Pyongyang,
December 5 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of
Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea, on December 4 made an important speech at the 5th National
Conference of Mothers "On Duty of Mothers for Their Families and
Society":
Dear
mothers,
On
behalf of the Party Central Committee and the government of the Republic, I
once again warmly congratulate the participants in the 5th National Conference
of Mothers and the mothers who received the Communist Mother Honor Prize at the
conference.
I
am very pleased that the conference of mothers is held with splendor at a proud
time when the year 2023 is to be concluded with precious victories and
epoch-making successes and that the whole country could extend greetings of
thanks in chorus to the mothers who have made numerous exertions for many
years.
In
the glorious history of our country which advances by winning victories through
all sorts of hardships, there are soldiers with arms, scientists with clear
heads, devoted workers and diligent farmers.
But,
on the highest peak of all of those glories and honors, there are always Korean
women who are the best in the world, all the mothers of this country.
The
credit for the brilliant today of our country goes to our mothers who are
ordinary and simple and the strongest before any difficulties and have become
the genuine models of always devoting themselves unhesitatingly to the road of
patriotism as well as the roots for bringing up a large number of heroes in all
parts of the country.
The
period between the 4th and 5th national conferences of mothers coincides with
the 10-odd years, the most arduous and grimmest period in the history of our
Party and country.
Clearly
imprinted in those trying days and months is the group of righteous and strong
mothers who have overcome hardships, regarding all pains for the country and
their children as pleasure, in order to be always upright before them.
Thanks
to the mothers who endure obediently all sorts of difficulties and affliction,
believing that anything our Party is determined to do is all right, we could
decide on and push ahead with such grand undertakings as another great cause of
nation-building, and all those projects could be crowned with successes by the
devoted efforts of the mothers who became admirable assistants and faithful
servants to their husbands and children.
But
for mothers who have backed up the Party policies without a change of mind,
reliably supported the arms of faith held by their sons and daughters and
kindled the raging flames of patriotic movement throughout the country while
enduring for scores of years the harshest trials that women of other countries
could hardly stand even for a few days, we could not have continued to advance
steadily and vigorously along the road of strengthening the national power.
When
I hear the news of good deeds done by many youths who volunteered to work at
difficult and labor-consuming worksites and devote themselves, including those
young builders performing new miracles at the construction site for a new
street in the Sopho area which is showing its magnificent appearance from day
to day, I am thrilled to heart at the thought of our mothers who supported the
good choice of their children and encouraged them heartily.
In
fact, the mothers should be praised by the times only for the painstaking
efforts and merits they have made while giving birth to many children and
bringing them up in the days of insufficiency and difficulties and doing all
sorts of troublesome work to take care of their husbands and parents-in-law.
But,
with such great worries and work, our mothers are taking full responsibility
for a post of the revolution, a part of socialist construction like men, and
cultivating the freshness and beauty of our society with their thoughtfulness
and kindness.
Mothers
have been standing not only on the agricultural and light industrial fronts to
which our Party attaches importance, but also on the scientific research bases
and spark-flying construction sites. And the names of mothers can be found in
the front ranks of patriotic meritorious persons who have stirred up the times
and their love and affection can be felt in the strong breathing of the country
which is overcoming the cold wind of trials and opening up a future with
virtues and beautiful traits.
Their
jewel-like patriotic mind and precious sweat shine in the bright laughter and
happy tears of the great socialist family sharing difficulties and hardships
with each other, and they can be deeply felt in the absolute strength and proud
edifices of the Republic.
All
of what we have had and are proud of at present -- all of those symbolizing the
high prestige and mightiness of the Republic will remain forever along with the
history made by the mothers of Korea with noble mind and the feats they have
performed with resourceful and diligent efforts.
I
would like to extend once again my warm thanks to all the mothers of the
country who have become great strength to our Party in the grim annals of the
revolution, as they always did in the past, and devoted their pure and ardent
patriotism and loyalty to the prosperity of the country.
Respected
mothers,
The
future of a country and a nation is reflected first in the ideological and
spiritual qualities of mothers and is built from the minds and hands of
mothers.
Nearly
one century has passed since our revolution was pioneered.
We
can no longer see those mothers of anti-Japanese guerrilla origin who turned
out in the sacred war for national liberation, leaving their beloved children
under the eaves of other's house, and those mothers who dedicated all their
children and even daughter-in-law to the revolution and who wrote epics of the
Chollima era, holding aloft the communist slogan "One for all and all for
one!". The generations, who have known about them only through videos and
books, have become mothers now.
