WORKS OF KIM IL SUNG

 

KIM IL SUNG

LET US ACHIEVE THE GREAT UNITY OF OUR NATION

Talk to the Senior Officials of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and

the Members of the North Side’s Headquarters of the Pan-National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification

August 1, 1991

The Pan-National Rally for the Peace and Reunification of the Fatherland was held last year on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of national liberation, and this year the second Pan-National Rally is to be held on August 15, too. I think it is a good thing that the Pan-National Rally and the various joint national festivals for reunifica­tion are held on the memorable occasion of the anniversary of national liberation. We must work hard to make the forthcoming events a success and a major occasion for achieving great national unity and hastening the reunification of the country.

Achieving the reunification of our country means linking the nation’s severed blood vessels, bringing about national harmony and gaining national independence across the country. In other words, it concerns the fate of our fellow-countrymen; it is a matter vital to our nation.

As is well known, our country was divided not because of contra­dictions within our nation; its division was imposed upon it exclu­sively by foreign forces. After the end of the Second World War the Korean question was dealt with to suit the interests of the great pow­ers, contrary to our nation’s desire and will to be independent, and the United States occupied south Korea. As a result, Korea was divided into north and south. It is because of continued interference and obstruction by foreign forces that Korea has not yet achieved her reunification.

In the half a century since our country was divided not a day has passed without our nation’s misfortunes and sufferings weighing on my mind, and without my thinking how the country can be reunified. We must not leave the task of national reunification to the younger generation. We must reunify the country in our lifetime. National reunification is the supreme desire of the Korean people and there is no more pressing task for them than to reunify their country.

The reunification of our country must be achieved independently and in a peaceful way, and this calls on us to achieve the great unity of the whole nation. The realization of the independent and peaceful reunification of the country is inconceivable without great national unity. Great national unity is a fundamental precondition for the achievement of the independent and peaceful reunification of our country, as well as the most essential aspect of it. The first and fore­most task in achieving national reunification is to achieve the great unity of our nation.

Whatever movement we may join, we can emerge victorious only when we strengthen the driving force and increase its role. This is an essential revolutionary truth which has been our philosophy and faith throughout the long revolutionary struggle.

The driving force for national reunification is the entire Korean nation. The reunification of the country is our nation’s cause of inde­pendence, and it can be achieved by the efforts of our nation alone. Every Korean person is responsible for national reunification and must bear his or her responsibility and play his or her allotted role in the struggle to reunify the country. If our nation, as the driving force for national reunification, is to fulfil its responsibility and role, it must be united firmly as one. The strength of the driving force is precisely the strength of its unity. The decisive guarantee for the independent and peaceful reunification of the country lies in the achievement of the unity of the whole nation and in strengthening the driving force for reunification.

All the Korean people must unite closely under the banner of great national unity, in the spirit of patriotism and national indepen­dence.

A nation is a solid community which has been formed and devel­oped historically, and it is a unit of social life. Historically, people have lived with their country and nation as a unit and have shaped their destiny through a combined effort. The question of a nation essentially means the question of achieving and defending its inde­pendence. Independence is the lifeblood of the people as well as of their country and nation. If a man is deprived of his independence, he is as good as dead; likewise, if a nation is deprived of its indepen­dence, its existence and development is inconceivable.

It is only when the independence of a country and a nation is achieved that the independence of individuals can be realized; no one can escape the fate of slavery if his country and nation is enslaved, for the life of an individual as a member of the nation exists in the life of his or her country and nation. It is precisely for this reason that, although a nation consists of different classes and strata, people love their country, value their nation’s independence and fight in unity for the independence of their country and nation. People love their fatherland and value the independence of their nation. These feelings are common to every member of a nation.

Originally, nationalism came about as a progressive idea promot­ing national interests. Under the banner of nationalism, the newly-emergent bourgeoisie took the lead in the nationalist movement, yet nationalism could not be regarded as an ideology of the capitalist class from the outset. During the period of the bourgeois nationalist movement against feudalism the interests of the popular masses were basically identical with those of the newly-emergent bour­geoisie and, accordingly, nationalism reflected the common interests of the nation. Subsequently, as capitalism developed and the bour­geoisie became the reactionary ruling class, nationalism was reduced to the ideological means for the capitalist class to defend its inter­ests. Bourgeois nationalism conflicts with genuine nationalism which truly promotes the interests of the nation. For idlers, who may be called the parasites of the nation, to pose as nationalists is nothing but a deception. Only he who does some work, mental or physical, which is beneficial to the nation, can be a genuine nationalist.

In our country, the land of a homogeneous nation, genuine nationalism means precisely patriotism. Our nation, which has inher­ited the same blood generation after generation and built up a bril­liant national culture with the same language on the same territory, is a nation with a strong spirit of patriotism and independence. Our people have always loved their fatherland ardently and fought strongly to defend the independence of their country and nation. This is a proud tradition of our nation.

