KIM IL
SUNG
ON THE
QUESTION OF THE NATIONAL UNITED FRONT
Lecture
Delivered at a Political Forum Sponsored
by Democratic Youth Organizations
December
22, 1945
Today
I would like to explain why the national
united front is necessary for the revolution
in our country and how to form it.
To
win victory in the revolutionary struggle the
revolutionary forces must be formed properly
on the basis of a correct analysis of the
prevailing situation and the correlation of
class forces. The question of the united front
is one of important Marxist-Leninist strategic
and tactical questions in winning over the
masses and guaranteeing decisive superiority
for the revolutionary forces.
At
present forming a solid national united front
in our country is a very urgent task. Whether
we form a strong national united front or not
is a serious question of whether we can
solidly rally the revolutionary forces or not,
of whether we can thoroughly isolate the
counter-revolutionary forces or not;
accordingly, it is one of the vital questions
on which depends the victory of our
revolution. Therefore, we have laid much
stress on the question of the national united
front.
If we
are to build a new, democratic Korea
successfully by actively organizing and
mobilizing the efforts of the entire people in
the complicated internal and external
situation of today, we must correctly
understand the question of the national united
front. In particular, it is necessary for us
youth—young builders of the nation—to
understand it clearly.
1.
THE CHARACTER OF OUR REVOLUTION
To
discuss the question of the national united
front we must first analyse the character of
our society, just as in all other political
questions. Only then can we recognize clearly
the necessity and significance of the national
united front in our country and form it
properly to meet the demands of our
revolution.
Then
what sort of society is the present Korean
society?
Ours
is a semi-feudal society which has only just
been freed from the colonial yoke of Japanese
imperialism, that is, a society which still
retains considerable vestiges of Japanese
imperialism and feudalism.
As
you all know, the Japanese imperialists had
occupied Korea
for nearly half a century and pursued vicious
colonial policies in our country.
The
Japanese imperialist aggressors ruled our
people savagely through a governor-general’s
office in Korea
whose ruthlessness was without precedent in
world history. They created a ramified network
all over Korea
of various repressive apparatuses such as the
army, gendarmery and police and deprived the
Korean people of all fundamental rights and
freedoms and cruelly suppressed and
slaughtered them. Indeed, the Japanese
imperialists perpetrated monstrous fascist
oppression and a reign of terror all over Korea.
At
the same time, they seized all the key
branches of the Korean economy and plundered
arbitrarily our valuable natural resources and
turned Korea
into Japan’s
supply base of raw materials, into its
commodity market. They checked the development
of Korea’s
national economy to the utmost and bled our
people white. Thus they kept our economy in a
very backward state and forced our people to
hover on the verge of starvation and poverty.
Furthermore,
with the sinister aim of keeping the Korean
people for ever in colonial slavery, the
Japanese imperialists carried out a malicious
policy of obliterating our people’s national
consciousness. They attempted to stamp out our
long history and brilliant national culture
and made frenzied attempts to force slave
education upon the Korean people and imbue
them with the slavish idea of submission.
As
you see, the Japanese imperialists pursued
monstrous colonial policies in all spheres of
political, economic and cultural life and
grossly retarded our country’s capitalistic
development. If they developed anything at all
in Korea,
it was only those things which were needed to
intensify their colonial rule and plunder.
It is
the character of Japanese imperialism and its
predatory nature that is to blame for our
country having feudal productive relations
today highly developed capitalism but one
which had many vestiges of feudalism.
Therefore, Japanese imperialism could not
develop capitalism fully in Korea.
Especially, in order to maintain and
strengthen their colonial rule over Korea
the Japenese imperialists deliberately worked
hand in glove with the feudal forces and
preserved feudal relations in our country. In
the past, along with the comprador
capitalists, the landlords formed a major
social foothold in our country for the
colonial rule of Japanese imperialism. The
Japanese imperialists had hampered our social
development by preserving the vestiges of the
medieval feudal system and utilizing them to
intensify their colonial rule and
exploitation.
