Kim Jong Un Guides Recoilless Gun Firing Contest of KPA Units

Pyongyang, January 7 (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 DPRK National Defence Commission, guided a recoilless gun firing contest of units directly under first infantry divisions in echelon formation of KPA frontline corps.

He was greeted on the spot by Army General Ri Yong Gil, chief of the KPA General Staff; Army Col. Gen. So Hong Chan, first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces; Army Lieut. Gen. Kim Chun Sam, first vice-chief and director of the Operational Bureau of the KPA General Staff; and Army Lieut. Gen. Yun Yong Sik, director of the Artillery Bureau of the KPA General Staff.

Taking part in the contest were units directly under the first infantry divisions in echelon formation of KPA 1st, 2nd and 5th Corps. After hearing a report on the form and way of the contest by the officer in charge of training, the supreme commander issued an order to start the contest.

He expressed great satisfaction over the success of soldiers of the Seoul Guards 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps, who destroyed the pillbox in a distance of 1 500m even under unexpected conditions. The contest demonstrated the fighting spirit of the ever-victorious powerful Paektusan revolutionary army.

The above-said division took the special place in the contest. The 2nd Corps came first in the corps standing, the Seoul Guards 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps in the division standing, and the unit directly under the 25th Infantry Division of the 5th Corps in the artillery unit standing.

A diploma of crack-shot was conferred on the winning unit and crack-shot medals and badges on successful soldiers. The supreme commander personally awarded a diploma of crack-shot to the Seoul Guards 3rd Infantry Division and crack-shot medals and badges to its soldiers.

The crack-shot diploma, medal and badge are the most precious gift of loyalty the service personnel present to the country and people, he said, adding that the first master gunners for 2015 emerged from the unit where the spirit of a-match-for-a-hundred came into being and that they are entitled to return to their unit, loudly singing the "Song of Pride of Guards Unit".

The Seoul Guards 3rd Infantry Division of the 2nd Corps fought brave battles for the party, revolution, country and people in the last Fatherland Liberation War, he said, urging its soldiers to keep on glorifying the honor of guards unit, inheriting the tradition of their forerunners, and intensify the movement for becoming crack-shots true to the intention of the party.

Then, he posed for a picture with service personnel of the Seoul Guards 3rd Infantry Division.

He said: As training the soldiers to be crack-shots is a fatal problem concerning the destiny of the country, the party initiated the movement for becoming crack-shots. This movement serves as a turning point and landmark in increasing the military strength. The military-political work should be oriented to making the movement become one for the sake of soldiers.

He called for intensifying the military drills in the New Year, too, and decisively raising the quality of training. Accompanying him were KPA Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong So, director of the KPA General Political Bureau; Army General Hyon Yong Chol, minister of the People's Armed Forces; Col. Gen. Yun Tong Hyon, vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces; Senior Vice Admiral Kim Myong Sik, commander of the KPA Navy; Col. Gen. Choe Yong Ho, commander of the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force; and O Il Jong, Han Kwang Sang, Ri Pyong Chol and Kim Yo Jong, leading officials of the WPK Central Committee.

NDC of DPRK Notifies U.S. Administration of Its Principled Stand

Pyongyang, January 7 (KCNA) -- The U.S. ruling forces are more persistently resorting to their harsh policy hostile to the DPRK.

Typical of its hostile policy is that U.S. President Obama slapped "high-profile additional sanctions" against major institutions and bodies and individuals of the DPRK from the outset of the New Year and issued a "presidential administrative order" for enforcing them.

As regards the historic measures declared by the DPRK for improving the inter-Korean ties and creating a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. authorities have already begun talking rubbish, blustering that the U.S. should not react to them with payment of excessive expenses. They are openly revealing their ulterior intention, asserting that the relations should be improved on the premise that the north shall make a sincere change in its attitude towards the denuclearization.

The Policy Department of the NDC of the DPRK in its statement on Jan. 7 notifies the Obama Administration of its following principled stand as it is pushing the DPRK-U.S. relations to the worst phase of confrontation from the outset of the year:

Firstly, the U.S. should lift all unreasonable "sanctions" against the DPRK in all fields.