My father put forward the idea of Jiwon (aim high—Tr.) and educated me in patriotism and in the spirit of national independence. So I set out on the road of struggle with a resolution to dedicate my whole life to saving the country and nation. My revolutionary activi­ties began with the struggle for national liberation and in the course of the struggle to establish the identity of the nation, the identity of the revolution, I have evolved the Juche idea, the guiding idea of our revolution. I have been fighting all my life for the independence, sovereignty and prosperity of our nation, for the independence of the masses of the people. I am fighting for the independence not only of our people but also of people throughout the world, and for the abo­lition of exploitation and oppression of man by man not only in our country but also throughout the world. Just as it is inconceivable for a person who does not love his parents and brothers to love his coun­try and nation, so it is unthinkable for a person who is indifferent to the destiny of his nation to be loyal to the world revolution. As I always say, only a genuine patriot can be a true internationalist who is loyal to the world revolution. I can say that, in this sense, I am a communist and patriot as well as an internationalist.

At the present stage of historical development, when the destiny of the popular masses is being shaped with the country and nation as the basic unit, the whole nation must firmly establish the identity of the nation and fight in unity for its common interests and prosperity. We must not only achieve national reunification on the basis of great national unity but also, after the country is reunified, build an ideal society by relying on the united efforts of the entire nation so that all the people enjoy equally unbounded happiness on this land.

A nation must regard its independence as its lifeblood, advocate and realize its independence by united effort and achieve its com­mon prosperity. I can say that this is our Juche view on the nation.

We have firmly adhered to the principle of always believing in and relying on the combined strength of the people both in the strug­gle against imperialism and in the struggle for the building of social­ism. We have always given top priority to national interests and relied on the combined strength of the people in the struggle. We can say that this is the secret of the victory we have achieved in the revo­lution and construction.

We emerged victorious from the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle for national liberation because the guerrillas and the people forged ties of kinship and all the anti-Japanese patriotic forces fought in close unity. During the anti-Japanese revolutionary strug­gle we brought together patriotic people from all walks of life into the anti-Japanese national united front and fought Japanese imperial­ism with the united strength of the nation. The Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland, formed in 1936, was an anti-Japanese national united front comprising broad sections of patriotic people who opposed Japanese imperialism and aspired to national indepen­dence. This association united all the anti-Japanese patriotic forces from all walks of life including communists, nationalists, workers, peasants, intellectuals, young people and students, as well as consci­entious national capitalists and religious men. We established the tradition of national unity in the course of waging the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, relying on the broad-based anti-Japanese national united front.

In the struggle to build a new society after national liberation, too, we channelled our efforts firstly into achieving great national unity. In the speech I addressed to the people after national libera­tion, I called upon all the people who loved their country and nation and democracy to unite as one and make a positive contribution to nation-building, those with strength giving their strength, those with knowledge contributing their knowledge and those with money offering their money. We have pushed forward dynamically with the building of a democratic new state and with socialist construction, relying on the combined strength of all the people. Our socialist con­struction aims at enabling all our people to lead happy and worth­while lives in a society free from exploitation and oppression. The socialist society we are building is socialism centred on the popular masses. Socialism centred on the popular masses means a genuine society for the people where all the people are the masters of the country and everything in society serves the popular masses. We need not build socialism which does not serve the popular masses, and we cannot build socialism centred on the popular masses with­out uniting the popular masses.

The aim of the reunification of our nation is to realize the inde­pendence of our nation, to achieve the common development and prosperity of the nation and to ensure that all the Korean people lead happy and worthy lives in one reunified land. It is natural, therefore, that all the people should combine their will and rally as one in the struggle for national reunification, and this is fully possible.

The Joint Conference of the Representatives of Political Parties and Social Organizations of North and South Korea was held in Pyongyang in 1948. We called this conference to discuss the pressing save-the-nation measures and national reunification. The conference was attended by representatives of almost all the political parties and social organizations of south Korea, except Syngman Rhee’s party. Kim Ku, the leader of the “Korean Independence Party”, too, attended the conference. In pre-liberation years when he was in the “Provi­sional Government in Shanghai” Kim Ku had regarded communists as his enemies. But he attended the conference having accepted our just proposal to meet and have a heart-to-heart discussion on impor­tant questions concerning the destiny of the nation as members of the same nation, and he eventually took the road of alliance and coalition with us communists. He had no clear idea of what a gen­uine communist was, but he was a patriot. He made a fine speech at the north-south joint conference and after his return to south Korea he fought for national unity and reunification before being assassi­nated by the Yankees and their stooges. The historic April north-south joint conference served as clear proof that despite differences in ideologies and ideals, political views and religious beliefs all peo­ple can unite in the struggle for the common cause of the nation.

If the whole nation fights in concert, drawing on the traditions and experience of national unity built up in the course of the struggle to realize our nation’s independence, we shall not fail to achieve national reunification, the supreme task of the nation.

The concert and unity of the whole nation means the national reunification we desire. What is most important in national reunifi­cation is not the procedures or methods but the achievement of the genuine harmony and unity of the whole nation. If all Korean people in the north, south and overseas unite their minds and, on this basis, attain great national unity the most important problem in achieving national reunification will have been solved and then other problems can be resolved easily.

