New Year Address
Kim Jong Un
Dear comrades,
Dear service personnel of the Korean People's Army, all the people and other compatriots,
Having seen out 2013, a year in which we
left a remarkable footprint on the road of the sacred march of the Juche
revolution, we are seeing in the new year 2014 filled with confidence
in the future and revolutionary self-respect.
Reflecting the boundless yearning and
high respect of all the service personnel and people for the great
President Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il, I would like first to pay
the highest tribute and New Year greetings to them.
I extend tribute also to the martyrs who
dedicated their precious lives to national defence and socialist
construction last year and New Year greetings to all the service
personnel and people who are opening a new era of the country's
prosperity following the leadership of our Party.
And greeting the new year I wish that the families across the country would overflow with greater happiness and joy.
My New Year greetings go also to my
compatriots in the south, who are fighting for independence, democracy
and national reunification, to my compatriots abroad, who are devoting
their all to the prosperity of their motherland, and to the progressive
peoples of the world and other foreign friends, who love justice and
peace.
Last year was a proud year in which the
entire Party, the whole army and all the people waged an all-out
offensive in support of the Party's new line of developing the two
fronts simultaneously and thus achieved brilliant successes in building a
thriving socialist country and defending socialism.
Last year our service personnel and
people, firmly rallied behind the Party, exalted the brilliance of the
ideas and cause of the President and the General and strengthened the
political and ideological might of our revolutionary ranks all the more.
Through the political events held in
celebration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK and the
60th anniversary of victory in the Fatherland Liberation War and in the
whole course of last year's struggle, they demonstrated their firm faith
and will in holding the President and the General in high esteem and
carrying forward their imperishable exploits to posterity.
Our Party's policies of respecting the
people and loving them and the people's hearty loyalty of trusting and
following the Party as they would do their mothers have become
integrated, and thus the blood-sealed ties between them have reached a
new, higher stage.
In the seething period of the effort for
building a thriving country last year we took the resolute measure of
removing the factionalists lurking in the Party. As our Party detected
and purged the anti-Party, counterrevolutionary factionalists at an
opportune time and with a correct decision, the Party and revolutionary
ranks were further consolidated and our single-hearted unity was
solidified to the maximum. Through this struggle our Party affirmed that
as a party that serves the people, it will fully discharge the
honourable mission it has assumed for the times and history and devote
its all to the good of the people by enhancing its militant functions
and role.
Last year we consolidated our
capabilities for self-defence and achieved a brilliant victory in the
acute showdown with the imperialists.
The scientists, technicians and workers
in the sector of defence industry, by going beyond the cutting edge of
military science with steadfast faith and mettle, demonstrated the
strength of Songun Korea and rendered great services to consolidating
the national defence capabilities. The officers and men of the Korean
People's Army and the Korean People's Internal Security Forces,
cherishing the spirit of defending their leader and motherland unto
death, defended their Party and leader, country and people at the risk
of their lives and smashed the reckless moves of the enemy for igniting a
nuclear war and their rackets of confrontation with the DPRK at every
step, thus highly exalting the dignity and might of their country.
Though the circumstances were harsh and
complicated last year, our service personnel and people, by pooling
their efforts, achieved great successes in the struggle to build their
country into an economic giant and improve the people's standard of
living.
An upsurge was brought about in
production in several sectors and units of the national economy, and the
foundations of the self-supporting economy were further consolidated.
The officials and working people in the agricultural sector in
particular made innovations in production even under difficult
conditions and unfavourable natural climate and thus contributed to
improving the people's standard of living.
The service personnel and other builders
set up numerous monumental structures for the prosperity of their
country and well-being of their fellow people and ushered in a heyday of
construction.
Having turned out in response to the
Party's appeal to create the "Masikryong speed," they carried out many
construction projects, like the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War
Museum, Unha Scientists Street, Munsu Water Park and Masikryong Ski
Resort, in a short period as befitting the creations of the era of the
Workers' Party by displaying burning patriotic enthusiasm and working
with devotion. In this way, they showed their country's proud
appearance, which is changing with each passing day, and ensured that
the people's laughter of happiness could ring out louder. Those who
turned out for the reclamation of the Sepho Plateau and other
large-scale construction projects tamed Nature, overcoming difficulties,
thereby opening a breakthrough in realizing the Party's far-reaching
plan at an early date.
