DPRK Delegation Leaves for Philippines Pyongyang, July 28 (KCNA) -- The DPRK delegation headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Ui Chun today left here to visit Philippines and take part in the 14th ministerial meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum to be held in Manila. Gift to Kim Jong Il from Speaker of House of Representatives of Philippines Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- General Secretary Kim Jong Il was presented with a gift by Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Jose de Venecia. It was conveyed by the speaker on July 30 to Pak Ui Chun, minister of Foreign Affairs, who is leading a DPRK delegation on a visit to the Philippines. Talks between DPRK Foreign Minister and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Held Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- Talks between DPRK Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo were held at the International Conference Center in Manila on July 29. Present there from the DPRK side were members of the DPRK delegation and from the Philippine side the deputy-secretary of Foreign Affairs and other officials concerned and the Philippine ambassador to the DPRK. On the same day the DPRK foreign minister paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the House of Representatives Jose de Venecia and was feted by the Philippine secretary of Foreign Affairs. Agreement between DPRK and Philippine Foreign Ministries Inked Pyongyang, July 31 (KCNA) -- An agreement on establishing the bilateral negotiating system between the DPRK foreign ministry and the Philippine foreign ministry was signed in Manila on July 29. Present at the signing ceremony from the DPRK side were members of the DPRK delegation headed by Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and from the Philippine side Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo and officials concerned and the Philippine ambassador to the DPRK. The agreement was inked by the foreign ministers of the two countries. Philippine President on Friendly and Cooperative Relations with DPRK Pyongyang, August 1 (KCNA) -- Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo met the DPRK delegation headed by Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun on a visit to the Philippines and had a talk with it on July 30. The president said that she was pleased to see the positive development of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, adding that she would positively support the development of the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries in the future, too. DPRK Government Will Strive for Peace Pyongyang, August 5 (KCNA) -- Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun, who is leading a DPRK delegation to the ministerial meeting of the 14th ASEAN regional forum, said at the meeting that the DPRK government will continue to closely cooperate with the member states of the forum including ASEAN countries for the peace on the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the region in the idea of its external policy for independence, peace and friendship in the future, too. It is indispensable for the ASEAN regional forum to thoroughly keep the essential principles of respect of sovereignty, non-interference in other's internal affairs, peaceful co-existence and ban on the use of force in order to fulfill its mission as a unique forum for political dialogue in the region, Pak said, and continued: One of the main instable factors present in Asia is none other than Japan. Japan is duty-bound to redress its unprecedented past crimes by making due apology and compensation as it is a war criminal state which committed hideous crimes against humanity such as killing a great number of people and reducing hundreds of thousands of women into sexual slaves after invading Asia in the last century. But the present Japanese authorities, not content with concealing and beautifying the past crimes, made no scruple of distorting the history, challenging the international community. This arouses resentment and vigilance against Japan among Asian countries which had undergone its invasion. Especially, the frantic suppression of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) rampant in every part of Japan is a grave provocation against the DPRK and an act of infringing upon its sovereignty, which no preceding Japanese government dared to do. If Japan continues to be keen on its crackdown upon Chongryon, the DPRK can not but warn Japan that it would bring about a more serious political crisis than the financial sanctions. The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is the behests of President Kim Il Sung and it is the invariable stand of the DPRK government to settle the nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiation. The denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is, in essence, the issue directly connected with the end of the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK and removal of nuclear threat to it. Recalling the adoption of the Feb. 13 agreement, Pak reaffirmed the DPRK government's firm will to honor its commitments under the agreement.