In recent years signal progress has been made in our efforts to bring about national unity. Last year, after the August 15 Pan-National Rally, the Pan-National Reunification Concert was held; also the north-south reunification football matches and art festival took place. This year the north and the south formed unified teams and participated jointly in the World Table Tennis Championships and the World Youth Football Championship. This was a result of our people’s desire for reunification that was stronger than ever before and the intensified trend towards national concert and unity. This delighted all the brethren in the north, south and abroad and led them to gain national pride and confidence. If the minds of all our compatriots are united as one, the great unity of the whole nation will be achieved and the country reunified. It is in this sense, I think, that the Rev. Mun Ik Hwan in south Korea said that our nation had been reunified now, that the reunification was in the perfect tense.

It is also for the sake of genuine national concert and reunifica­tion that we have advanced proposals on national reunification through confederation based on one nation, one state, two systems and two governments. Since there exist two different ideologies and systems in the north and south of our country, the confederation for­mula is the only way to achieve national harmony and reunification. In the light of the situation prevailing in our country it is wrong for either side to attempt to attain reunification by conquering the other. An ideology and system should be chosen by the people themselves of their own accord, not through coercion from outsiders. If one side were to try to impose its ideology and system on the other, it would be impossible to realize national reunification; it would rather aggra­vate the confrontation within our nation and cause further national calamity. The ideological and institutional differences within our nation should be gradually overcome not by coercive methods but by strengthening national unity based on the common interests of the nation. The most essential interests of our nation lie in the nation’s reunification free from any foreign domination and interference. In spite of the ideological and institutional differences within our nation we, as a single people, can bring about reunification and work together for the common prosperity of the nation.

Whether they are in the north, south or abroad, whether they are workers, farmers, intellectuals, young people, students, politicians, businessmen, religious men, or soldiers, Koreans must all unite and strive to achieve the reunification of their country, the common cause of the nation. Just as our people did in the days of building a new country, compatriots from all strata in the north, south and abroad must join hands in the cause of national reunification; those who have strength should contribute their strength, those who have knowledge their knowledge and those who have money their money.

The workers, farmers and intellectuals form the major force of the nation. If they cooperate and unite, while maintaining their own characteristics, they can form a mighty, independent driving force of the nation and achieve reunification. Workers and farmers should join hands with intellectuals, while intellectuals should cast in their lot with workers and farmers and thereby fulfil their role as the motive force in the struggle for the country’s reunification. It is unfair to underestimate the role of intellectuals or to adopt a narrow-minded attitude towards them. When founding the Party, we defined intellectuals, along with workers and farmers, as one of its compo­nents. Our Party’s emblem consists of a hammer, a sickle and a writ­ing brush. These symbolize the workers, farmers, and intellectuals who make up our Party. When we began to build a new society immediately after liberation, we did not leave out the intellectuals, arguing that they had served Japanese imperialism. We believed in their patriotism and spirit of national independence and generously brought them to our side. We regarded the intellectuals scattered across the country as the nation’s treasure and searched for them one by one. We positively encouraged them to play an important role in the building of a new country. Our intellectuals trusted and followed our Party and have thrown in their lot with it. They dedicated all their efforts and talents to the building of the new democratic Korea. They also fought courageously in the Fatherland Liberation War against US imperialist aggression, and after the war they worked for socialist revolution and construction.

Today the south Korean intellectuals, too, are fighting well for the reunification of the country. The young people and students of south Korea are ardently patriotic and have a strong spirit of inde­pendence against the US. They are playing a central, leading role in the struggle to make south Korean society independent and demo­cratic and to reunify the nation. The south Korean young people and students who are struggling heroically, dedicating their precious youth without hesitation for independence, democracy and national reunification are the pride of our nation.

In addition to the workers, peasants and intellectuals, there are many people in south Korea from different backgrounds who live in different conditions. We must not neglect them. We must achieve national unity on the principle of welcoming everyone without hesi­tation, who is not a traitor to the nation.

It is very important to have a correct understanding of religions and to work properly with religious believers. People believe in a religion because they take their sufferings and misfortunes in this world as predestined, and they yearn for happiness in the next world. Therefore, we cannot call them bad. What is bad is the anti-popular politics that misleads people about the situation and reactionary rulers who misuse religions, making them an instrument for paralysing the people’s consciousness of independence and ensuring that the people obey their rule. Progressive religious believers wish the people to love one another and live in harmony. The south Kore­an men of religion are opposed to the foreign invaders who keep our nation artificially divided and who suppress the champions of reuni­fication at the point of the bayonet. We must be highly appreciative of the devoted struggle of the south Korean men of religion for national reunification and unite with them.

It is mortifying that in south Korea young people, the sons and daughters of the nation, serve in the “ROK army” under the com­mand of Americans who use it as a tool for their neo-colonialist domination and for the implementation of their policy of keeping our nation divided. We must awaken the officers and men of the “ROK army” to the anti-national and anti-popular nature of the imperialists and their minions so that they stand firmly by their own nation and people and cooperate with their parents and brothers in the struggle for independence, democracy and national reunification.