Also, the sector of culture, including sports and education, made fresh strides last year.
True to the Party's intention of building
our country into a sports power, a strong wind of conducting sports
swept the country, and our trustworthy sportspeople won gold medals in
international competitions and thus highly exalted the honour of their
motherland. Preparations for enforcing a universal 12-year compulsory
education were successfully promoted, many achievements made in the
sector of science and technology, and up-to-date medical facilities
introduced for the improvement of medical services for the people. The
sector of musical art created many famous works of our times, inspiring
loyalty in all the service personnel and people and encouraging them to
wage a dynamic struggle and perform great feats.
The shining victories and successes we
achieved last year can be ascribed to the fact that the entire Party,
the whole army and all the people, in support of the revolutionary and
people-oriented lines and policies of our Party and its wise leadership,
waged a heroic struggle with an indomitable faith and will to build a
thriving socialist country without fail.
Through last year's struggle we clearly
demonstrated that our ideology, our strength and our way are the best
and no force can check our sacred cause advancing to accomplish a
far-reaching ideal and goal.
I extend heartfelt thanks to all the
service personnel and people, who adorned the meaningful year 2013 with
eye-opening successes by displaying boundless loyalty to the Party, warm
affection for their country and unparalleled self-sacrificing spirit.
Comrades,
The new year 2014 will be a year of
grandiose struggle, a year of sea changes, in which we will raise a
fierce wind of making a fresh leap forward on all fronts of building a
thriving socialist country and thus usher in a golden age of Songun
Korea.
Our struggle of this year is a worthwhile
struggle to translate the people's beautiful ideals and dreams into
reality at an early date and a victors' march leading to the venue of
grand festival for celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of
the glorious Workers' Party of Korea.
In this hope-filled year we should usher
in a great heyday in the revolution and construction by quickening the
heroic march with enthusiasm and confidence in victory.
"Let us raise a fierce wind of making a
fresh leap forward on all fronts of building a thriving country filled
with confidence in victory!" -- this is the militant slogan our Party
and people should uphold this year.
This year we should ensure that the
sectors of agriculture, construction and science and technology hold the
torch of innovations in the van and the flames of the torch flare up as
flames of a leap forward on all the fronts of socialist construction.
This year is a meaningful one that marks
the 50th anniversary of the theses on socialist rural question made
public by President Kim Il Sung.
We should clearly prove the validity and
vitality of the theses by waging the ideological, technological and
cultural revolutions dynamically in the rural areas and bringing about a
decisive turn in agricultural production. This year we should keep up
agriculture as a major thrust of our effort in the struggle for economic
construction and improving the people's standard of living, and
concentrate all our efforts on farming. The agricultural sector should
proactively introduce scientific farming methods and do farm work in a
responsible manner so as to hit without fail the target of agricultural
production set by the Party. It should improve animal husbandry and do
greenhouse vegetable and mushroom farming on an extensive scale so as to
ensure that larger quantities of meat, vegetables and mushrooms are
supplied to the people.
We should usher in a new heyday of construction this year.
Construction is an important front for
solidifying the foundations of a thriving country and creating bases for
the people's happy life. The construction sector should set up
world-class structures representative of the Songun era and build many
other structures that could contribute to improving the people's living
conditions, thus laying firm foundations of the self-supporting economy
and providing the people with conditions for a more affluent and
civilized life. Construction of power stations in tiers on the Chongchon
River, livestock farming bases in the Sepho area, the Kosan Fruit Farm
and a waterway in South Hwanghae Province and reclamation of tidal flats
and other major projects should be stepped up to be completed on
schedule. It is important to push ahead with the construction of
dwelling houses and dormitories and construction for improving the
conditions and environment for education, and set up cultural and
welfare service bases on the highest standard. This year, too, the
service personnel and people should make concerted efforts to build up
Pyongyang so that it is more grandiose, and lay out the provinces,
cities and counties so that they sustain their respective local
features.