However,
the beautiful mental world peculiar to the Korean mothers is being invariably
carried forward and the history of noble life dedicated to the future is going
on.
This
is precious for the future of our Party and state just like lifeline and blood
vessel.
If
the mothers have a firm mind, the cornerstone of the country is solid, and if
the spiritual world of mothers is noble, the baton of the revolution will be
steadily carried forward and the nature of Korean-style socialism will remain
unchanged.
We hold the conference of mothers with
splendor as now because the future of Korea is shining brightly amid the steady
inheritance of the proud history and tradition of mothers which have been
carried forward generation after generation.
In
the minds and appearances of mothers, we read the noble view of life that one's
life is for younger generation and one's devoted efforts will result in a
prosperous country where posterity will lead a happy life, and we are looking
back upon the traces of their beautiful lives again.
Everyone
has a mother and memories of childhood spent under her warm and benevolent care
as well as of unforgettable images.
Among
them, what children do not forget forever are their mothers' whole life of
devotion, in which mothers had been always busy doing everything for their
children but nothing for themselves, and the tears shed by mothers who were
very happy to see their children do a good thing for the country or gave a
whipping to their children when they did a sinful act even a bit.
Through
their examples, mothers taught their children that the political integrity
given by the Party is more precious than the physical life they gave, and that
the life they devote is more valuable than the life they enjoy. Our younger
generation realized the real meaning of life and patriotism in the teachings
and appearances of the mothers before the books.
It
is certain that a good child is to be grown up under the care of a good mother.
The
generation, who were born and grew up under the care of such mothers,
witnessing the traces of their mothers from aside and learning the real worth
of life, hands over the baton of patriotism and loyalty to the next generation
and that baton is handed down generation to generation. This is a law-governed
historical process in which the future of our country is built.
Our
mothers are, indeed, truly precious persons who link the new generation with
the same blood of patriotism and are the first builders of the beautiful
future.
Dear
participants,
It
is the primary revolutionary task to prepare well the younger generation to be
the main force of our society and to hold up our powerful state.
As
the first step is important in human life, family education takes the first
place among family education, school education and social education, and the
influence of mother is particularly important in family education.
For
that reason, the Party has attached greater importance to the congress of the
children’s union and the conference of mothers than other conferences, and the
Party Central Committee directly organized this conference with deep care and
much efforts.
Expecting
that this conference will be a practical occasion for all mothers to be more
deeply aware of their responsibility and duty before the family and society and
successfully fulfill them, I would like to inform you of the important policies
of the Party and government and to make some requests.
As
you know, the economic situation of the country was difficult and the
obstructive moves of the enemies were unprecedentedly vicious, but we have made
countless changes incomparable with those we made ten-odd years ago and we are
going to make a stubborn struggle with a higher ideal and goal in the future
and thus make an unimaginable development after another ten years.
As
all our people actually see, listen and feel, the major policies being pursued
by our Party and government at present are the gigantic works to create better
living conditions and more civilized living environments.
The
most essential requirement of people’s life is the problems of food, clothing
and housing. The struggle to implement the Party’s programme for the rural
revolution in the new era is a historic cause of solving the food problem for
the people in a perfect and sustained way in the near future and, at the same
time, of modernizing the countryside, which had been a pronoun of centuries-old
backwardness.
To
accomplish this cause at an early date, the Party and the government offer the
countryside lots of farm machines and farming supplies by mobilizing the
important sector every year even in times of shortage and difficulties and,
this year, launched large-scale projects to restore and perfect the irrigation
facilities across the country, which had not been touched for decades, and thus
made big stride in laying foundations for agricultural production.
At
present, our agricultural sector is pushing ahead with the work to go over to
the farming with focus on rice, wheat and barley, develop the animal husbandry
and the fruit farming and build large-scale greenhouse farms. This work is for
gratifying the desires of mothers who wish to provide their children and
families with tasty and nutritious food all the time.
Saying
that the reclamation of tidelands falls under the same category, he noted that
President Kim Il Sung highlighted the need to reclaim the tideland on the west
coast without fail in order to feed all the people with rice and that our army
addressed itself to the project for reclamation of tideland in a bid to
complete it in seven to eight years.