We have taken this stand because all "sanctions" the U.S. has imposed against the DPRK so far are based on the inveterate hostility and repugnancy towards it and Washington's hostile policy towards it. This is also because "sanctions" were invented under absurd pretexts and conditions.

The U.S. should know that such tragicomedy as issuing the above-said order over the case without any sure ground would only bring bitterer disgrace and shame to it.

Secondly, the U.S., availing itself of this opportunity, should make a bold decision to unconditionally stop all reckless hostile acts of creating the danger of war on the Korean Peninsula. The U.S. should properly know that its attempt to infringe upon the sovereignty of the DPRK and bring down its dignified social system by force of arms will never come true.

The U.S. should make a bold decision to stop all hostile actions, if it does not want to follow in the footsteps of preceding U.S. warmongers who confessed after drinking a bitter cup of defeat that they fought a wrong war against a wrong rival at a wrong time and in a wrong place.

Thirdly, the U.S. should not forget even a moment that the army and people of the DPRK have already launched the toughest counteraction. We have already declared the toughest counteraction against the outrageous hostile acts the U.S. has perpetrated against the DPRK. The U.S. took part in wars of aggression, big and small, including two world wars. But it has never experienced a hail of bullets and shells on its own territory.

The U.S. should roll back its hostile policy towards the DPRK of its own accord if it does not want to suffer a war disaster. One is bound to go to ruin if one fails to understand one's rival and one's own position. We will closely follow the U.S. policy switchover.

NDC Spokesman Urges S. Korean Authorities to Clarify Stand on Improving North-South Relations

Pyongyang, January 7 (KCNA) -- Talking about "sincerity of the New Year address of the north", politicians of south Korea have described the DPRK's historic appeal as an "attempt to embrace the south aimed at breaking down south Korea-U.S. cooperation" and a "dialogue offensive to get rid of the international pressure".

Worse still, they estimated the U.S. "high-profile additional sanctions" against the DPRK as "proper counteraction" and again prodded the human scum into scattering anti-DPRK leaflets in frontline area for confrontation.

Under the prevailing situation, a spokesman for the DPRK National Defence Commission on Wednesday issued the following statement urging the south Korean authorities to clarify their stand on some problems:

Firstly, do the south Korean authorities have an idea to bring about a great change in the north-south relations through dialogue, negotiation, exchange and contact or to persist in the confrontational racket such as leaflet scattering?

What matters is the fact that they still claim they can hardly stop such confrontational racket conducted under their jurisdiction on the pretexts of "freedom of expression, characteristics of social system and absence of legal grounds". The south Korean authorities should make clear their stand on whether they will choose dialogue or confrontation.

Secondly, do they intend to create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula or to go on escalating the tension?

Instead of responding to the DPRK's peaceful call for a halt to the joint military rehearsals staged in league with outside forces, the south Korean military has declared from the outset of the new year the continuation of nuclear war exercises against the DPRK, asserting that the rehearsals would go on to keep their combat capabilities as long as "south Korea-U.S. alliance" exists.

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the south Korean army flew into the sky over the southwestern territorial waters, sensitive hotspot, by a fighter, blustering that "if the north provokes, the south will not hesitate to punish it mercilessly."

The south Korean authorities should clarify their stand on whether they intend to create a peaceful environment or go on escalating the tension.

Thirdly, do they have a will to achieve the great unity and cohesion in the spirit of By Our Nation Itself or to resort to the moves for "unification of social systems" and "confrontation of social systems"?

In south Korea, politicians and even the authorities are scheming to subordinate the dialogue and contacts for national reunification to the materialization of the present chief executive's "doctrine of gaining a great opportunity of unification".

Such nonsense as "Let us achieve unification under the system of liberal democracy at the risk of our lives in 2015" is heard from them, and the minister of Unification went the lengths of calling in a public appearance for the "south-led unification".

The present chief executive of south Korea did not hesitate to contend that the north should be led to make a "meaningful change" in 2015 without fail.

The south Korean authorities should have a clear understanding of the DPRK's resolution and will reflected in the positive call for writing a new history of the north-south relations. The DPRK will watch the future movement of the south Korean authorities with vigilance.

KIM JONG UN, 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 those 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.