Science and technology are a propellant
for building a thriving country, and the happiness of the people and the
future of the country hinge on their development.
The scientific research sector should
open a shortcut to the building of a knowledge-based economy by solving
the long-term problems in developing the country's economy and improving
the people's standard of living as well as scientific and technological
problems arising in the actual situation and by going beyond the
cutting edge. All scientists and technicians should achieve high results
by skilfully riding the excellent "steed" provided to them by the Party
and giving fullest scope to their talents and enthusiasm. By doing so,
they can become true patriots who contribute to building a thriving
nation. A climate of attaching importance to science and technology
should prevail across society, and all officials and working people
should diligently learn modern science and technology upholding the
slogan of making all the people well versed in science and technology.
We should raise fierce flames of
innovations in the vanguard sectors, basic industrial sectors, and all
other sectors of the national economy.
The metallurgical and chemical industries
are twin buttresses of an economic giant. Developing these industries
is a major guarantee for economic construction and improving the
people's standard of living. These industrial sectors should hold high
the slogan of making them Juche-oriented and modern and launch a
vigorous campaign for boosting production by relying on our own raw
materials and fuels and on the latest science and technology. In this
way they should supply sufficient amounts of steel and various kinds of
chemical goods that are needed to reenergize the national economy as a
whole and improve the people's standard of living.
We should give definite priority to
electric-power and coal-mining industries. While taking measures for
generating electricity to the maximum at the existing power stations, we
should draw up correct prospective plans for radically easing the
strain on electricity supply and exert ourselves to carry them out. It
is important to produce more electricity with priority given to
hydraulic resources and by using wind, geothermal, solar and other kinds
of natural energy. We should proactively increase production in coal
mines and drastically solve the problem of rail and other types of
transport. The electric-power and coal-mining industries and the rail
transport sector should make coordinated innovations and thus give
strong impetus to the development of the national economy.
We should direct great efforts to
developing light industry which plays a major part in improving the
people's standard of living. By stepping up modernization of and
introduction of CNC technology into their production lines and
increasing the proportion of locally-available raw and other materials,
light-industry factories should put production on a normal footing. And
all cities and counties should produce various kinds of quality consumer
goods in larger amounts by developing local industry in conformity with
their specific conditions.
The state should take measures to bolster
up the fishing sector. The sector should follow the example of the
fishing sector of the People's Army that landed a huge haul of fishes by
carrying out the order of the Supreme Commander unto death. By
modernizing fishing vessels and implements and launching a dynamic
fishing campaign by scientific methods, it should ensure that all ports
resound with whistles of vessels returning with full loads. It should
also conduct shallow-sea farming on an extensive scale.
We should protect and increase the
country's priceless natural resources including underground, forest and
marine resources, and conduct an energetic mass-based tree-planting
drive to cover all the mountains with thick forests.
All the sectors of the national economy
should increase production by tapping all potentials and latent
reserves, and at the same time launch a brisk economization campaign.
Economizing is precisely production and a manifestation of patriotism.
We should intensify the economization campaign throughout society so as
to make economical use of every watt of electricity, every gramme of
coal and every drop of water. All the people should establish a habit of
meticulously managing the country's economy with a high sense of
patriotism and attitude as befitting masters.
We should decisively improve the guidance
and management of the economy. We should tighten the unified guidance
of the economy by the state under the leadership of the Party, enhance
the sense of responsibility and creativity of enterprises and encourage
all the working people to discharge their responsibility and role as
masters of production and management.
We should make a big stride in the construction of culture, including education.
The sector of education should improve
the contents, methods, conditions and environment of education as
required by the revolution and developing times and bring about a fresh
turn in education, including secondary general education. By putting
efforts to medical treatment and preventive medicine for promoting the
people's health, the public health sector should ensure that the
benefits of socialist healthcare system reach the people more closely.
Art and literature are a bugler, a
powerful propellant, for the revolutionary advance in building a
thriving country. The sector of art and literature should produce large
numbers of masterpieces of the times, which are high in ideological and
artistic qualities and touch the heartstrings of the audience keeping
step with the advance of our revolution and vibrant realities.