As a
result of this kind of colonial rule there are
many vestiges of Japanese imperialism and
feudalism remaining in our country. The
remnants of Japanese imperialist colonial rule
are rooted deeply in all fields of political,
economic and cultural life and even in our
people’s ideology and morality. The remnants
of the feudal system are functioning in all
spheres. Moreover, pro-Japanese forces
implanted by Japanese imperialism in the past
are still not eliminated along with
considerable forces of feudalism. Now, the
remnants of Japanese imperialism and feudalism
create a great obstacle to our social
development.
In
analyzing the character of Korean society we
must bear in mind the presence of the armed
forces of US imperialism in south Korea, one
half of our country. They have set up a
military government in south Korea,
and are obstructing the democratic advance of
the popular masses and promoting pro-Japanese
elements, traitors to the nation and other
reactionaries, the enemies of our people.
We
must base ourselves on this actual situation
of our society in defining the character of
the Korean revolution.
At
present, the Korean revolution is at a stage
where it must sweep away the survivals of
Japanese imperialism and feudalism and build a
new, democratic society, that is, at the stage
of anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic
revolution.
The
immediate targets of the Korean revolution are
the imperialist agents including the remnant
forces of Japanese imperialism who are
attempting to implant the forces of
imperialism again, as well as their
accomplices—the forces of feudalism. Because
of their common aims and interests both these
forces are supporting and backing each other
and are united closely. The remnant forces of
Japanese imperialism, and other imperialist
agents as well as the feudal forces are
opposed to our country’s democratic progress
and are resorting to every possible means to
steer Korea
along the road to anti-democracy. They oppose
the democratic forces and are banding together
the old, decadent reactionary forces in an
attempt to ignite a civil war in our country,
and, in alignment with foreign forces of
aggression, are trying to make our people the
colonial slaves of imperialism again.
Therefore, without struggling actively to
defeat both of these reactionary forces we
cannot build the nation properly or establish
an independent and sovereign democratic
country.
If we
are to thoroughly isolate the remnant forces
of Japanese imperialism and other imperialist
lackeys and feudal forces, and step up the
struggle against them and successfully carry
out the founding of the state, we must win
over all patriotic and democratic forces and
build up the revolutionary forces. It is
precisely for this reason that the question
arises of a national united front.
2. THE HISTORICAL
EXPERIENCE OF THE UNITED FRONT MOVEMENT
This is not the first time the
question of the united front has been raised.
It was raised a long time ago and much
experience has been accumulated since then by
the united front movement at home and abroad.
In
our country, the anti-Japanese national united
front movement developed vigorously from the
early 1930’s under the leadership of genuine
communists.
In
the 1930’s, the Japanese imperialists who had
occupied Korea
repressed the Korean communist movement and
the national-liberation struggle more harshly,
while intensifying their aggression on the
continent. They were hell-bent on stepping up
their fascist oppression and colonial plunder
of the Korean people. This increased our
people’s anti-Japanese sentiments. As a
result, the anti-Japanese struggle was
intensified among the broad masses of our
people including the workers and peasants. The
prevailing situation called for the close
unity of the broad popular masses and the
development of the anti-Japanese
national-liberation struggle onto a new,
higher stage.
Basing
themselves on this objective demand, in the
early 1930’s the genuine Korean communists
organized armed forces and waged an
anti-Japanese armed struggle, at the same time
carrying on a dynamic struggle to form an
anti-Japanese national united front. Thus they
united broad sections of patriotic people
opposed to Japanese imperialism under the
anti-Japanese banner and actively organized
and mobilized them for the struggle against Japan.
Particularly, in May 1936, we formed the
Association for the Restoration of the
Fatherland—an anti-Japanese national united
front organization. This was an epoch-making
event in developing the anti-Japanese national
united front movement to new heights in our
country. The ARF included the workers and
peasants, intellectuals, small and medium
tradesmen and manufacturers, religious people,
nationalists—the masses of people of all
strata who were opposed to Japan
and aspired for the liberation of the country.
By rallying around the ARF broad sections of
patriotic people, we could build up the mass
foundation of the anti-Japanese armed struggle
and intensify our armed struggle, and could
further expand and develop the anti-Japanese
national-liberation struggle in our country as
a whole.