Though
it is a hard and grand nature-remaking project, we should complete in our
generation it to be flawless for all ages. Then, the future generations will
benefit from it forever, without knowing what the lack of farmland and the food
problem are like.
For
the issue of raising children - the foremost concern of mothers - we have done
not a few jobs and have a promising prospect.
Now
I feel very fulfilled that our Party and government, with much efforts, managed
to feed all the children of the country with dairy products everyday, fully
provide all the schoolchildren with "Sonamu"-trademarked school bags,
uniforms and things and give a facelift to children's palaces, camps and halls.
However,
not content with this, we put forward a policy of making a great revolution in
education and are striving for its implementation to ensure that our rising
generations receive the best education under the best and advanced educational
conditions and circumstances in the world during all school from kindergarten
to university.
While
putting titanic state efforts into establishing a new chemical industry and
creating the production capacity of chemical fibre in order to satisfactorily
settle the clothing problem for people, we actively encourage such development
levers as an exhibition of advanced garments to develop in a more civilized way
the costumes of all the people including mothers.
Recent
years saw more gigantic construction projects than ever on a nation- wide
scale, and what is most important here is to solve the housing problem for
people at a high level.
Under
the resolution of the 8th WPK Congress, the project for building 50 000 flats
in the capital city has been carried out for three years so that over
10
000 households of the capital moved into new houses every year. And modern
rural houses fit for an ideal society have taken their shapes across the
country from last year to be offered to agricultural workers one after another.
By
carrying out a construction project to remodel the provincial, city and county
seats to meet the requirements of modern civilization, we intend to bring about
a new world where the whole country from the capital city to local areas and
mountain villages has undergone radical changes.
And
we plan to solve the problems of domestic water, cooking fuel, public
transport, lift, heating for the citizens of the capital city first and, on
this basis, satisfactorily tackle the necessary living problems including the
problem of providing domestic water for local cities.
Noting
that the important policies planned by the Party and the government at present
include a project for building general hospitals equipped with modern, advanced
medical service facilities in every provincial seat, he went on to say:
In
addition, various important popular policies are on the table and I believe
that if all these come to fruition, a truly fundamental change will be made in
the life of our people.
All
mothers should fulfill their responsibility and duty assumed before society and
families with confidence in and optimism about the prospects of our socialist
construction and a changed ideal society to come in the near future.
They
have heavy mission to bring up their children to be pillars of socialist and
communist construction and masters of future society.
The
first step of a revolutionary is taken under the care of the mother and his
true growth can be guaranteed by his mother's care.
No
one can replace mothers for their position and duty.
If
mothers fulfill their responsibility as educators, faster and more remarkable
progress will be made in making the young people and all other members of the
society communist persons.
First
of all, mothers themselves should become communist mothers who have noble and
beautiful moral qualities.
Unless
a mother becomes a communist, it is impossible for her to bring up her sons and
daughters as communists and transform the members of her family into
revolutionaries.
There
is a saying that if you want to judge a man, you should judge his mother, so
there is a large difference between the outlooks on life and the world of the
children who grow up under the care of mothers who devote themselves to the
society and the collective and are willing to help those suffering pain, and of
the children who grow up, seeing their mothers devote all energies to only
their children and families.
So,
the traits of all our mothers should be the virtues of helping others tide over
their difficulties and sharing others' sorrow and the humanity of sharing their
happiness with their neighbors and rejoicing at others' success as their own
one.
The
harmony of the families our mothers defend and tend also has a great effect on
the growth of their children.
Mothers
should always bear in mind that it is a great thing for the country to manage
their household affairs carefully and promote the happiness and harmony of the
families as housewives, and make an effort to become a meticulous mother, a
grateful wife and a kind-hearted daughter-in-law.
If
a mother truly wants her children to be fine persons, she should train her
children consciously through the revolutionary struggle and the practice of
socialist construction.
The
posts for national defense and the sites of socialist construction are
revolutionary universities which give the children valuable experiences of life
that cannot be gained in the yard of their families and cultivate the spirit of
loving their comrades and the collective and the will and ability to surmount
the difficulties.
It
will be mothers' greatest pleasure to see their children growing up as pillars
of the country while realizing in the struggle and life how precious our Party
and social system are.
With
their inborn true feelings of flogging their kids with tears in their eyes to
bring them up as honest persons, mothers should have no hesitation in making
their beloved children work in the difficult and labor-consuming posts and
workplaces.
For
mothers, another important thing is to always pay deep attention to their
mental and moral lives.