We should raise more fiercely the strong
wind of conducting sports throughout the country. We should encourage
sportspeople to intensify training with a high ambition to become world
champions, and splendidly implement the Party's plan of building our
country into a sports power by developing sports science and technology
and implementing the policy of making sports mass-based.
We should continue to channel great efforts into building up the country's defence capabilities.
Strengthening defence capabilities is the
most important of all state affairs, and the country's dignity,
people's happiness and peace rest on powerful arms.
We should further develop the People's
Army into the powerful revolutionary army of Paektusan that is
unfailingly faithful to the Party, the leader, the country and the
people. The main link in the whole chain of developing the People's Army
is strengthening the company which is the basic combat unit of the army
and base of soldiers' life. We should make all the companies elite
combat ranks fully prepared politically and ideologically, militarily
and technologically and their dear homes overflowing with brotherly
affection. By stepping up political and ideological education among
service personnel, we should train them to be strong in ideology and
faith and ready to defend the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and the Party
Central Committee unto death. They should intensify combat training and
launch a brisk movement for becoming crackshots so as to prepare
themselves to be a-match-for-a-hundred combatants with excellent
marksmanship, strong physique and a high sense of discipline.
The Korean People's Internal Security
Forces should creditably discharge its noble mission and duty of
defending the leader, system and people by thoroughly establishing the
Party's command system and revolutionary military climate in it, and the
Worker-Peasant Red Guards should intensify combat training and remain
fully ready for action at all times.
The sector of defence industry should
manufacture larger numbers of modern military hardware of our own style
that are light, unmanned, intelligent and of high precision to solidify
the self-defence capabilities.
We should further consolidate the political and ideological position of our revolution.
The political and ideological position is
a fortress that decides the victory and failure in the battle of
defending socialism, and consolidating the revolutionary ranks
politically and ideologically is the most important task facing us.
In this significant year, in which we
greet the 40th anniversary of the programme of modelling the whole
society on Kimilsungism advanced by the great General, we should
solidify the Party organizationally and ideologically, train all the
members of society to be equipped with Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and
cement the single-hearted unity of the revolutionary ranks.
It is imperative to establish the
monolithic leadership system in the Party, definitely ensure the purity
of Party ranks and improve the militant functions and role of Party
organizations. We should intensify ideological education among
officials, Party members and other working people to ensure that they
think and act at all times and in all places in line with the Party's
ideas and intentions with the steadfast faith that they know only the
great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and our Party. We should
ensure that they approach with political awareness even the slightest
phenomenon and element that infringe on the unity of the Party and
revolutionary ranks and undermine their single-hearted unity, and
eliminate them in a thoroughgoing way. They should wage a vigorous
struggle to stamp out any sort of alien ideology and decadent lifestyle
which may undermine our system and thus resolutely smash the enemy's
schemes for ideological and cultural infiltration.
In order to make the flames of a leap
forward flare up on all fronts of building a thriving socialist country,
it is crucial to give fullest play to the mental strength of the
masses.
The greatest potential for creation and
innovation, the fundamental key to miraculous change, lies in giving
play to the mental strength of all the service personnel and people. A
sweeping ideological campaign for information and motivational purposes
should be undertaken to give free rein to the mental strength of Party
members and other working people. All of them should make Kim Jong Il's
patriotism part of their mental qualities and apply it in practice, and
thus become performers of heroic feats in the worthwhile struggle to
build theirs into a socialist country, powerful and civilized.
It is necessary to establish stringent
revolutionary discipline and order in all domains of the revolutionary
struggle and construction work.
This is an important factor in
demonstrating the advantages of collectivism of our society and making a
success of all undertakings. All sectors and all units should carry out
to the letter the policies of the Party and the laws, decisions and
directives of the state, and encourage the officials and working people
alike to observe laws, regulations and order with full awareness of
being masters of our society and citizens of the DPRK.
Officials should make redoubled efforts
to fulfil their duty as leading members of the revolution and faithful
servants of the people.
They should organize undertakings in a
big way with absolute loyalty to the Party, a high sense of
responsibility for their work and fervent zeal, and strive with
unflinching perseverance to implement the Party's plans and intentions
without fail.
