SOLDIERS’ FATHER

Supreme leader Kim Jong Un of the DPRK, who is Marshal and Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army, is called soldiers’ father. Regarding the rank and file as the most powerful and valuable beings than any sophisticated weapons, he is achieving the single-hearted unity of the whole army and building up the military capabilities by loving and trusting them.

He regards it as his duty as the Supreme Commander to look after them and bring up and lead them, and shows parental affection for them. This finds intensive expression in his ceaseless inspection tour of army units.

In general, it is a commonplace that an army commander inspects units under his command, i.e., an indispensable course for learning about and understanding their combat readiness, topographical conditions and the nature of enemy moves and attempt.

Kim Jong Un’s inspection is aimed at not merely meeting these military needs but encouraging his men with affection and trust. So, the road of his inspection of army units leads to all the army posts wherever there are soldiers as well as those of strategic importance and at which strike forces or means are deployed.

What is noteworthy in his inspection is that he inquires in details into the soldiers’ living conditions while looking round their barracks, mess halls, subsidiary food stores, washrooms, sideline bases, outdoor resting places and so on, before acquainting himself with the units’ combat readiness and seeing soldiers training. When he meets soldiers, he asks where they are from and what their parents are, showing close concern for their military service. And he often stresses that commanding officers, always keeping in their mind that they exist for the rank and file, should take good care of them like their own flesh and blood so that they could do military service in good health and full of optimism. When he inspected an island-defending unit in September last year, he walked arm in arm with the commanding officers there and said to them over and over: I entrust the soldiers to you. Please take good care of them, regarding them as your own blood brothers and turn the unit into their dear homes.

For him, soldiers are as good as his dear sons and daughters of the same blood with him, and comrades-in-arms who share will and destiny with him. As they are so precious to him, he always travels long roads to see them braving snow, rain and rough passes and seas.

It was in mid-August 2012 when the United States was attempting to stage the DPRK-targeted joint military exercise Ulji Freedom Guardian by enlisting its vassal states as well as south Korea. He got aboard a 27hp wooden boat to inspect island-defending units at the hottest spot in the southernmost of the southwestern front. This news struck the international society with wonder. That day he ordered soldiers there to deal a telling blow to the enemy and make the West Sea of Korea their final grave if they dared to start firing and even a shell fired by them felled in the territory of the DPRK. On hearing it, every one admired the DPRK’s leader for his courage and pluck as a brilliant commander. But, the world people did not know that before giving the important order, he looked round the barracks and education room to learn about the soldiers’ living conditions including the supply of water and electric power and took steps for improving their living conditions, saying that he, the Supreme Commander, came to see how they were living on islands.

The photos he posed with soldiers give a glimpse into his warm love for his men. Saying that the soldiers’ parents would feel delighted to hear that the Supreme Commander met their sons and daughters defending the first line and had photos taken with them, he posed with each of the soldiers on Mt. Osong and the coast artillery women of the Persimmon-tree Company, spending much time. When he was inspecting the dangerous post at Panumjom, symbolic of the DPRK-US confrontation, he also posed with the soldiers there.

Thanks to his ennobling love for his men, fallen soldiers are remembered for all eternity.

When he was reported that sailors, including commanding officers, of submarine chaser
No. 233 of the KPA Navy had died while discharging their combat duty in mid-October 2013, he took steps to find out all their corpses and hold a grand funeral. Later, he visited the finely built tomb, laid a flower before it and paid a tribute to the memory of the fallen sailors. And he said that there must be an owner of a grave and had his name carved on the tombstone. We can hardly find such an example in the history of mankind. Besides this, he took all possible measures to alleviate the sorrow of the bereaved families. He ensured that the state distinctions, certificates of patriotic martyrs and the Workers’ Party of Korea membership cards for them were conveyed to their families. And he saw to it that the framed pictures of the fallen soldiers wrapped in red clothes which were embroidered with the WPK’s emblem were sent to the families.

All these measures testify that he regards soldiers as his own flesh and blood and feels as if his flesh was cut when he hears that even one of them died.

It is natural that Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un is called soldiers’ father as he is always among them, looking after of their living and feeling a sense of responsibility for their destiny.

KIM JONG UN INSPECTS COMPLETED BREEDING STATION OF KPA

Pyongyang, August 21 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), first chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA), gave field guidance to the Breeding Station No. 621 of the KPA which was built as a structure to be proud of in the era of the WPK.

Watching the stables built in peculiar style in a good place, cozy dwelling houses and flocks of goats and sheep in the pastures, he expressed great satisfaction, saying that they looked like a picture and a tremendous change took place in the remote mountain village and another socialist fairyland appeared there.

He went round the breeding research center, fields for comparing the species of grass for animals, breeding pens, cultural hall, dwelling houses and other places of the breeding station to learn in detail about its construction and management and operation.

He said he was pleased to see that a good work was done to round off the cultivation technique on the basis of a scientific calculation of the economic efficiency of various species of grass after creating fields for comparing the species of grass for animals in order to settle the issue of fodder.