During
the anti-Japanese armed struggle we also
materialized the united front with the Chinese
people. We waged a powerful struggle against
Japanese imperialism, the common enemy of both
the Korean and Chinese peoples, by
strengthening our solidarity with the Chinese
communists and forming an anti-Japanese allied
front with Chinese nationalist anti-Japanese
units that had been opposed to the communists.
Through
this united front movement carried out in the
days of the anti-Japanese armed struggle, we
gained valuable experience. This experience is
a precious asset for strengthening the
national united front today when we are
building a new country.
The
united front movement was carried out in other
countries of Europe and Asia,
too.
The
peoples of Europe
who love peace and democracy have waged united
front movements ever since the days when the
black forces of fascism started menacing the
world. In 1933-35 the fascist Hitlerites
raised their heads in Germany and
at the same time Mussolini’s fascist
dictatorship was strengthened in Italy.
Many peoples of Europe
formed a united front in order to wage their
struggle successfully against the fascists who
were out to conquer the whole world and
enslave humanity. Not only in France and Spain but
also in Germany
freedom- and peace-loving people and
organizations fought against fascism relying
on the united front.
The
united front movement developed in colonial
and semi-colonial countries as well as in
capitalist countries. The colonial and
semi-colonial peoples set up national united
fronts to counter the further intensification
of the aggressive activities of the
imperialists and their policy of colonization.
The
national united front aimed at opposing
imperialist aggression represents the whole
nation. By invading another country the
imperialists not only oppress and exploit its
workers, peasants and other working masses but
also infringe upon the interests of the rest
of the people, including non-comprador
capitalists, except a tiny handful of
imperialist lackeys. Therefore, the struggle
against imperialist aggression is joined by
broad masses of people of all strata. It is
true that the workers and peasants are the
main force in the anti-imperialist struggle;
they fight against the aggressors more
staunchly than any other class. However, not
only workers and peasants join in this
struggle but also the rest of the nation and,
in due course, the national united front is
formed.
This
is eloquently proved by the experience of the
anti-Japanese national united front movement
in our country; it is also shown by the
example of China.
When
the Japanese imperialists invaded China
the Chinese people were united across the
nation and struggled against the colonization
of their country. As Japanese imperialism
occupied northeast China and stretched out its
crooked hands of aggression to the Chinese
mainland, the Communist Party of China
proposed to the Kuomintang that both parties
put an end to civil war immediately and form a
united front to wage an anti-Japanese struggle
to save the nation, advocating that the people
should be given freedom of speech and
association as well as arms. For a long time,
the recalcitrant reactionaries of the
Kuomintang had turned a deaf ear to this
proposal and continued to pursue a policy of
nonresistance. However, as broad sections of
the Chinese people, in response to the
Communist Party’s call, demanded that the
whole nation unite and launch an anti-Japanese
struggle to save the nation, the reactionaries
of the Kuomintang were forced to accept the
Communist proposal. As a result, cooperation
between the Communist Party and Kuomintang was
materialized in China
and the anti-Japanese national united front
came into being.
Internationally
speaking, the united front movement further
expanded and developed after the appeal made
by the Seventh Congress of the Communist
International held in 1935. At this congress
Comrade Dimitrov put forward the line of
forming an anti-fascist popular front; he
appealed to peace- and democracy-loving people
all over the world to step up the joint
struggle against the fascists, since the
menace of fascism was increasing. In
accordance with this line the anti-fascist
popular front movement developed on a
worldwide scale.
As
you see, the united front movement has been
carried on extensively at home and abroad for
a long time.
3.
THE IMMEDIATE TASK OF THE KOREAN REVOLUTION
AND THE NATIONAL UNITED FRONT
As I have already mentioned,
at the present stage the Korean revolution is
an anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic
revolution. Our immediate task is to strive to
build a fully independent and sovereign state
which will be able to join on an equal footing
all countries of the world which oppose the
forces of aggression and war and love peace
and liberty, completely eliminate the evil
consequences of Japanese imperialist colonial
rule and feudal remnants from all spheres of
life and achieve the country’s democratic
advancement.
