OVER 80 YEARS ON THE ROAD OF SONGUN REVOLUTION

President Kim Il Sung, the founding father of socialist Korea, began his Songun-based revolutionary leadership by organizing the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army (KPRA), the predecessor of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), on April 25, 1932.

For over 80 years since its founding, the KPA has adorned the history of Songun revolution with victory and glory.

It has achieved heroic feats and great victory unequalled in the world history of anti-imperialist struggle.

In the days when Korea was under military occupation of the Japanese imperialists (1905-1945), the KPRA waged an arduous armed struggle against them without any state backing and support from regular armed forces, and defeated the Japanese imperialists, who had styled themselves as the “leader” of Asia, thus achieving the cause of national liberation (August 15, 1945).

After the liberation the KPRA developed into the regular armed forces, the Korean People’s Army. When the United States started a war (June 1950-July 1953) against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which was founded on September 9, 1948, in its attempt to stifle it in its cradle, the KPA shattered to smithereens the myth of “mightiness” of the US that boasted of being “the strongest” in the world and defended with honour the freedom and independence of the country. Though the United States had mobilized in the Korean war its huge armed forces, troops from its 15 vassal states, south Korean army and the remnants of the former Japanese army, it could not but sign the Armistice Agreement which was as good as an instrument of surrender.

After the war critical situations were created in succession on the Korean peninsula, owing to the provocations by the US, including the US armed spy ship Pueblo Incident (January 1968), the large espionage aircraft EC-121 Incident (April 1969) and the Panmunjom Incident (August 1976). Every time the KPA inflicted merciless defeats upon the provokers and safeguarded the security of the country and the gains of the revolution.

In the closing years of the last century socialism collapsed in several countries and, taking advantage of this, the allied imperialist forces concentrated their political and military offensives upon the DPRK. Coping with these worst trials, Chairman Kim Jong Il of the DPRK National Defence Commission held higher the banner of Songun and gave top priority to building up the country’s military capabilities. As a result, the KPA has developed into an elite army which is the strongest in ideology and faith and an invincible armed force which is equipped with state-of-the-art offensive and defensive means with which to repel any aggressors at a single stroke.

In recent years the US has brought dark clouds of a nuclear war over the Korean peninsula by staging various large-scale joint military exercises and enlisting in them a huge amount of troops and advanced military hardware more than enough to fight a war. The KPA, however, has reliably defended the national sovereignty and socialism of the DPRK and peace and security of the region. The international community, an eye-witness to these realities, has more keenly felt that the KPA has always emerged victorious in the struggle against imperialism.

The KPA has made a great contribution to strengthening the country’s political and ideological position in every way, performing its role of the pillar and main force of the revolution.

As everybody knows, the main cause for the collapse of socialism in several countries in the closing years of the last century cannot be explained by the weakness in their military capabilities or economic strength; it must be sought in their weak political and ideological position.

The DPRK, however, has constantly built up its political and ideological position by dint of unity between the army and people based on one ideology. The traditional army-people unity of the DPRK has developed onto a higher level from generation to generation. The army and people are not only helping and loving each other but also has achieved oneness in ideological and spiritual traits and work style.

Noteworthy in this regard is the fact that the army-people unity of the DPRK is based on the revolutionary spirit created and being displayed by the servicepersons. Because of oneness in ideology and work style of the army and people based on the revolutionary soldier spirit, the political and ideological position of Korean society has been strengthened beyond comparison, and thanks to this rock-solid position, socialist Korea is winning one victory after another without the slightest vacillation in spite of all obstacles.

The KPA has also wrought miracles and performed feats in socialist construction, fulfilling its role as the main force.

“Let us take upon ourselves both national defence and socialist construction!”―this is the slogan the KPA soldiers have upheld in developing ore and coal mines and building power stations, factories and other industrial enterprises, schools, hospitals and theatres. They have always made breakthroughs in the postwar reconstruction, socialist construction and building a thriving nation, holding aloft this slogan, thus laying the eternal foundations of a prospering country.

In 2013 alone, they erected the world-class Munsu Water Park, Mirim Riding Club and other bases for mass cultural and emotional life, and Okryu Children’s Hospital, Ryugyong Dental Hospital and other medical bases. The Unha Scientists Street for scientists and technicians, apartment buildings for educationalists of Kim Il Sung University and other homes of the people built across the country are also associated with the service personnel’s feats of labour and precious sweat.

