KIM JONG UN GUIDES TACTICAL ROCKET FIRING DRILL

OF KPA STRATEGIC FORCE

Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, guided a tactical rocket firing drill of the KPA Strategic Force.

He was greeted by Col. General of the Strategic Force Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the KPA Strategic Force, and other commanding officers on the spot.

He mounted an observation post and heard a report on the plan for the rocket firing drill.

The drill was staged by way of launching precision guided missiles and firing of shells with dispersion effect for striking individual and group targets of the enemy.

He gave an order for firing tactical rockets.

The moment ballistic rockets soared into the sky with thunderous roar.

The drill was smoothly conducted on the basis of a scientific calculation of the whole course of the rocket firing and the scrupulous security check and search for flight orbit and targeted waters. It had no slight impact not only on the regional peace and security but on international navigation order and ecological environment.

He expressed great satisfaction over the successful firing of tactical rockets and had a photo taken with the service personnel of the strategic force who participated in the drill.

He said that the peaceful environment dearest to the DPRK people can neither be provided by someone nor can be bartered for anything, adding that as durable peace can be protected only when one is so strong that nobody dares provoke one and it can be guaranteed by one's own strength, it is necessary to put the biggest spurs to bolstering up the self-defensive deterrent of the KPA in every way to protect the security and peace of the country and firmly defend the gains of the revolution.

He underscored the need to round off the combat readiness of the strategic force so that no aggressors may recklessly dare threaten and infringe upon the cause, sovereignty and vital rights of the DPRK and to further develop and perfect Juche-oriented rocket science and technology and firing methods.

He expressed great expectation and belief that the service personnel of the strategic force would keep themselves fully ready to fire the highly effective ballistic rockets any moment on high alert as required by the prevailing situation and the developing revolution and thus foil the reckless acts of the U.S. imperialists and their followers who are steeped in evil repugnancy and pursue inveterate hostile policy toward the DPRK and provide a firm guarantee for the building of a thriving socialist nation.

He was accompanied by KPA Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA.

IN RECOLLECTION OF THE GREAT MAN

July 8 this year marks the 20^th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung (1912–1994), eternal President of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

On the occasion of the day the Korean and other progressive peoples of the world are looking back upon the life of President Kim Il Sung who accomplished the undying exploits for the history and humankind with his outstanding ideology and theory and revolutionary practice.

Kim Il Sung was born into a poor farmer’s family in Korea which was under the military occupation by the Japanese imperialists (1905–1945).

He embarked on the road of revolutionary struggle in his early teens, determined to save the destiny of the country and people. In the course of blazing the trail of the revolution he created the Juche idea and Songun idea, which he brilliantly implemented in the whole period of his revolutionary career spanning 70 years. The Juche idea and Songun idea proved their truthfulness and vitality to the full, thus becoming the great guiding ideas in realizing independence of the masses and the valuable spiritual wealth common to mankind.

President Kim Il Sung was an outstanding leader who established the social system centred on the masses of the people in the DPRK and set an example in accomplishing the cause of mankind for independence.

He organized and waged the 15-year-long anti-Japanese armed struggle and achieved Korea’s liberation (August 15, 1945). After the liberation he founded the Workers’ Party of Korea (October 10, 1945), successfully carried out the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution, and, on this basis, founded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (September 9, 1948). He led the Fatherland Liberation War, the Korean war (1950–1953), to victory, thereby defending the country’s sovereignty and dignity from the aggression by the US-led imperialist allied forces. He also successfully conducted postwar rehabilitation, socialist revolution and the construction of socialism in several stages, developing the DPRK into a people-centred socialist power, independent in politics, self-sufficient in economy and self-reliant in national defence.

The President performed great exploits in realizing the cause of reunifying the divided Korea.

He put forward fair and reasonable proposals for the country’s reunification, such as the three principles of national reunification, the proposal for founding a Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo, and the 10-point programme for the great unity of the whole nation. He also wisely led the reunification movement, thus ushering in a bright prospect for the Korean reunification.

The President made great contribution to the cause of making the world independent.

By advancing the slogan, “Peoples of the world who advocate independence, unite!” he rendered sincere assistance to the national liberation and independent development of many countries of the world and energetically led that such progressive movements of the world as socialist movement and non-aligned movement should hold fast to their ideals and principles.

Kim Il Sung was the incarnation of benevolence. No one in the world valued people and loved them like him.