As I always say, reunification means patriotism and division means treason. Those Koreans who desire national reunification and strive for it are patriots, whereas those who are opposed to reunifica­tion and accept division in league with foreign forces are traitors. By this criterion we must unite with all those who support reunification and advance with them in the same ranks. Even one who may have once been opposed to reunification and have committed crimes against the country and the nation, if he repents of his mistake and takes part in the struggle for patriotism and reunification, must be allowed to start with a clean slate and join hands with us.

There are many people who once led a dishonourable life in the eyes of the nation but have broken with their past and taken the patriotic road of national unity and national reunification. Mr. Choe Tok Sin was one of them. As you all know, he served as a corps commander of the “ROK army” and “foreign minister” in south Korea. While he was pursuing the road of pro-US, anti-communism at important military and political posts, he gradually began to feel disillusioned about the traitorous and anti-reunification acts of the ruling authorities and took refuge in a foreign country with the aim of living an honest life for the nation. While in exile he engaged in patriotic activities for bringing about the independence and democ­racy of south Korean society and reunifying the country. He became clearly aware of which was the patriotic way to follow during many visits to the homeland. He was moved by the fact that our Republic, which is independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant in defence, is displaying the pride and dignity of the Korean nation. He also sym­pathized with our consistent, just policy of embracing and joining hands with all those who love their country and nation, regardless of differences in political views, ideas and religions without asking about their past, and the policy of great national unity. He said he had found a paradise on Earth in the homeland, the land of bliss which he, as a nationalist and Chondoist, had aspired to and sought all his life. With a determination to dedicate the rest of his life to the just cause of the country and the nation, he applied for permanent residence in the homeland. Although he had opposed us in the past, we positively supported his decision and agreed to join hands with him for the sake of great national unity and the reunification of the country since he was resolved to break with the past and make a fresh start for the sake of the country and the nation. After being taken into the embrace of the homeland, he worked with devotion to the last moment of his life as the Chairman of the Central Commit­tee of the Chondoist Chongu Party and the Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland; he did so for the prosperity and development of the country, for great national unity and for the country’s reunification. He passed away, failing to see the day of national reunification to which he had looked forward. But in his last years he joined the ranks of the national reunification movement and marched forward with his fel­low countrymen. As a result, he came to enjoy immortality as a patriotic martyr who is held in affection by the people, and who helped his compatriots at home and abroad to understand the real meaning of national concert and great unity.

For the realization of great national unity compatriots from all social strata in the north, south and abroad must place their common national interests above all else and subordinate everything to national reunification, transcending differences in ideas, social sys­tems and religious beliefs. We must regard this as a fundamental principle in achieving great national unity and firmly adhere to this principle.

Our national community which has been formed and consolidat­ed over a history of five thousand years is greater than transient dif­ferences in social systems, ideals and ideologies which have come about owing to national division; the common national desire to achieve reunification as a homogeneous nation is incomparably more important than the interests of individual social classes and social strata. Although the defence of the ideals and ideologies of individual classes and strata and the realization of their interests are important, it is even more important to realize the common cause of the nation. Classes and strata form part of the nation. Therefore, no class and no stratum can realize its own interests apart from the common national interests. Only when there is a nation can there be classes, and only when national interests are guaranteed can the interests of the classes be ensured.

Today when the independence of our nation is being trampled upon by foreign forces, no class or stratum, if it belongs to the Korean nation, should hamper the achievement of national reunifi­cation, the common cause of our nation, by putting its interests to the fore. There should be no practice of placing class interests ahead of national interests, or of setting the struggle to satisfy class demands against the struggle for national reunification, swayed by minor interests and prejudices. Moreover, for fellow countrymen to reject or repress one another on the strength of government authority because of differences in political views, isms and assertions or for them to be hostile to one another because of differences in ideas and social systems—these are fun­damentally contrary to the principle of great national unity jointly agreed upon between north and south, and such acts are intolera­ble for the nation. Our people will never be able to achieve their reunification if the two sides reject and are hostile towards each other, putting differences to the fore instead of uniting on their common ground as a single nation.

If the great unity of the nation is to be achieved, contacts and vis­its should be widely encouraged among the fellow countrymen in the north, south and abroad and dialogue be promoted actively among them.

If the whole nation is to act in concert and pool its strength for the common purpose, an atmosphere of understanding and confi­dence should be created within the nation. Because our country has been divided and the north and the south have been alienated from each other for a long time, some people misunderstand their fellow countrymen, believing them to be their enemy, and some people hes­itate to go hand in hand with their fellow countrymen because of a lack of confidence, although they wish to see national unity. In order to remove such misunderstanding and distrust within the nation and realize national concert and unity, it is necessary to encourage free visits, contacts and talks.

