Pyongyang, August 31 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Central Court of the DPRK issued the following statement Thursday:

The hostile forces, dumbfounded by the independent spirit and tremendous capabilities of Songun Korea demonstrating its might as a nuclear power of Juche and a world-level military power, are more persistently resorting to sordid smear campaign against the DPRK.

Taking the lead in the campaign are a group of conservatives in south Korea going helter-skelter, being unaware of their impending death.

Gentries of Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo, newspapers speaking for the conservatives, committed a hideous crime of seriously insulting the dignity of the DPRK with the use of dishonest contents carried by "North Korea Confidential", a propaganda book authored by two British journalists.

The book was written by Daniel Tudor and James Pierson, correspondents of the British news weekly Economist and the Reuters to south Korea, two years ago. As a collection of words uttered by the riff-raffs including defectors from the north, it viciously slandered the reality of the DPRK with such sophism that "life of the north's citizens is capitalistic 100 percent".

The paid writers of the two newspapers of south Korea introduced the book as "a guide interesting to those wishing to know about the north", reeling off such sophism that "the north is a country where money has greater influence than in capitalist countries", "youngsters without mobile phones are treated losers", "army is unpaid labor unit" and that "those with money can get married to those of high positions in society any time".

They had the temerity of carrying a photo in which the red star, symbolic of the brilliant revolutionary traditions of anti-Japanese war engraved on the upper part of the national emblem of the DPRK, was replaced by $ symbol and the name of the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" was replaced by the "Capitalist Republic of Korea". They even committed such shuddering acts of replacing the title of the book called "North Korea Confidential" with "Capitalist Republic of Korea".

Dong-A Ilbo, Chosun Ilbo and other conservative media in south Korea have so far committed smear campaign against the DPRK nonstop, adding to crimes already committed. Whenever there were such things, we seriously warned that that they will be made to pay a high price for their wild acts of escalating confrontation with the north.

However, those conservative media, defying this warning, have persisted in smear campaign against the DPRK. Now they have reached the state of slandering and insulting even the inviolable name of our country and its national emblem.

Not content with viciously slandering our socialist system, the most advantageous system centered on the popular masses which can not be found in any other parts of the world, they seriously insulted the name and emblem, symbols of the inviolable dignity of the DPRK. This is a never-to-be-pardoned high treason.

It is needless to say that this is a hideous act manipulated by the group of wicked conservatives who are breathing their last after being reduced into a group of living corpses in the face of stern punishment by history and the people's mindset.

Article 60 of the DPRK Criminal Code stipulates that those who insulted the dignity of the DPRK from the anti-state purpose shall be sentenced even to maximum punishment including death, depending on the severity of the perpetration.

The Central Court of the DPRK declares that Dong-A Ilbo journalist Son Hyo Rim and Director General Kim Jae Ho and Chosun Ilbo journalist Yang Ji Ho and Director General Pang Sang Hun will be sentenced to capital punishment under the DPRK Criminal Code.

The criminals hold no right to appeal and the execution will be carried out any moment and at any place without going through any additional procedures as soon as the objects are confirmed.

We will track down to the end those who masterminded and manipulated hideous provocations of slandering and insulting the dignity of the DPRK and mete out death to them.

Taking this opportunity, we warn the south Korean authorities still conniving at the crime by hack writers of Dong-A Ilbo and Chosun Ilbo. If they do not start immediate investigation into those criminals who insulted the dignity of the DPRK and do not punish them, they will be branded as accomplices.

It should be clearly understood that neither mercy nor leniency will be shown to those who slander the inviolable dignity of the DPRK.

We will closely follow the attitude of the south Korean authorities. -0-