Everybody who met the President was greatly enchanted by his personality and worshipped him. German writer Luiser Rinzer, a very devout Catholic, praised that the President was a godlike man whether he liked it or not. Jimmy Carter, former president of the United States, stated that President Kim Il Sung was greater than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, the most illustrious early US presidents, all combined.

Kim Il Sung was, indeed, the most outstanding leader, peerlessly great person, and great saint of mankind, representative of the 20^th century.

Though he passed away, his ideology and cause are being carried forward brilliantly.

The Korean people preserve him in his lifetime appearance and hold him in high esteem as the eternal President of the DPRK. They keep the Juche idea and Songun idea he authored as their unchanging guiding ideas, and cherish it as their unshakeable faith and will to follow the road of independence, road of Songun and road of socialism he pioneered.

In the closing years of the last century the cause of socialism in the DPRK was faced with the worst circumstances, caused by the great national loss over the sudden death of the President, collapse of socialism in several countries and subsequent anti-DPRK stifling offensives by the imperialist allied forces, and natural disasters that hit the country for consecutive years. However, the Korean people held higher the banner of Songun and turned out in the confrontation with imperialism and the US, defending firmly their socialism. They further provided a springboard for attaining a gigantic goal of building a thriving socialist nation as the President had wished. From then on miraculous events have taken place in the Korean people’s building of a thriving country, boosting the DPRK to the rank of artificial satellite manufacturer and launcher, and nuclear state acknowledged by the world.

In the course of implementing the lines and proposals of independent reunification he had advanced the June 15 reunification era under the banner of By Our Nation Itself was brought about in the Korean peninsula, thus opening a radical phase in the Korean reunification movement. The DPRK, in its efforts to realize the cause of global independence clarified by him, has greatly contributed to the worldwide socialist reconstruction movement and its new upsurge, and accomplishment of the anti-imperialist independent cause of the world.

Praise and admiration for the immortal exploits of the President and his noble personality are still ringing out among many people of the world.

The April Spring Friendship Art Festival that had been held in grandeur in Pyongyang in celebration of his birth anniversary has continued even after his death. Recollection and commemorative meetings, seminars, book and photo shows and other events are held in many countries as an annual event on the occasion of his birth and death anniversaries. In April 2012 in celebration of the centenary of his birth the World Congress of the Juche Idea took place in Pyongyang with the participation of advocates of the Juche idea from many countries. Even now leaders and personages of foreign countries award the President honorary titles, orders and medals, and gifts.

Immortal are the ideology and cause of President Kim Il Sung.

“Aim High!”

“Aim High!” means what it says that one must cherish far-reaching ideas. It implies a noble and profound idea that national independence should be achieved at any cost by fighting through generations and a new society whose masters are the people should be built.

The idea of “Aim High!” was advanced by Kim Hyong Jik (1894-1926), an outstanding leader of the Korean anti-Japanese national liberation movement.

Kim Hyong Jik was born of a patriotic and poor peasant family at Mangyongdae, Pyongyang, on July 10, 1894.

At that time dark clouds of national ruin hung heavily over Korea due to the aggression of the Japanese imperialism. Japan that fought wars against China (1894-1895) and Russia (1904-1905) to gain control of the Korean peninsula finally occupied it militarily in 1905.

Kim Hyong Jik, who was born and grew up in such circumstances, embarked on the road of struggle to liberate the country in his early days and accomplished the extraordinary achievements for the anti-Japanese national liberation movement in Korea.

After making careful preparations for a long time, he formed on March 23, 1917 the Korean National Association that was the largest anti-Japanese underground revolutionary organization at home and abroad at that time.

The Korean National Association was a secret organization which aimed at achieving national independence and establishing a truly modern state through the efforts of the unified Korean nation. The KNA, with the idea of “Aim High!” as its guiding idea, formed its branches in the vast area and conducted various forms of activities including the enlightenment of the masses and education, thus laying a solid mass foundation of the anti-Japanese movement and giving strong impetus to the anti-Japanese struggle on a nationwide scale.

While seeking a way ahead for the development of the Korean anti-Japanese national liberation movement, Kim Hyong Jik confirmed that a proletarian revolution in which the masses of the people should rise up with arms in hand and fight the enemy was the only correct way to achieve independence of the country and freedom and liberation of the people. He thus made public a policy of shifting the anti-Japanese national liberation movement in Korea from the nationalist movement to a proletarian revolution and clarified the tasks and ways for its implementation.

