L&J  Development and Consultancy

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Pyongyang International Science and Technology Book Fair Opens

Pyongyang, June 4, 2006 (KCNA) -- The 5th Pyongyang International Science and Technology Book Fair was opened on Sunday with the attendance of 32 organizations from 14 countries, regions and international organizations. Displayed in the fair venue were valuable scientific and technological books and data of different fields.     An opening ceremony was held at the Three-Revolution Exhibition.     Choe Thae Bok, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and others were present at the ceremony.     Present there were delegations and delegates from different countries, regions and international organizations, a delegation of overseas Koreans, a south Korean delegation and diplomatic envoys and officials of foreign embassies here.     Mun Jae Chol, acting chairman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries who is chairman of the organizing committee of the fair, in an opening address expressed the belief that the fair would be successfully held to positively contribute to the common progress and prosperity of humankind and the promotion of friendship and cooperation among peoples of different countries.     Gennadi Turmov, president of Far-Eastern State University of Technology who is heading its delegation, said in a congratulatory speech that the successful opening of the fair showed that the DPRK government is attaching weighty importance to the development of science and technology.     Leader Kim Jong Il's idea of giving importance to science and technology is greatly contributing to the development of science and technology of the DPRK and the common progress of humankind, he stressed.

N. Korea Floods Force Halt of Show

By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Mon Aug 27, 5:37 AM ET

SEOUL, South Korea - Floods that killed hundreds of North Koreans have forced the suspension of a massive propaganda spectacle that is a highlight of the personality cult supporting the regime, official media reported Monday. "It has now become hard to continue the performance as working people in different parts of the country are all out to recover from the flood damage these days," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. Performances will resume when the damage is cleared, it said.

Last year's performances, referred to as "mass games," were canceled entirely due to floods. They are scheduled to be staged twice this year to make up for the lost shows. The shows, usually staged over several weeks, culminate months of rehearsals. The performances feature thousands of gymnasts in synchronized maneuvers in front of a giant mosaic, formed along the entire side of a stadium by children turning colored pages of books.

They are a rare chance for the North to make foreign currency by selling tours and tickets for the show to outside visitors — even allowing U.S. tourists to enter the reclusive communist country. Like all works of art and culture under the authoritarian regime, the show's theme centers around the North's nationalist ideology and pays tribute to its late founding leader Kim Il Sung.

The North's regular summer rains earlier this month were the heaviest in decades and have left at least 600 people dead or missing, the country's official media reported over the weekend. Floods also destroyed large areas of farmland, and international aid agencies say the damage could exacerbate food shortages in the impoverished country.

Earlier this month, the floods also caused the North to postpone until October a scheduled summit between leaders of the two Koreas — only the second such meeting in the history of the divided peninsula. It was unclear why the North did not also postpone the mass games when requesting the summit delay earlier this month. The initial continuation of the performances had prompted speculation in South Korea as to whether Pyongyang had other motives in delaying the summit.

 If you want to book a trip to North Korea, please contact us

by Tel: +61-403076604 in Australia, Fax: +852-301-44398 in Hong Kong or by E-mail: LJinfo@narod.ru

 Tour Dates  

Program One: 3 Nights /4 Days) - 6-9 October 2007                                Program Two: (4 Nights / 5 Days)  - N/A
 

 Price and payment

 Payment:

1. To book the tour, please forward a Booking Fee (€ 250 Euros) to our LJinfo@narod.ru account via PayPal before 15 September 2007. The Booking Fee is refundable if the North Korean side cancels the trip refuses you a visa.

2. The rest of the Tour Fee (€ 1,000 Euros) will be accepted in cash during the orientation meeting at Red Wall hotel in Beijing, China, prior to DPRK visa issuance, one day before your departure to Pyongyang.

 Conditions

TOUR FEE INCLUDES:

- Return airplane ticket (Beijing/Pyongyang/Beijing) with Air Koryo;
- Accommodation in Pyongyang (5-star hotel "Koryo" or "Yanggakdo", single room accommodation);
- All excursions in North Korea: trips to Kaesong, DMZ, Panmunjom, entrance fees for all sight-seeings.

- A day trip to Myohyangsan (Program Two ONLY)

- 3 meals a day, local transportation with one driver and two English-speaking guides while in North Korea.

- Seat tickets for the Arirang Mass Games show (3rd class seats).  

TOUR FEE DOES NOT INCLUDE

- DPRK consular fee (see the consular fee rates here)

- Pyongyang Airport departure tax ( € 11 Euros)

- Alcoholic drinks, beverages, souvenirs, tips for guides and drivers.

 Application procedure

- Please contact us by e-mail LJinfo@narod.ru stating the dates when you wish to visit the DPRK (for available dates and programs, see above).

- In the same e-mail, please provide your personal information as follows:

1) Name as in passport:
2) Sex:
3) Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy):
4) Citizenship:
5) Passport number: 
6) Current occupation with employer's address and telephone number:
7) Home address, home and mobile telephone numbers, and e-mail address:
8) Ethnicity:

9) A scanned copy of the ID page of your passport saved as a JPEG or PDF file.
10) An electronic image of your recent photograph (passport quality, colour) saved as a JPEG or PDF file 
 

This information will be kept in strict confidentiality and used ONLY for the DPRK visa application.

- On Day 0 (some 24 hours prior to your planned departure to North Korea), please come to Red Wall hotel in Beijing and bring with you:

1) Your valid passport

2) Four (4) passport-size photographs (good quality, colour, 3.5cm x 4.5cm), and

3) Tour Fee + consular fee for your DPRK visa 

 Important dates and Deadlines 

- The deadline for booking a tour (which must be confirmed by paying a Booking Fee) is 15 September 2007.

- If your country of residence other than China, please also apply for a Double-Entry Chinese Visa at the nearest PRC Embassy or Consulate General in your country.

- We shall inform you of your DPRK visa approval some 5 days before your scheduled trip to Shenyang.

- Normally, your application for visa issuance and passport must be submitted to the Consular Section of DPRK Embassy in Beijing at least one day before your departure to Pyongyang. Our representative in Beijing will collect the rest of your Tour Fee and arrange your ticket and visa to be issued on the same day.

 Dangerous goods

 
For safety reasons, dangerous goods, such as flammable solids or liquids, explosive, radioactive materials, and toxic substances, are not allowed in the checked or hand-luggage.

 Articles allowed to be brought into the DPRK by foreign travelers

Due to intensified security measures, passengers flying to and from the DPRK are prohibited from carrying any kind of harmful items in their checked or hand-luggage.

The following items are permitted:
- Photo Camera,

- TV professional Video camera,

- PDA,

- CD Player,

- MP3,

- Laptop (notebook)
 

Other articles may be inspected by custom authorities.

Many of your colleagues have already travelled with us to North Korea in October 2005 and April-May 2007. They found this experience most rewarding (see some stories on Special Tour for Arirang Mass Games, October 2005 and Special Tour for Arirang Mass Games, April-May 2007)

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If you need more information about visits to North Korea for journalists, please contact us by

Tel: +61-403076604, Fax: +852-301-44398 or E-mail: LJinfo@narod.ru