What is important in realizing free travel and contact and wide-ranging dialogue is to pull down the barrier of division and remove all political and legal obstacles to it. We have already made propos­als for removing the barrier of division, ensuring free travel and opening all doors between north and south and have been making untiring efforts to realize them. The point in question is that the south Korean authorities should pull down the barrier of division and remove all obstacles that hamper free travel, contact and dia­logue among the fellow countrymen in the north, south and abroad. Today the “National Security Law” of south Korea is a major obsta­cle to free travel, contact and dialogue between north and south. In south Korea those who have been to the north or who have discussed reunification in foreign lands with people from the north are pun­ished under the “National Security Law”. The Rev. Mun Ik Hwan, who is over 70, a young girl student Rim Su Gyong and other visi­tors to the north, as well as a large number of those working for reunification, are currently imprisoned under this law. If this wicked law is not repealed, there can be neither free travel and contact nor free dialogue between north and south. That is why the “National Security Law” must be abolished as soon as possible.

In order to achieve great national unity we must strengthen nationwide solidarity in the struggle for national reunification.

Great national unity cannot be achieved only by words. It can be achieved and consolidated in the course of developing joint action by uniting minds and efforts in the struggle to reunify the country. All political parties, organizations and compatriots from all walks of life in the north, south and abroad must support one another and take concerted action in the struggle for the country’s reunification.

The cardinal task here is to check and frustrate the schemes of the forces which are opposed to reunification and working to keep the nation divided for ever and provoke another war. In order to isolate and weaken these forces and defeat their divisive moves, the compatriots in the north, south and abroad must develop an active joint struggle in various forms. The tens of thousands of US troops and more than 1,000 nuclear weapons of various types deployed in south Korea are the root cause of tension on the Korean peninsula and pose the threat of a nuclear war. We must have the US troops and nuclear weapons withdrawn from south Korea as soon as possible and thus remove the danger of a nuclear war that threatens the exis­tence of our nation; thus we shall provide a firm guarantee for peace on the Korean peninsula. All our compatriots in the north, south and abroad must launch a nationwide struggle to compel the US to with­draw its troops and nuclear weapons from south Korea and make the Korean peninsula a nuclear-free, peace zone.

In order to achieve great national unity all the political parties, organizations and compatriots of all strata in the north, south and abroad that are struggling for the reunification of the country must ally themselves with one another organizationally.

It is only when all our compatriots who adhere to the patriotic cause of reunification are organized into an allied force that solid national unity can be achieved and unity of action and unanimity ensured in the struggle for the country’s reunification.

For the organized unity of the whole nation, there must be an organization that can ensure the voluntary association of our compa­triots of all strata in the north, south and abroad. I believe that the Pan-National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification which was inaugurated in accordance with the decision of the Pan-National Rally last year can be such an organization. The Pan-National Alliance for the Country’s Reunification was formed through the joint efforts of the patriotic organizations and public figures of all strata in the north, south and abroad that aspire to the independent and peaceful reunification of the country. It is a patriotic organiza­tion for reunification, whose mission is to reunify the country on the three principles of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity, and which represents the common will of Kore­ans in the north, south and overseas. It has the important duty and responsibility of achieving great national unity and hastening the reunification of the country. It will have to work hard, conducting a variety of activities, to expand and strengthen its ranks steadily among our compatriots and to hasten national reunification.

Many obstacles and difficulties still lie in the way of the reunifi­cation of our country, but we are looking forward with confidence to the bright future of national reunification.

Our nation’s move towards reunification is now stronger than ever before. Our compatriots in the north, south and abroad are working hard with a firm determination to reunify the country with­out fail in the 1990s. Nobody can break our people’s will to reunify their country, and no force can ever check our nation’s strong move towards national reunification. Through the united efforts of the whole nation, our people will overcome the obstacles and difficulties in their way to national reunification and reunify their country, come what may.

Once the country is reunified, our nation will be a dignified and strong nation and our country will emerge on the world stage as an independent and sovereign country with more than seventy million people, a brilliant national culture and a powerful economy. Our nation is industrious and resourceful, and our country is a beautiful land of three thousand ri in which it is good to live. When the whole nation is united as one, and when the country is reunified, there will be nothing for us to fear or envy. Our people will proudly display the resourcefulness and greatness of the Korean nation and nobody will dare to encroach upon our sovereignty. If the whole nation com­bines its efforts and talents and develops the economy and culture after the country’s reunification, our country will be more prosper­ous and civilized, and it will make a more effective contribution to the common cause of the people in Asia and the rest of the world for peace and prosperity.

For the Korean people to devote themselves to national reunifica­tion is most honourable and worthwhile. Those who have contribut­ed to the noble cause of national reunification will be held in love and respect by the nation and will be highly appreciated by the reunified nation.

I believe that you comrades, who are at the forefront of the strug­gle for national reunification, will carry out the honourable duty entrusted to you by the country and the nation.

 

KIM IL SUNG

THE PATH OF THE KOREAN REVOLUTION

  

Report to the Meeting of Leading Personnel of the Young Communist
League and the Anti-Imperialist Youth League Held at Kalun

June 30, 1930

     

     Comrades,

We young communists are now faced with the important task of leading the Korean revolution along the right path to meet the prevailing situation.

The current internal and external situation is very complicated and tense.