He selected patriotic young people of proletariat origin and trained them into military cadres, while ideologically remoulding the commanding officers and the rank and file of the existing armed organizations so as to turn their ranks into an armed force of workers and peasants that could carry out the proletarian revolution. Along with this, he worked hard to achieve the unity and cohesion of the organizations engaged in the anti-Japanese independence movement. Thanks to his efforts the armed units and the organizations of the anti-Japanese movement, which had been engrossed in a scramble for power, rejecting and jealously regarding each other, were united with one another and worked hand in hand.

Under energetic activities of Kim Hyong Jik, the anti-Japanese national liberation movement in Korea was directed towards the proletarian revolution to realize the interests of the unpropertied masses on the basis of an advanced idea and through armed activities by relying on their strength.

What was important in his revolutionary activities was patriotic and revolutionary education movement.

Looking far ahead into the future of the country, he set up schools wherever he went and devoted himself to the work of training successors to the revolution. He paid particular attention to educating his sons so that they could carry forward the struggle for national liberation from generation to generation.

Kim Hyong Jik, who burnt his heart and soul for national liberation and freedom and emancipation of the people, passed away owing to his sick health from the aftereffects of the terrible torture of the Japanese imperialists and the revolutionary struggle, on June 5, 1926.

On his deathbed he left the following injunction to his sons. 

“I am departing without attaining my aim. But I believe in you. You must not forget that you belong to the country and the people. You must win back your country at all costs even if your bones are broken and your bodies are torn apart.”

The national liberation, his lifelong wish, was brilliantly realized by President Kim Il Sung.

The President created the Juche idea and the Songun idea by embodying the noble idea of “Aim High!” to illumine the path of the Korean revolution and waged the 20-year-long arduous anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, thus accomplishing the historic cause of national liberation and building the people-centred socialism on this land.

The idea of “Aim High!” of Kim Hyong Jik is being carried forward from century to century.

Inheriting the idea and cause of President Kim Il Sung, Chairman Kim Jong Il upheld the banner of Songun, turned Korea into an invincible power that nobody dares challenge and opened up a new era of building a thriving socialist country. At present, under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Un, the country is making rapid progress in the building of a civilized socialist nation where people enjoy happiness to their heart’s content.

Kim Hyong Jik’s idea of “Aim High!” will shine forever.

PARADIGM OF INTERNATIONALISM

“Comrade Kim Il Sung is a genuine proletarian internationalist and a paradigm of communist movement, who defended our Soviet Union at the cost of the blood, with arms, from the aggression of the imperialists in the East.”

This was a passage from the congratulatory message made by Iosif Stalin of the former Soviet Union, proposing a toast to President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) on his official visit to Russia in 1949 with the DPRK government delegation.

Kim Il Sung supported with arms the Soviet Union, first socialist state in the world, under the slogan “Let us defend the Soviet Union with arms!” while waging an arduous armed struggle against the Japanese imperialists to liberate his country from their military occupation, without state backing and support from regular armed forces. When the Japanese imperialists provoked armed conflicts against the Soviet Union, including the incidents of Lake Khasan and Khalkin-Gol in 1938 and 1939 respectively, Kim Il Sung saw that the KPRA units launched harassment operations in support of the Soviet Union behind the enemy lines, inflicting great damage on the enemy’s manpower and war materiel and frustrating military transport. By doing so, he rendered great service to the victory of the Soviet army.

Kim Il Sung gave active support to Chinese revolutionaries in their anti-Japanese war.

Chen Lei, one of commanding officers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army (NAJAA), wrote in his memoirs:

“As is well known across the world, Comrade Kim Il Sung’s devotion to the Chinese revolution and people in the whole course of the anti-Japanese revolution was so genuine that we should offer our thousand thanks. President Kim Il Sung, while waging bravely armed struggle against the Japanese imperialists and to liberate the lost country, established brotherly ties with senior officers of the NAJAA and spared no efforts to assist Chinese revolution. Sometimes he unhesitatingly sent commanding officers and soldiers he had trained with loving care and such aid materials as ammunition and uniforms, though it caused difficulty to him.”

Even after Korea’s liberation Kim Il Sung gave unstinted material and spiritual assistance to the Chinese revolutionaries in their struggle against Jiang Jieshi’s Kuomintang army, thus making a decisive contribution to their efforts to overcome the difficulties and create favourable circumstances in Northeast China.