This
great task of nation-building confronting us
cannot be accomplished by the efforts of any
one grouping or a few persons; it can be
fulfilled successfully only by correctly
organizing and mobilizing the efforts of the
broad masses. In order to organize and
mobilize their efforts, it is imperative to
unite all patriotic and democratic forces
firmly.
Uniting
the broad masses is a decisive guarantee for
the victory of the revolution. Unless we win
over the masses and guarantee the
preponderance of the revolutionary forces, we
cannot repulse the offensive of the
counter-revolutionary forces or achieve
victory for the revolution. If our revolution
is to be successful, we must first work
properly to win over the broad masses of
people.
We
should strive to rally under the banner of
democracy all people of different strata who
are opposed to the imperialist agents
including the remnant forces of Japanese
imperialism and the feudal forces. Only by
doing this, can we set up a truly democratic
state, sweep away the survivals of Japanese
imperialism and feudalism and democratize
society, and also quickly build up the
nation’s economy.
The
Japanese imperialists destroyed all our
factories and enterprises and devastated our
agriculture. Therefore, only ruined factories
and enterprises and barren soil are left in
our country. Our economy is in such a state
that it is impossible for a couple of persons
to rehabilitate and develop it; it is
necessary to mobilize the entire people. Those
who have strength must contribute their
strength, those with knowledge their knowledge
and those with money their money; all the
people must be activated to strive to
rehabilitate and develop the nation’s economy
and build a new, democratic Korea.
We
are building our country at present in an
extremely complicated situation. In south Korea
now, unlike in north
Korea, pro-Japanese
elements, traitors to the nation and other
reactionary forces are assembled under the
wing of US
imperialism, and they are making desperate
attempts to obstruct our people who have risen
to build a new, democratic Korea.
The pro-Japanese elements and traitors to the
nation remaining in north Korea,
too, are attempting to frustrate our people’s
cause of building the nation, in alliance with
the reactionaries in south Korea.
Moreover, bogus revolutionaries who pretend to
be patriots and factionalists are trying to
divide the people and taking steps to confuse
them so that they will not be able to know
which road to take. This situation urgently
demands that we step up our struggle to rally
firmly around the national united front all
the patriotic, democratic forces who are
interested in the building of a new,
democratic Korea.
At
present, all sections of the people in our
country are interested in the
anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic
revolution. Only when this revolution is
carried out and an independent and sovereign
democratic state is built, can the people of
all strata be guaranteed genuine political
rights and democratic freedom and enjoy a
happy life.
In
the past, under the colonial rule of Japanese
imperialism, all Koreans except for a tiny
handful of pro-Japanese elements and traitors
to the nation suffered harsh colonial
oppression and exploitation. Not only the
workers, peasants, intellectuals, small
tradesmen and handicraftsmen, but even the
non-comprador capitalists suffered from the
national oppression and humiliation of the
Japanese imperialists while economically, they
were steadily bankrupted and ruined by
Japanese monopoly capital. In a word, the
entire people keenly felt through their own
experience how miserable it was to live in
colonial bondage to imperialism, unable to
have their own government.
For
this reason, not only the proletariat today
but also all the rest of the people including
conscientious non-comprador capitalists are
opposed to the pro-Japanese elements, traitors
to the nation and other reactionaries who try
to turn our country into an imperialist colony
again, and are demanding the building of an
independent and sovereign democratic state in
our country. Therefore, not only the workers,
peasants and the rest of the working masses
but also conscientious non-comprador
capitalists can take part in the building of a
new, democratic Korea.
This
shows that it is vitally necessary to form a
solid national united front in our country and
that it is possible to form this front from
the broad masses of all strata.
We
must rally around the national united front
all the political forces who love the country
and the people and desire the democratic
development of the nation.
There
are various strata of people in our country
such as the workers, peasants, intellectuals,
religious people, landlords and capitalists
and all want to have their own political
organizations representing the interests of
their respective classes and circles. So after
liberation different political parties and
social organizations were formed and more will
be formed in the future, too. In the past.
Koreans living abroad belonged to various
political organizations. Active among them
were those which represented the interests of
the workers, peasants and intellectuals and
those which represented the interests of the
landlords and capitalists. Even today, after
liberation, there are political organizations
in our country for the working masses and for
the landlords and capitalists.