Fearing the growing might of the Soviet Union and the ever-increasing revolutionary struggle of the oppressed peoples, the imperialists are frantically manoeuvring to stamp it out. Moreover, finding themselves in the vortex of a worldwide crisis, they are faced with severe political and economic difficulties, and in order to overcome them they are strengthening their aggressive and predatory policy with regard to other countries.

The Japanese imperialists caught up in the worldwide economic crisis at present are trying to find a way out by accelerating war preparations to invade the Asian Continent and, at the same time, by further intensifying the colonial repression and plunder of Korea.

In order to quench the Korean people’s anti-Japanese spirit and crush their desire for independence once and for all, the Japanese imperialists are covering the whole of Korea with military, gendarme, police, intelligence networks, and are enacting various evil laws to arrest, imprison and slaughter Koreans at will. Our fellow countrymen thrown behind prison bars by the Japanese imperialists number tens of thousands.

More than ever before the Japanese imperialist marauders are intensifying economic plunder as well as political repression in Korea.

By seizing Korea’s key industries, the Japanese imperialists are putting a brake on the development of the national industry and are robbing our rich resources including gold, silver, coal and iron ore without restraint. In particular, these aggressors are making desperate efforts to ruthlessly exploit the cheap labour in Korea. As a consequence, the Korean workers are leading a wretched life as wage slaves, as colonial slaves.

The Japanese imperialists are exploiting the countryside even more ruthlessly while maintaining the feudal landownership in Korea. They not only seized vast tracts of land by force, but shipped off as much as seven million sok of rice last year alone, while pursuing a coercive, predatory policy to obtain grain in the name of the “increased rice production plan”. Owing to the cruel expropriation of the Japanese imperialists and feudal landlords, our peasants are barely subsisting on grassroots and tree-bark.

The Korean nation is facing a question of life or death today—it either perishes for ever under the colonial yoke of the Japanese imperialists or rises up in a fight to survive. If it merely laments over its ruined land and tolerates the unheard-of Japanese tyranny, our nation will fall never to rise again, but if the whole nation rises up and fights defying death, it will greet the dawn of liberation.

The Korean people who are at a dead end because of the harsh colonial rule of the Japanese imperialists, are now waging a vigorous mass struggle against them across the country.

Following the general strike of dockers in Wonsan last year, the workers of the Pusan Textile Mill went on strike this year, and there were solid May Day strikes by workers in Seoul, Pyongyang, Taegu, Inchon, Hungnam, Chongjin and all other parts of the country. More recently the workers of the Sinhung Coal Mine came out on strike in force.

Together with the struggle of the workers, the struggle of the peasants is growing in intensity. Last year alone there were scores of tenant disputes and the peasants fought against the Japanese imperialists and pro-Japanese landlords in various places.

The students in Kwangju and youth and students throughout the country are also fighting resolutely against the Japanese imperialists’ policy of colonial slave education, their policy of obliterating national culture and their policy of obscuration and assimilation.

As mentioned above, the mass struggles of workers, peasants and youth and students against the Japanese imperialists and their lackeys take the form of uprisings everywhere. But they meet one setback after another in the face of the brutal armed repression of the Japanese imperialists, due to the lack of leadership based on the correct line and policy.

After the Korean Communist Party was dissolved in 1928, most of the factionalists—the self-styled “leaders” of the Korean revolution—gave up the revolutionary movement and turned philistines for their own comfort. On the other hand, some factionalists prompted by political ambitions and a desire for higher positions drove the people into a reckless uprising only to shed blood in vain. A typical example is the recent May 30 Uprising in east Manchuria. Without correctly analysing and assessing the revolutionary situation, the factionalists forced the peasants to join the reckless uprising. And so the barehanded rebels were brutally mown down by the bayonets of the Japanese imperialist army and police and the reactionary warlords, with the result that the revolutionary forces suffered tremendous losses and the revolution faced overwhelming difficulties. The uprising exposed and destroyed many revolutionary organizations, the revolutionary spirit of the anti-Japanese masses was lowered, and we had to experience bitter trials in our revolutionary struggle. All this was due to the lack of correct leadership in our revolution.

Comrades.

The situation thus created urgently demands that our revolution be led along the road to victory on the basis of a correct revolutionary line, strategy and tactics.

We are young communists who have set out on the road of sacred struggle with a single purpose in mind to save the country and people, so we should solve this pressing demand of the times.

In order to lead the Korean revolution to certain victory, we must learn serious lessons from the stern reality that our people’s mass struggle against the Japanese fails time after time and our revolution undergoes ordeals.

Those who professed themselves to “guide” our people’s anti-Japanese national-liberation movement were divorced from the masses; they gathered together a few high-ranking officials solely to indulge in empty talk and quarrel, instead of mobilizing the masses of people for the revolutionary movement.

It is true that large numbers of people have taken part so far in various anti-Japanese movements. But they were scattered and unorganized.