Chairman Mao Zedong stated that Korean comrades helped the Chinese counterparts whenever the latter was in trouble. Zhu De, commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the friendship sealed in blood between China and Korea was a good example to be cherished deep in mind of the rising generations.

President Kim Il Sung, notwithstanding the difficult conditions that the Korean people had to build socialism after the Korean war (1950-1953) in constant showdown with the United States, the ringleader of the world imperialism, rendered positive assistance to the countries and peoples of the world in their struggle against imperialism and for independence.

At the outset of the 1960s the United States created the Cuban Missile Crisis in an attempt to crush the Cuban revolution in its bud.

The President saw to it that the DPRK expressed full support to and solidarity with the Cuban people and sent all kinds of assistance to them. True to his intention, staff members of the DPRK Embassy and Koreans studying in Cuba prepared themselves for the fight against the US with arms and in the same trench with the Cuban people.

When the Tonkin Gulf Incident was triggered off in August 1964, the President ensured that the DPRK gave selfless assistance to the Vietnamese people struggling against the aggression of the US. He had pilots of the Korean People’s Army dispatched to the Vietnamese front and millions of military uniforms and other materials sent. Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh said that President Kim Il Sung was the saviour who helped Vietnam heart and soul and his real brother.

Out of his noble obligation of internationalism President Kim Il Sung assisted not only Vietnamese but also Cambodian and Laotian people fighting against the aggression of the US, and Egyptian, Syrian and other Arab people struggling against Zionism.

He also clarified orientations and ways for the peoples of Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and other countries in Africa who were engaged in national liberation struggle and rendered all possible aid to them, helping them usher in a new era of freedom and independence in Africa, once called the Dark Continent. Sam Nujoma, first president of the Republic of Namibia, praised that his country owed its independence to President Kim Il Sung and the latter was the great teacher of the Namibian revolution. President Samora Moises Machel of Mozambique, saying that as the great hero Comrade Kim Il Sung showed them the road ahead, the Mozambican people could greet the liberation free from the slavery lot, shouted in admiration that he extended thanks, the thanks of the ancestors together, to the President from the bottom of their heart.

Two decades have passed since President Kim Il Sung passed away, but he is always remembered by the progressive peoples of the world as the paradigm of noble internationalism.

AUGUST NAME OF KIM IL SUNG

The name of President Kim Il Sung, founder of socialist Korea, literally means the sun in Korean. As the sun shines for ever, so does his august name.

The august name of President Kim Il Sung is symbolic of the national liberation struggle and the era of independence.

Early in his teenage years the President embarked on the road of revolutionary struggle to liberate Korea from the military occupation of Japanese imperialists (1905-1945).

He authored the Juche idea and the Songun idea to illumine the way ahead of the revolutionaries and people of Korea.

By so doing he ushered in a new era of independence when the masses of the people became the masters of their own destiny for the first time in history and elucidated the truth of Songun that the victory of the revolutionary cause and independence, sovereignty and prosperity of a country and nation rest on the arms. The Korean revolutionaries and people called him Kim Il Sung in the sense that he was like the sun which illuminates the road to national resurrection and prosperity.

He liberated Korea after waging 15-year-long anti-Japanese armed struggle and established the people’s country. He defeated the United States that prided itself on being the world’s “strongest” in the Korean war (1950-1953), for the first time in history and safeguarded national sovereignty and dignity with credit. And he led to victory the post-war rehabilitation, socialist revolution and the several stages of socialist construction. Thus, he set a world’s example in the struggle for accomplishing the cause of independence of the masses.

He rendered unstinted assistance to China, Vietnam, Cuba and other countries in their struggle of national liberation and anti-imperialism.

Many African countries could achieve their national liberation and build a new society thanks to Kim Il Sung’s unselfish assistance. Sam Nujoma, first president of Namibia, credited the Korean President Kim Il Sung with the independence of his country.

There have been formed at a national, continental and international level a large number of organizations for the study and dissemination of the Juche idea originated by the President and acknowledged as a guiding ideology of the cause of independence of mankind.

The non-aligned movement could be constantly strengthened and developed into a powerful anti-imperialist, independent force by virtue of his deep concern and energetic activities and add great spurs to the struggles for putting an end to domination and subordination and gaining independence of the country and nation and the masses of the people worldwide.

It has become an irresistible trend of the times and aspiration of the mankind to advance along the road of independence indicated by the Juche idea.