They have recently built the world-class Masikryong Ski Resort. They completed this gigantic project that was expected by common sense to take more than ten years, in a short span of time by creating “the Masikryong speed” never known in history. Supreme leader Kim Jong Un of the DPRK visited the completed ski resort at the end of last year and highly appreciated the soldier-builders, saying the People’s Army had done a great work.

Along with the victorious Songun revolution, the proud history of the KPA will continue.

CHAIRMAN KIM JONG IL AND KOREA TODAY

The building of a thriving socialist country which is under way in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea overcoming all kinds of hardships, holding high the banner of Songun, is associated with the leadership of Kim Jong Il (1942-2011) of the DPRK.

Since he was elected Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission on April 9, 1993, Kim Jong Il administered the original Songun politics, in the course of which he achieved brilliant exploits that will shine forever in the history.

Chairman Kim Jong Il built up the military capabilities of his country in every aspect through his energetic Songun-based revolutionary leadership.

Having embodied Songun politics since long ago, Kim Jong Il held higher the banner of Songun under the critical situation when socialism collapsed in several countries and the anti-socialist offensive of the imperialists focused on the DPRK in the closing years of the previous century. He formulated Songun politics as the main political mode of socialism and inspected one unit of the Korean People’s Army after another, developing the KPA, core force of the self-reliant defence power, politically and ideologically, militarily and technically.

Under his leadership the KPA was strengthened to be an elite force for the defence of socialism and an invincible army equipped with both offensive and defensive means strong enough to defeat any formidable enemy at a strike at any time. Thanks to the efforts exerted into consolidating the all-people and nationwide defence system, the arming of all the people was realized at an unprecedented level and the whole country was further fortified. The DPRK is capable of producing sufficient amounts of military hardware and combat equipment needed for strengthening the nation’s defence power and has even prepared reliable war deterrent.

Chairman Kim Jong Il also consolidated the country’s political and ideological position as firm as a rock.

Putting forward the KPA as the pillar of the socialist cause and the main force of the revolution, he paid deep attention to building up the political force of the Korean society with the KPA as the core. He promoted the traditional army-people unity of society to a higher level in which they have achieved oneness in ideology and work style based on the revolutionary spirit displayed by the KPA soldiers. He rallied the broad sections of the masses closely around the Workers’ Party of Korea through politics of love and trust, and thus all the service personnel and people have formed an integral whole sharing the will and destiny with the Party.

Single-hearted unity of the whole society is a strong weapon of political and ideological might which is more powerful than an A-bomb, and the DPRK demonstrates its dignity as a political and ideological power that remains undaunted by any hardships.

Chairman Kim Jong Il ushered in a new era of building a thriving socialist country.

Having advanced the line of economic construction in the Songun era―developing the defence industry first while simultaneously developing light industry and agriculture―he ensured that the defence industry played the leading role, giving impetus to the shoring up of the overall national economy and its development. At the same time, he ensured that the KPA made breakthroughs in the most challenging and important sectors of economic construction and all the people, learning from the indomitable revolutionary spirit of the soldiers, created innovations across the country.

Under his leadership the Korean people opened a radical phase for building a thriving country by overcoming the severest economic difficulties. They successfully launched indigenous artificial satellites by their own efforts in 1998 and 2009. They developed world-class CNC technology for the machine-building industry and introduced it into factories. In the steel-making industry a new production system that uses no cokes and scrap iron was established, and the systems of producing vinalon and fertilizers from locally-available fuel and raw materials set up in the sector of chemical industry. The land across the country was realigned into large standardized fields, leaving no traces of previous appearance; gravitational waterways were built one after another; and genetic engineering and bioengineering radically developed. All these provided solid foundations for increased grain output. New establishments were erected across the country, and streets, villages and houses renovated as befits a socialist fairyland. Overall economic and cultural construction in the DPRK was placed onto the track of upswing.

Chairman Kim Jong Il, who continued his inspection tours for the building of a thriving socialist country until the last moment of his life, passed away on a running train.

His cause of Songun and of building a thriving socialist country is now being carried forward with credit.

Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the DPRK, solemnly declared to the whole world his unshakable will to carry forward Kim Jong Il’s ideology and cause, and is now consolidating the defence power of the country under the banner of Songun, while leading the cause of building a thriving socialist nation to brilliant victory.

