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ON THE QUESTION OF THE NATIONAL UNITED FRONT


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.