We
must step up the work of bringing the masses
of different sections into democratic mass
organizations so as to lay a firm foundation
for the national united front. In particular,
youth workers must strive to carry out our
Party’s line of organizing a Democratic Youth
League, the only youth organization, as soon
as possible, to unite all patriotic young
people. We must include patriotic people of
different strata in democratic mass
organizations and firmly unite around the
national united front the political parties
and social organizations which desire a fully
independent and sovereign democratic state,
thus they will all join efforts to set up a
new country.
If we
are to organize a solid national united front
and rally broad sections of patriotic people,
we must first strengthen the Communist Party.
The
Communist Party has put forward the only
really correct political line showing the road
for our people to take; it is a revolutionary
party fighting more staunchly than any other
party for the country’s democratic development
and for the freedom and happiness of the
working class and other working masses. Only
by strengthening the Communist Party and
elevating its leading role, can we rally our
democratic forces firmly and guide the masses
of people along the right road, and
successfully carry out the Korean revolution.
In
the past, our country had no revolutionary
working-class party capable of leading the
popular masses correctly. The Communist Party
of Korea was founded in 1925 but it was
dissolved in 1928, owing to the repression of
Japanese imperialism and to the cursed
factional strife among the sectarian elements.
It is true that even afterwards the communist
movement did carry on in our country and an
uninterrupted struggle was waged to found a
Communist Party, but it could not be founded
until the country’s liberation. Since there
was no revolutionary party of the working
class, the work of organizing the masses could
not be carried out under a unified party
leadership; the anti-Japanese struggles waged
in our country before had often taken place
spontaneously and, therefore, they could not
but suffer setbacks.
We
must remember this bitter lesson of the past.
We should all of us help actively in
strengthening the Communist Party, deeply
conscious that without its leadership we
cannot build the country properly or win
victory for the Korean revolution. Thus, we
will, under the Communist Party’s leadership,
closely unite all the patriotic and democratic
forces around the national united front and
actively organize and mobilize them for the
establishment of a new, democratic Korea.
4.
TWO UNITED FRONTS
There
are two united fronts—the right and the wrong.
One is the united front advocated by true
patriots who love their country and people and
the other is the “united front” advocated by
the anti-popular, anti-democratic elements.
Then
what sort of united front should ours be?
At
present some people insist on indiscriminate
unity without any principle, on the plea that
a united front must be formed. This is not the
true united front we advocate. Ours must not
and cannot possibly be a united front uniting
any Koreans, whether they be pro-Japanese
elements or traitors to the nation.
We
need a united front to carry out the
anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic
revolution and build an independent and
sovereign democratic state. Nevertheless, they
insist we should form a united front with the
remnant forces of Japanese imperialism and the
feudal forces. This is absurd. How can we join
the enemies of the people? It is impermissible
for us, who are going to build a progressive
new society, to forgive even in the slightest
the remnant forces of Japanese imperialism and
the feudal forces and form a coalition with
them.
We
must not include the pro-Japanese elements,
traitors to the nation and other anti-popular,
anti-democratic elements in the united front;
we must fight resolutely against them.
But
what we must mind here is to define correctly
the pro-Japanese elements and the traitors to
the nation. Those who betrayed the country and
the people by giving active help to the
Japanese imperialists in the past should be
regarded as pro-Japanese elements and traitors
to the nation. However, we must not brand
people at random as such. During the 36 years
our country remained the colony of Japanese
imperialism, some Koreans were employed at
Japanese institutions, but most of them had to
work under the Japanese imperialists in order
to earn a living or because they were forced
to, and adopted a passive attitude. There were
not many who, while working at Japanese
imperialist institutions, assisted them in the
repression and slaughter of our people or
worked consciously and actively to carry out
their colonial policies.
We
must not suspect or leave people in the cold
for no reason; we must work hard to win over
as many of them as possible.