The
children, who were well-mannered and innocent when they were young, grow up to
be unmannered and become tainted with a bad thing if their mothers pay less
attention to them who are older.
Mothers
should give regular education to their children so that they can study and lead
an organizational life well and lead a sound moral life not only when they are
young but also after they have entered university and society.
Some
mothers pay attention to their children's studies while neglecting their
education in courtesy and morality, including the polite way of speaking, and
their use of words and deeds different from our own style. Some other mothers
think that they perform their responsibility as mothers when they bring their
children up in a special way, providing special clothing for them.
The
struggle against alien practices now intensifies in society. Only when mothers
actively join in the struggle, can all such practices be eliminated.
Mothers
should take an active part in socialist construction and exert a revolutionary
influence on their children by setting practical examples.
Though
the word working woman is an everyday word, it means the brilliant honor and
clear expression of a communist woman who devotes herself to our cause with a
firm confidence in the truthfulness and victory of the cause.
Mothers
should go beyond the bounds of their homes and take an active part in public
life to devote their sincere patriotic sweat and make innovations at factories
and workplaces. By doing so, they should be socialist working women of whom
their children are proud and live a worthwhile life under the love and trust of
the collective.
They
should also fully discharge their duty as citizens by actively doing good deeds
that will contribute to the prosperity of the country, including assistance to
the army and the grand construction sites.
It
is important for mothers to know well about the acuity and cause of the present
grave situation and the key to the great change under such circumstances, he
said, stressing the need for mothers to have pride and self- esteem in the
victory we have achieved and fully understand the validity and truth of our
Party's policies which can never be denied with anything and thoroughly reject
all the attempts and hypocrisy of the enemy.
He
said that when all mothers clearly understand that it is patriotism to give
birth to many children and do so positively, our cause of building a powerful
socialist country can be hastened faster.
He
called upon the Party organizations and working people's organizations
including the women's union to positively lead and help mothers to fulfill
their duties for families and society.
If
children rely on their mother’s care, their mothers rely on the care of the
organization.
The
organization's constant warm care will be an encouragement to our mothers who
have more troubles, worries and difficulties than others owing to incomplete
living condition.
Our
Party hopes that not a few special mothers but all mothers of the country would
lead a worthwhile life in the same ranks towards communism.
Even
though some mothers have led a humdrum or dishonorable life so far, they can
emerge model mothers and innovators thanks to the sincere efforts of
organizations in future and then it will be the great delight.
The
Party organizations and women’s union organizations should organize and guide
the work properly so that mass movements involving mothers become voluntary
work based on patriotic enthusiasm and duty proper to a citizen.
Referring
to the principled issues arising in expanding the ranks of communist mothers,
he stressed that the Party organizations and women's union organizations should
enlighten and sincerely help mothers to voluntarily get aware of their duties
before families and society and give birth to many children and bring them up
with devotion.
It
is necessary for the Party Central Committee and provincial, city and county
Party committees to always pay attention to the women’s union organizations so
that they can perform their role properly, bearing in mind that the work of the
women’s union is an important part of our Party work, and solve the problems
arising in the women’s union on a priority basis and guard strictly against the
overburdens imposed on it.
The Party and power organs and economic bodies
should ensure that the benefits of the state such as giving priority to
families with many children in allotment of dwelling houses, foods and
commodity supply and medical service are correctly realized, and apply special
subsidies in order to contribute to the life in actuality and take more
preferential treatments in various aspects.
Dear
mothers!
It
is the long-cherished desire of our Party to provide our people, who are the
best people in the world and have endured more sufferings and troubles than
anyone else, with a happy and highly-civilized life as soon as possible. This
reflects the dream our mothers have had generation after generation.
It
is the most glorious and honorable task to bear in mind the mothers’ dreams and
wishes for bringing up their children well in the beautiful land of socialism
and communism and realize them to the utmost.
Our
Party will make more dynamic struggle to achieve everything desired by the
toughest and most beautiful mothers in the world and their beloved sons and
daughters as soon as possible.
Dear
mothers!
I
regard it as the greatest pride that our mothers are the most honest and
greatest in the world.
It
is a great blessing and fortune for the sons and daughters of this country to
call such good mothers their mother.
Heartily
wishing all the mothers of the country good health and happiness, in reflection
of the minds of all the sons and daughters in this land, I declare the 5th
National Conference of Mothers closed.