The masters of the revolutionary struggle are the masses of people, and only when they are organized and mobilized can they win the revolutionary struggle. Therefore, the leaders of the movement must go among the masses and awaken them so that they themselves wage the revolutionary struggle as masters. But the self-styled leaders of the communist movement merely indulged in a war of words harmful to the revolution, and gave no thought to awakening the masses and mobilizing them for the revolutionary struggle. Without organizing the masses for revolutionary struggle, is it possible to achieve the sacred cause of liberating the country from the vicious Japanese imperialist colonial yoke?

The so-called “leaders” of our people’s anti-Japanese national-liberation movement not only failed to mobilize the masses for revolutionary struggle but, being infected with flunkeyism towards great powers, brought serious harm to our revolution.

Since our aim is to carry through none other than the Korean revolution, we should solve all problems arising in the course of that revolution by our own efforts, proceeding from the specific conditions in our country.

But the factionalists who have infiltrated into the ranks of the communist movement are so imbued with flunkeyism that they have solved none of the problems facing our revolution but, rather, put obstacles in its way.

Let us see how the factionalists acted in connection with the problem of party building in our country. This problem concerns the correct fulfilment of the Korean revolution, so Korean communists have to solve it by themselves to suit their actual conditions. We need not get someone else’s approval to our revolutionary movement. Whether anyone approves or not, we will succeed if we conduct our revolution properly. Nevertheless, the M-L group, the Tuesday group, the North Wind Association group and other factions, each insisting that it is the only “orthodox” and genuine “Marxist” group, approached the Comintern for approval, instead of building up the Party. Thus the Korean Communist Party did not set down roots among the masses deeply enough to overcome Japanese imperialist oppression and, in the long run, was expelled from the Comintern.

After the Korean Communist Party was dissolved, the factionalists put up the signboard of “Party reconstruction’” and were engrossed solely in expanding their own factions and in the scramble for leadership. Then each of them without any foundation fabricated the “Party centre” and again tried to get approval from the Comintern. This clearly shows how completely saturated the factionalists were with flunkeyism.

The losses flunkeyism inflicted on our revolution were indeed serious. As already mentioned above, the May 30 Uprising was merely the brain child of the factionalists to satisfy their political ambitions, and from beginning to end took an ultra-”Left” direction under the instigation of the “Left” adventurists. This put up big obstacles in the path of our revolution.

Experience shows that in order to lead the revolution to victory, one must go among the masses of people and organize them, and solve all problems arising in the course of the revolution independently on one’s own responsibility in accord with the actual conditions, instead of relying on others.

Drawing on this lesson we regard it as most important to take the firm standpoint that the masters of the Korean revolution are the Korean people and that the Korean revolution should by all means be carried out by the Korean people themselves in a way suited to the actual conditions of their country.

Only when we adopt this standpoint towards the revolution can we map out a correct line and policy and achieve the sacred cause of national liberation.

In order to guide the Korean revolution correctly, we must know clearly what the character and tasks of the Korean revolution are at present.

How, then, can we define the character of the Korean revolution at the present stage? This question should likewise be solved on the basis of our specific situation.

Korea today is a colonial semi-feudal society occupied by the Japanese imperialists, a society where the normal development of capitalism is retarded and feudal relations are predominant. The Korean people are not only subjected to all sorts of national contempt, exploitation and oppression as Japanese colonial slaves but also suffer untold hardships in the shackles of feudal relations maintained by the power of the Japanese imperialists.

Unless we overthrow the foreign aggressors, the Japanese imperialists, we can neither free our nation from the yoke of colonial slavery nor abolish feudal relations. For this reason our people’s first and foremost task is to fight against the Japanese imperialists. The problem of launching an anti-Japanese struggle was already advanced by us as the immediate task when forming the Down-with-Imperialism Union.

While combatting the Japanese imperialists, we must struggle to abolish feudal relations. Only then can we free the peasants from the chains of feudalism and succeed in undermining the foundation of Japanese imperialist colonial rule.

Our people’s urgent demand is to carry out the tasks of the anti-imperialist revolution and of the anti-feudal revolution, the former being to fight against the Japanese imperialists and the latter against their accomplices, the feudal landlords. These two revolutionary tasks are closely connected with each other. The main task of the Korean revolution, therefore, is to overthrow the Japanese imperialists and win independence for Korea and, at the same time, to liquidate feudal relations and introduce democracy.

In view of the main task of the Korean revolution, its character at the present stage is anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic.

Broad sections of the anti-imperialist forces such as workers, peasants, youth and students, intellectuals, petty bourgeoisie, conscientious non-comprador capitalists and religious communities can participate in this revolution. By mobilizing all the anti-Japanese patriotic forces, we must strike down the Japanese imperialists and their accomplices—landlords, capitalists, pro-Japanese and traitors to the nation—and win national liberation and independence.

After defeating the Japanese imperialists, we must establish a government that will protect the interests of the workers, peasants and other broad masses of people. Only when we set up a people’s government, can we liquidate completely the remnant forces of imperialism and all the other reactionary forces, and successfully carry out the tasks of the anti-feudal democratic revolution.

We must not mark time after carrying out the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution, but press on with the revolution to build a socialist and communist society and, further, carry through world revolution, too. To complete the Korean revolution in a responsible manner is tantamount to being faithful to world revolution and to accelerating it.