At
present there is a certain difference in the
social and economic position and class
interests of various sections of the masses
who can take part in our anti-imperialist,
anti-feudal democratic revolution, and,
accordingly, in the work of nation-building,
quite a few of them have a different attitude
and approach from those of the working class
and other working masses. Particularly
non-comprador capitalists and some other
circles, because of their class limitations,
are wavering, instead of working
enthusiastically for nation-building. If,
because of this, we shun them and keep them at
a distance, they will go over to the enemy. We
must include in the united front all those who
are not the targets of our revolution, despite
their irresolute attitude and vacillation in
nation-building; we must work in unity with
them, overcoming through struggle the negative
practices that may be apparent among them.
Thus our united front will be a nationwide
organization which will knit together closely
all patriotic and democratic forces.
Next,
it is important to understand clearly the
mission of our united front.
First
of all, our united front should become the one
which opposes imperialism, the country’s
colonization and the policy of aggression and
war.
The
imperialists are engrossed in aggression and
war and in every possible manoeuvre to turn
weak and small nations into colonial slaves.
Without fighting against imperialism,
colonialism, and the policy of aggression and
war, it is impossible to achieve the country’s
complete independence or enable the people to
enjoy a free and happy life. Through their own
experience, our people understand this very
clearly.
In
order to set up an independent and sovereign
democratic state, we must completely smash the
imperialists’ conspiratorial activities to
hamper our people’s cause of nation-building
and colonize our country again.
If we
are to fight imperialist moves successfully,
we must first intensify our struggle against
their lackeys. We must give no freedom to
those who support and defend imperialism,
colonialism, the policy of aggression and war
and to those agents of Japanese imperialism
who have implanted and are going to implant
the Japanese imperialist forces in Korea;
we must resolutely fight against them.
Our
united front must step up the struggle against
the conspiratorial activities of the
imperialists and their lackeys, so as to
contribute actively to the complete
independence of the country.
At
the same time, ours should be the united front
which is thoroughly opposed to the feudal
relations of production and the feudal methods
of exploitation.
In
our countryside today feudal relations of
production are maintained by the landlords.
The feudal system under which a tiny handful
of people harshly oppress and exploit the
overwhelming majority of our people is
intolerable both from the viewpoint of social
development and the nation. Unless the feudal
relations of production and the feudal methods
of exploitation are eliminated, we cannot give
the peasants and other working masses a happy
life, or achieve the advancement of our
society and the prosperity of the nation or
establish an independent and sovereign
democratic state.
Therefore,
our united front should wage a mighty struggle
against the forces of feudalism, to stamp out
the survivals of the feudal system.
However,
the aim of our united front should not be to
set up a capitalist system in Korea,
under the pretext of opposing the feudal
system. The capitalist system is a system for
a mere handful of privileged classes; it is an
anti-popular system that brings lack of rights
and poverty to the toiling masses. At present
certain people are manoeuvring to set up a
bourgeois government and establish a
capitalist system in our country. If a
capitalist system was set up in Korea,
our country could not prosper and develop;
further, it would turn into an imperialist
colony again and our people would be destined
to become a people without a country of their
own as before.
Today
our people demand a true people’s government,
and want to build a rich and strong,
democratic Korea.
The new Korea
must not take the road to capitalism; it must
take the road to progressive democracy. We
must build a democratic society where the
broad masses of the people enjoy true
political rights and democratic freedoms and
lead a happy life. Our united front must
strive to build a democratic state which
conforms with our country’s specific
conditions and the will of the entire people.
This
is precisely what our united front should be.
At
this moment pro-Japanese elements, traitors to
the nation and renegades of the revolution are
trying to deceive the popular masses so as to
bring them into their fold, and are working
hard to form a “united front” entirely
different from the united front we are
advocating. They are doing this in an
endeavour to realize their anti-popular aims
and satisfy their foul political ambitions.
There
are the right and wrong united fronts. The
former is progressive, designed to ensure the
people’s interests and the country’s
prosperity and progress while the latter is
moribund and reactionary, aimed at selling out
the people and obstructing the country’s
advancement. It is self-evident which united
front our popular masses want. The broad
masses will demand the progressive united
front of justice and, in the long run, will be
united around it.
We
should form a solid democratic national united
front, the progressive united front of
justice, and firmly rally all patriotic
democratic forces, thus expediting the
building of a new, democratic Korea.
We
young people should have a correct
understanding of the united front and make
active efforts to form a solid democratic
national united front.