He praised the station for meticulously conducing the work to massively increase the number of goats of good stock provided by the party for supplying them to other units and the work for rounding off the method of raising grass-eating animals.

He called on the station to play the role as a center and base in rounding off and widely introducing the method of raising grass-eating animals of good stock and gave important instructions to do so.

He met the family of Paek Song Jin and Yun Song Hui who moved to a new house that day and had a photo taken with them.

He repeatedly expressed his satisfaction, saying the longer he watched the station, the more spectacular it looked and wherever he went, everything was impeccable. He sent thanks to the soldier-builders in the name of the KPA supreme commander.

"Going round this station, I felt my heart aching at the thought of leader Kim Jong Il who worked heart and soul to solve the food problem of people all his life", Kim Jong Un said with deep emotion, adding how nice it would have been, if this splendid station had been shown to Kim Jong Il already.

He expressed expectation and belief that the officials and employees of the station would put into practice the intention of the party by breeding more grass-eating animals, always bearing in mind the love for the people shown by President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

He was accompanied by KPA Vice-Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the KPA General Political Bureau, and KPA Lieut. General Kim Jong Gwan, vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces.

PYONGYANG KIM JONG SUK TEXTILE MILL

In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea there are not a few establishments named after the august name of Kim Jong Suk (December 24, 1917 - September 22, 1949), who is revered by the Korean people as an anti-Japanese heroine. Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Textile Mill located on the bank of the Taedong River in Pyongyang is one of them.

Kim Jong Suk set out on the road of revolutionary struggle in her early years to liberate Korea from the military occupation by the Japanese imperialists (1905-1945) and fought for a decade in the anti-Japanese armed struggle organized and led by Kim Il Sung, making tangible contribution to achieving the historic cause of national liberation. After the country’s liberation (August 15, 1945) she devoted her heart and soul to implementing Kim Il Sung’s line of building a new, democratic Korea, continuously visiting factories, farms and schools across the country.

On October 10, 1948, Kim Il Sung, together with Kim Jong Suk, came to the weedy riverside of the Taedong to select the site of a textile mill. That day Kim Jong Suk said earnestly; This site chosen by him is good. I wish to see our people, who lived in rags and hunger, dressed with quality clothes from a big textile mill. My lifelong wish will come true when the modern textile mill is built as early as possible and the beautiful cloth cascades down there.

Such an ardent desire of Kim Jong Suk who was so concerned to dress the people in good clothes was translated into reality under the meticulous care of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il.

President Kim Il Sung visited the mill on dozens of occasions and gave instructions relating with the work of the mill on over 200 occasions. He even visited the mill two days after the end of the Korean war (1950-1953) which was started by the US and reduced the whole country to ashes, and gave detailed instructions on the mill’s rehabilitation project.

Upholding the intention of the President Chairman Kim Jong Il set it as a mother factory of the country’s textile industry and solved all the problems to this end. Until the last period of his life he paid deep attention to the work of the mill and led it to take a lion’s share in the cloth production.

Under the special care and concern of the leaders the mill fulfilled the production assignments ahead of schedule for over 60 years after its inauguration. Strenuous efforts of its workers to make textile machines modern and high-speed increased the production capacity by tens of times. They introduced into production numerous inventions and technical innovation designs, thus economizing on lots of manpower, raw materials and funds and bringing huge benefits to the state. Great advance was also made in expanding the production capacity and solidifying the material and technical foundation of the mill. It has now changed into a comprehensive textile producer which produces a variety of quality cloth with an assortment of modern machines as required by the IT era.

It was originally named Pyongyang Textile Mill, but renamed Pyongyang Kim Jong Suk Textile Mill in December 2011 in order to hand down forever the immortal exploits performed by Kim Jong Suk for the development of the textile industry of the country.

The respected Kim Jong Un, while visiting the mill in October 2013, said that it was the intention of the Workers’ Party of Korea to produce cloth of high quality and various kinds in larger amount by ceaselessly introducing high-speed machines and upgrading the production lines on a high level. Noting that the cloth for suits and shirts produced at the mill are good in quality, he said that streets and villages would look brighter when school uniforms and various kinds of clothes for the people are made with it. Then he saw to it that a new hostel was built as befits the appearance of the socialist cultured nation so as to provide the workers, who play a big role in textile production of the country, with better living conditions. Thus, a worker’s hostel was built within six months, which is furnished with modern service facilities such as bedrooms, bathroom, beauty parlour, shop, clinic and library, and has a park for workers to conduct amusement and sports activities to their heart’s content. Visitors to the hostel admired that it was not a hostel but a hotel for workers. A banquet in celebration of May Day was held with grandeur at the hostel.

The workers of the mill are now making fresh achievements in the cloth production with redoubled spirit, bringing into reality the lofty intention of Kim Jong Suk and rendering contribution to the building of a thriving country.