The august name of Kim Il Sung is symbolic of lofty virtue and ennobling sense of obligation.

His Juche idea and Songun idea are likened to the light of the sun that illumines the way to be followed by mankind, while his virtue and moral obligation are to the heat of the sun that gives life to all organisms.

The President was a genuine friend and a great benefactor of the peoples of developing countries. He spared nothing in supporting them undergoing difficulties in the building of a new society. He sent a number of experts and technicians to African and other countries to help them sincerely in their efforts to build party, state and armed forces and to develop industry, agriculture, education, healthcare, sports and other sectors.

Stressing the need to develop agriculture in order to solve the food problem, he ensured that they adopted farming methods suited to their specific conditions and helped their irrigation projects.

He made the DPRK host a symposium of the non-aligned and other developing countries on increasing food and agricultural production in Pyongyang and proposed to establish institutes of agricultural science with a view to improving agriculture in African countries.

Kim Il Sung Research Institute of Agricultural Science was established in Guinea of western Africa and Chollima Agricultural Institute in Tanzania of eastern Africa by help of the Korean agro-technicians, which made a contribution to the agricultural development in Africa.

President Kim Il Sung treated those fighting against imperialism and for independence as his genuine comrades and friends and set a fine example of noble sense of moral obligation of keeping faith with them to the last. There are many anecdotes about his obligation to the friends, including the Great King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia and the former Chilean President Salvador Allende.

All the people who met him even once could not but feel great admiration and reverence for his lofty virtues and ennobling personality, even if they were from the countries hostile to Korea.

Among such people were Jimmy Carter, former US president, and Shin Kanemaru, former deputy prime minister of Japan.

Kim Il Sung’s name is shining as the banner of eternal victory.

Entering the new century, the aspirations of the world people to live and develop independently are getting ever stronger.

As the time passes, it proves clearer the truthfulness and invincibility of the Juche idea.

Seminars on the Juche idea and the activities for its dissemination are proceeding on a worldwide scale.

The International Kim Il Sung Prize Council was organized in April 1993 and the International Kim Il Sung Foundation established in 2007.

The present situation, when high-handedness, despotic and aggressive moves of the imperialists get ever more unscrupulous after the end of the Cold War, demands that the countries actively advocate the Songun idea and Songun politics rooted in the Juche idea.

Progressive peoples of the world regard Songun politics as an invincible banner that makes it possible to safeguard national sovereignty under any challenge and adversity and accomplish the cause of anti-imperialism and independence.

Nearly 500 streets, institutions and organizations in over 100 countries are named after the august name of Kim Il Sung.

KIM JONG UN INSPECTS HWA ISLET DEFENCE DETACHMENT OF KPA

Pyongyang, July 1 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, inspected the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment standing guard over a forward post off the East Coast of Korea.

He first went round the monument to the field guidance given by leader Kim Jong Il erected to hand down forever the immortal exploits he performed by inspecting the islet defence detachment in October 1999.

Recalling that President Kim Il Sung gave dozens of precious instructions as regards the islet defence detachment and Kim Jong Il always paid deep attention to it, Kim Jong Un underscored the need to glorify their exploits performed in commanding the army with the shining achievements in rounding off the combat preparations and bolstering up combat capabilities.

Watching the woodland on the islet and fruit trees of various species around the barracks, he said: "The islet is full of trees. It's better to call the islet Song Islet instead of Hwa Islet as pine trees have formed thick verdure". He highly praised the detachment for having turned the islet into a thick woodland and greenery and orchard as intended by the party.

Then he mounted the observation post and heard a report on the combat mission of the defense detachment from the commanding officers, examining in detail the defense plan of the detachment.

Underscoring the need to wipe out the enemies coming in attack from the sea to the last man, he indicated new and unique war methods to be applied by the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment for rounding off its combat readiness such as the deployment of strike means and the effective use of the firing positions as required by the modern warfare.

"The Hwa Islet Defence Detachment is an advance base in the defence theatre of KPA Large Combined Unit 324 and an outpost in the East Sea guarding the gateway to the Party Central Committee," he noted, adding: "It is an important task of the defence detachment to turn the islet into an impregnable fortress, unsinkable warship and the present-day Wolmi island."

He instructed the commanding officers to intensify the politico-ideological education among the service personnel to train them as phoenixes, underlining the need to make military training, in particular, part of their life and habit and thus build a-match-for-a hundred combat capabilities so that they may send all the enemies intruding into the territorial waters of the DPRK to the bottom of the sea once a battle starts.

