followed the opinion of the U.S. ultra-right body Heritage Foundation without having a proper understanding of the ship which they had impounded in April, 2003 and tried its crewmen after charging the DPRK with "drug smuggling," the commentary continued:
    This is a serious insult to the DPRK. The Australian authorities should make an honest apology to it according to the results of the trial and compensate to the ship and its crewmen for the human, material and mental damage done to them. After the outbreak of the Pongsu case the U.S. State Department in its "drug control reports" last year and this year cited it as evidence proving the DPRK's involvement in the drug smuggling.
    At the trial a researcher of the foundation presented an affidavit in which he told that the DPRK government was involved in the case.
    The U.S. should, at the same time, pay for floating a false report on drug smuggling to mislead the world public opinion. It should admit the mistake made in the report and make a polite apology to the DPRK.
    It should stop at once charging the DPRK with drug smuggling without any evidence.