FOR INDEPENDENT REUNIFICATION, PEACE AND PROSPERITY

In his address delivered on the New Year’s Day of 2014, leader Kim Jong Un of the DPRK called on the entire Korean people to open up a new phase for independent reunification, peace and prosperity this year.

The reunification movement of the Korean nation has recently been suffering severe trials and twists. Owing to the rackets of confrontation with the fellow country people by the south Korean authorities in collusion with the foreign forces, the north-south relations have degenerated into a catastrophe and the danger of a nuclear war has increased to the extreme on the Korean peninsula.

The issue of Korea’s reunification is such a crucial matter that the international community cannot overlook, for peace and stability of the region and the rest of the world hinge on it. That’s why the international community pays particular attention to the Korean leader’s mention of the reunification issue.

The Korean leader stressed that the Korean people should make fresh headway in the national reunification movement for this year true to the behests of President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il.

President Kim Il Sung, father of socialist Korea, provided the Korean people with the three charters for Korean reunification, composed of the three principles of the Korean reunification, the proposal of founding a Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo, and the ten-point programme of the great national unity, that serve as the guiding principles in accomplishing the cause of reunification. He wrote his last signature on a historic document concerning the country’s reunification on July 7, 1994, the last time of his life. This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the date.

Kim Jong Il, eternal chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, made undying exploits in the history of reunification movement of the Korean nation by preparing the inter-Korean summit meeting, the first of its kind since Korea’s division, and adopting the June 15 Joint Declaration and its action programme, October 4 Declaration, which are milestones for Korean reunification.

Kim Jong Un pointed out in his New Year address that all the Korean people should reject foreign forces and hold fast to the standpoint of By Our Nation Itself in order to resolve the reunification issue in keeping with their aspirations and demands.

The driving force for Korean reunification is all the members of the Korean nation in the north, in the south and abroad; only when they remain steadfast in this standpoint can the Korean nation reunify the country independently in line with national interests and demands. To go on a tour around foreign countries touting for “international cooperation” in resolving the inter-Korean relations issue, the one related with the nation, is a humiliating treachery of leaving its destiny in the hands of outside forces. The north and the south of Korea should uphold the principle of independence which is one of the three principles for national reunification and has been confirmed in the north-south joint declarations, hold fast to the standpoint of By Our Nation Itself, and respect and implement the declarations with sincerity.

The Korean leader also noted that they should make positive efforts to defend national security and peace.

The US and south Korean authorities have deployed legions of equipment for a nuclear war in and around the Korean peninsula and are going frantic in their military exercises for a nuclear war against the north; this precipitates a critical situation where any accidental military skirmish may lead to an all-out war. Should another war break out on this land, it will result in a deadly nuclear catastrophe and the United States will never be safe. All the Korean people and the broad international community must not tolerate the manoeuvres for war and confrontation by the bellicose forces but stoutly resist and frustrate them.

What the Korean leader stressed in his address is that a favourable climate should be established for improved relations between the north and the south.

The inter-Korean relations are those between the fellow country people of the same bloodline. When he said that it was heartrending to see the Korean nation partitioned by foreign forces, and more intolerable to see one side slinging mud at and showing hostility to the other, the international community expressed their sympathy with him. The south Korean authorities should discontinue the reckless confrontation with their compatriots in the north and the racket against the “followers of the north,” and choose to promote inter-Korean relations in response to the call of the nation for independence, democracy and national reunification. The Korean leader stated that the Korean people would join hands with anyone who opts to give priority to the nation and wishes for its reunification, regardless of his or her past, and continue to strive for better inter-Korean relations.

A bright and broad vista is opened before the Korean nation, as they have leader Kim Jong Un, a lodestar of the Korean reunification. This year will witness a new phase for independent reunification, peace and prosperity to be opened by the Korean people who turn out in the nationwide struggle for national reunification and achieve solid unity under the truly patriotic banner, the principle of By Our Nation Itself, as is indicated by their leader.