They should regard the people's demands
and interests as the absolute criteria for their performance, concern
themselves only about doing things as wished by them and to their
liking, and do anything in a way beneficial to them. They should be
deeply sincere to people's demands and opinions, and live and work as
their true servants who devote themselves for their interests at all
times.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of
the date when President Kim Il Sung wrote his last signature on a
historic document concerning the country's reunification.
True to the behests of President Kim Il
Sung and General Kim Jong Il, we should make fresh headway in the
national reunification movement for this year.
To resolve the reunification issue in
keeping with the aspirations and desires of our fellow countrymen, we
should reject foreign forces and hold fast to the standpoint of By Our
Nation Itself.
The driving force for national
reunification is all the members of the Korean nation in the north, in
the south and abroad; only when we remain steadfast in this standpoint
can we reunify the country independently in line with our nation's
interests and demands. To go on a tour around foreign countries touting
for "international cooperation" in resolving the inter-Korean relations
issue, the one related with our nation, is a humiliating treachery of
leaving its destiny in the hands of outside forces. The north and the
south should uphold the principle of independence which is one of the
three principles for national reunification and has been confirmed in
the north-south joint declarations, hold fast to the standpoint of By
Our Nation Itself, and respect and implement the declarations with
sincerity.
We should make positive efforts to defend national security and peace.
The US and south Korean war maniacs have
deployed legions of equipment for a nuclear war in and around the Korean
peninsula and are going frantic in their military exercises for a
nuclear war against the north; this precipitates a critical situation
where any accidental military skirmish may lead to an all-out war.
Should another war break out on this land, it will result in a deadly
nuclear catastrophe and the United States will never be safe. All the
Korean people must not tolerate the manoeuvres for war and confrontation
by the bellicose forces at home and abroad but stoutly resist and
frustrate them.
A favourable climate should be established for improved relations between the north and the south.
It is heartrending to see our nation
partitioned by foreign forces, and it is more intolerable to see one
side slinging mud at and showing hostility to the other. This will serve
merely as an occasion for the forces who are undesirous of seeing one
Korea to fish in troubled waters. It is high time to put an end to such
slander and calumny that bring no good to both sides, and they should
desist from doing anything detrimental to national unity and
reconciliation. The south Korean authorities should discontinue the
reckless confrontation with their compatriots and the racket against the
"followers of the north," and choose to promote inter-Korean relations
in response to the call of the nation for independence, democracy and
national reunification. We will join hands with anyone who opts to give
priority to the nation and wishes for its reunification, regardless of
his or her past, and continue to strive for better inter-Korean
relations.
All the Korean people in the north, in
the south and abroad should achieve solid unity under the truly
patriotic banner, the principle of By Our Nation Itself, and turn out in
the nationwide struggle for the reunification of the country. By doing
so, they should open up a new phase for independent reunification, peace
and prosperity this year.
Last year, in the international arena,
the imperialists persisted in interference and war moves threatening the
independence of other sovereign states and the right of mankind to
existence.
Especially the Korean peninsula, the
hottest spot in the world, was in a hair-trigger situation due to the
hostile forces' manoeuvres for a nuclear war against the DPRK, which
posed a serious threat to peace and security in the region and the rest
of the world.
Nothing is more precious for our people
than peace, but it is not something that can be achieved if we simply
crave and beg for it. We can never just sit back with folded arms and
see the dark clouds of a nuclear war against us hovering over the Korean
peninsula. We will defend our country's sovereignty, peace and dignity
by relying on our powerful self-defensive strength.
Holding fast to the ideals of our foreign
policy -- independence, peace and friendship -- our Party and the
government of the DPRK will, in the future, too, strive to expand and
develop relations of friendship and cooperation with all the countries
that respect our sovereignty and are friendly to us, and safeguard
global peace and security and promote common prosperity of mankind.
The tasks facing us are gigantic and
difficulties stand in our way. However, our revolutionary cause is sure
to emerge victorious as we advance under the great banner of
Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.
Let all of us strive for greater victory
in the new year filled with high ambition and unwavering confidence and
firmly united behind the Party with a single heart.