He gave the defence detachment an order to conduct a sudden artillery firing and guided the drill.

He issued an order to open fire, watching with deep attention the artillery men in firepower service through a pair of binoculars.

The artillery pieces roared and shells accurately hit the targets.

His face beaming with a broad smile, he said: "They are very good at firing. All of them are crack shots and the commander of the defence detachment has successfully commanded the firing".

He said that the artillery men could hit all targets as they have undergone intensive training, bearing deep in mind the call of the party for waging a dynamic movement for becoming crack shots. He named the Fifth Company of the defence detachment which conducted the firing drill "Crack Shots Company" and extended the thanks of the KPA supreme commander to it.

He went round the soldiers' bed room, room for education, wash-cum-bath room, mess hall and stores of the Third Company of the defence detachment to take warm care of their living.

He said that it is very gratifying to hear that the defence detachment serves every service person with more than 360g of soy-based food every day and each mess hall of the companies is providing the service personnel with fish and with sumptuous meals by raising lots of domestic animals such as pigs, ducks and geese.

He noted that the companies of the defence detachment are like homes dear to the soldiers and the detachment is like their native village as it provides them with sumptuous meals and warm beds.

Praising the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment for most thoroughly carrying out the party's military policy like the Ryo Islet Defence Detachment, he called on it to make a high-pitched drive for developing stockbreeding, fishery and soybean farming to turn itself into a more proud and richer detachment in the future.

He gave a pair of binoculars and an automatic rifle to the Third Company as gifts before having a photo taken with the service personnel of the Hwa Islet Defence Detachment and their families, expressing expectation and belief that the service personnel would remain true to the party's Songun revolutionary leadership.

He was accompanied by KPA Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, and Army Col. Gen. Pak Jong Chon, vice-chief of the KPA General Staff.

KIM JONG UN GUIDES DRILL FOR ASSESSING SWIMMING ABILITY OF KPA NAVY

Pyongyang, July 2 (KCNA) -- Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, guided the drill for assessing the swimming ability of the commanding officers of the KPA Navy.

The drill organized by the order of the supreme commander was conducted in such a way that the commanding officers of the East Sea Fleet and the West Sea Fleet of the KPA Navy simultaneously started in column formations up to the turn-round point at the distance of 5 km and swam back from it.

All the commanding officers of the East Sea Fleet and the West Sea Fleet took part in the swimming drill.

Kim Jong Un met the commanding officers prior to the start of the drill and told them that the assessment of their swimming ability was of weighty importance in rounding off the combat readiness of the navy and remarkably bolstering up the combat capabilities by making the training more intense just as the anti-Japanese guerillas did in Mt. Paektu.

He said that the commanding officers should become good fighters if the army is to fight well, adding that a modern warfare requires the commanding officers to be prepared not only politically and ideologically and in military technique but physically.

"The commanding officers are not qualified if they lack physical ability, no matter what good ideological and moral qualities they have and no matter how high military and technological qualifications they are possessed of as they should stand in the van of the combat ranks," he noted.

"When the commanding officers are fully prepared, they can always lead intensive training of service personnel, shouting "Forward, following me!" not "Charge ahead!" he said.

Saying that the seamen should acquire high ability of swimming, he stressed that only when the commanding officers of the navy are good at swimming, can they lead the seamen and successfully carry out the naval operation for implementing the strategic plan of the supreme command even in vast expanse of sea.

The commanding officers renewed their resolution to fully display the might of Kim Jong Un's Navy in the assessment event, regarding the drill for assessing the swimming ability to be staged before the supreme commander as a battle field without gunfire.

He issued an order to start the drill.

The participants fully demonstrated the swimming ability they have cultivated in their day-to-day training, displaying great persevering strength, will and team spirit.

The West Sea Fleet was highly appreciated at the drill.

Then followed the assessment and review of the drill.

He expressed great satisfaction over the successful drill and set forth tasks to be fulfilled to round off the combat readiness and bolster up the combat capabilities of the naval units including the work for making swimming drill a rule and part of life of the seamen so that they may satisfactorily perform their combat missions under any circumstances.

He was accompanied by KPA Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA, Army General Pyon In Son, first vice-chief of the KPA General Staff and director of its Operation Bureau, and Army Col. Gen. Pak Jong Chon, vice-chief of the KPA General Staff.