Kim Jong Un personally gave guidance to the successful launch of Kwangmyongsong 3-2 in December 2012, thus realizing the instructions of Kim Jong Il to launch the first applications satellite. While visiting many military and civilian units he showed warm love for his soldiers and people, strengthening the single-hearted unity of the Korean society in every way.

Under his energetic leadership, apartment houses for the educationists at Kim Il Sung University, Unha Scientists Street, Munsu Water Park, Mirim Riding Club, Masikryong Ski Resort and other world-class structures have been built in succession. The reality of the DPRK advancing towards the status of a civilized socialist country inspires great admiration in the people of the world.

It is a firm conviction and will of the Korean people to carry out without an inch of deflection the lifetime plans and instructions of Chairman Kim Jong Il whom they revere as the eternal Chairman of the NDC of their country.

ETERNAL SUN

April 15, birthday of Kim Il Sung (1912-1994), the eternal President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is the Day of the Sun which is celebrated with splendour by the Korean peoples and progressive people across the world every year.

President Kim Il Sung is held in high esteem as the eternal sun.

His name literally means the sun in Korean. True to the meaning of his name and the properties of the sun, the President illuminated the future of mankind as brightly as the sun, brought the flower of love for human being into full bloom with warm love and embraced all the people with great attracting power.

He shed light on the way ahead for mankind by authoring the great Juche idea.

The Juche idea, which explains that man is the master of everything and has the power to shape his own destiny, means in other words that the masses of the people are the masters of the revolution and construction and also the motive force of the revolution and construction. This is the first scientific idea in the history of human ideology in that it illumines the road for the masses of the people to follow in accomplishing the cause of independence. The creation of the Juche idea opened up an era of independence in which the working masses, who in the past had been subjected to exploitation and oppression, have emerged as masters of history.

Upholding the banner of the Juche idea, Kim Il Sung liberated Korea from the Japanese military occupation and established a people-oriented democratic state, the first of its kind in the East. He inflicted an ignominious defeat upon US imperialism, which had been boasting of being the “strongest” in the world, for the first time in history and brought about the beginning of its downhill turn. He also develop Korea into a powerful socialist country, independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant in defence.

The Juche idea gripped everybody’s heart with its vitality, and the cause of independence has become a worldwide trend of the times that cannot be checked.

The number of studying groups and advocates of the Juche idea is growing, and the progressive mankind is looking at their future from the perspective of this idea.

President Kim Il Sung embraced people with warm love.

Regarding “People are my God” as his lifelong motto, He dedicated his all for people. Thanks to his love for them, such people-oriented policies as free medical care and education and abolition of tax system are enforced in the DPRK, and the whole society has become a great flower garden of virtue in which everybody helps and leads one another.

He also bestowed his love on foreigners. His noble personality and warm love moved many people over the world.

When the director of the Guinean Broadcasting Station, on his visit to the DPRK, was seriously ill, the President took measures to give immediate medical treatment to resuscitate him. He also saw to it a competent medical team of the DPRK were sent to treat Bruno Kreisky, former Chancellor of Austria, who was suffering from weak legs in his later years, and helped him walk again. Such legendary tales about his human love are numerous. That way why Francisco da Costa Gomes, former Portuguese President, expressed his admiration that President Kim Il Sung was a great man who moved the world with his benevolence.

The great magnanimity of President Kim Il Sung enchanted all the people of the world.

In his lifetime he met over 70 000 foreigners including prominent figures in the political, public and press circles. And whoever met him, be he or she head of state or famous figure in the West and East of the world, was greatly fascinated by his noble personality. Among them were Joseph Stalin of the former Soviet Union, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai of China, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Sukarno of Indonesia, Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, Shin Kanemaru of Japan, LuiseRinser of Germany and Francois Mitterrand of France. Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States, said that President Kim Il Sung was greater than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the most illustrious early US presidents, put together.

Endowed with broad magnanimity and lofty sense of international obligation, he rendered unstinted material and spiritual assistance to the peoples in Africa and other parts of the world in their struggle for national liberation, anti-imperialism and nation building.

Though Kim Il Sung passed away, his idea and cause shine forever as the sun is eternal.

The Korean people revere as their eternal leader President Kim Il Sung who is preserved in his lifetime appearance at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. Even after his demise many heads of state, personages from all walks of life and international organizations have presented him with orders, medals, honorary titles and gifts, while colourful celebrations such as Kimilsungia Festival and April Spring Friendship Art Festival are held with grandeur to mark the Day of the Sun.

President Kim Il Sung is always in the heart of mankind as their eternal sun.