In order to guarantee success in the Korean revolution, we must, first of all, organize and wage an armed struggle against the Japanese imperialists.

As the historical experience and lessons of the anti-Japanese struggle show, no one can bring us independence on a tray; we can never vanquish the Japanese imperialists and win national independence by peaceful means.

Moreover, the present situation urgently demands that we wage an organized armed struggle against the Japanese imperialists. Since the Japanese imperialists are intensifying their suppression without precedent and we are dealing with an enemy armed to the teeth, we must gradually build up the violent mass struggle into an organized armed struggle.

In colonies an armed struggle against imperialism is the law of the development of the national-liberation movement. Owing to its intrinsic aggressive and predatory nature, imperialism will never withdraw from the colonies of its own accord, and will always resort to brutal violence to maintain its colonial rule. So the imperialist forces of aggression must be smashed by revolutionary armed forces.

We must overthrow the Japanese imperialist aggressors and achieve national liberation and independence by our own efforts. Therefore, we must rapidly build up our strength by making good preparations for organizing and waging an anti-Japanese armed struggle.

To prepare ourselves well for an armed struggle, we must first organize a Korean Revolutionary Army.

We must form the Korean Revolutionary Army, a revolutionary armed organization, out of young communists educated and trained in revolutionary organizations  including the Young Communist League and the Anti-Imperialist Youth League. We must thus accumulate the necessary all-round experience for armed struggle.

In order to make the Korean revolution a success, we must also arouse and unite all the anti-Japanese patriotic forces and marshal them for the sacred struggle against the Japanese.

In essence, revolution is a struggle to liberate the masses of people, so it cannot triumph without the participation of the broad masses. Moreover, since we intend to defeat the Japanese imperialists and free the whole nation by relying on the efforts of the Koreans themselves, we must unite as one all the forces opposed to the Japanese imperialists.

That is why we must rally under the anti-Japanese banner all the forces with anti-Japanese tendencies, including men of religion and conscientious non-comprador capitalists, to say nothing of the workers and peasants.

Next, in order to guarantee success in the Korean revolution, we must step up the work of founding a party.

For the Korean revolution to be victorious there must be a Marxist-Leninist party, the General Staff of the revolution. Only a revolutionary party can formulate a correct line, strategy and tactics, mobilize the broad masses for a struggle against the Japanese imperialists, and build a socialist and communist society.

We must derive serious lessons from the dissolution of the Korean Communist Party and make an effort to found a party on a sound basis. To do this, we must not try to proclaim the founding of a party right away without any preparation or to gain the approval of the Comintern, as the factionalists did. We cannot by any means build a revolutionary party in the way the factionalists do; even if we formed a party it could not discharge its mission properly nor could it continue to exist in the face of a counter-revolutionary offensive.

We must not fail to found a new revolutionary party for ourselves. We must make ample preparations for the purpose. If thorough preparations are made, the approval of the Comintern is a foregone conclusion.

In going ahead with the formation of a party, we must, for a start, set up basic party organizations. This is of great significance not only in making general preparations for party building more substantial, but in striking deep roots among the broad masses as soon as the party comes into existence. We must form the party not by proclaiming the party center first but by setting up fully prepared basic party organizations and steadily expanding them.

We must closely link preparations for forming a party with the struggle against the Japanese imperialists. Only when we combine preparations for party founding with revolutionary practice, can we rear fine communists tried and tempered in struggle and carry out the Korean revolution successfully.

Comrades,

Whether we lead the Korean revolution to victory along the right path or not depends on how we implement the revolutionary tasks before us.

Since we are having to deal with difficult revolutionary tasks never tackled by anyone before, we must be ready to encounter numerous obstacles and hardships and, whenever they stand in the way, we will have to surmount them for ourselves as the masters of the Korean revolution.

Let us all fight stubbornly to hew the path of the Korean revolution.

 

 FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE SOCIALIST CAUSE

 

Talk to the Veterans of Anti-Japanese Revolution and the Children of Revolutionary Martyrs

March 13, 1992 and January 20 and March 3, 1993

(Abstract from President Kim Il Sung’s work)

I am very glad and full of deep emotions to see you, the old com­rades-in-arms of mine ever since the years of the anti-Japanese revo­lutionary struggle, and the children of the revolutionaries that have already left us.

I am grateful to you for your concern over my health and for your best wishes for my good health and long life.

Ever since I embarked on the road of revolution, I have always lived under the support and loving care of the people and my com­rades in the revolution. I have been able to work for the revolution in good health until today when I am older than 80 years only because my comrades and the people loved me dearly and protected me in every way.

……….

In our country the revolutionary cause is steadfastly being carried forward from one generation to the next.

How the revolutionary cause is carried on from generation to generation is an important matter that affects the destiny of social­ism. The masses’ cause for independence, the socialist cause, is an undertaking that is accomplished through a long period, through many generations. If the leadership of the revolution and construc­tion is not succeeded properly at the time one revolutionary genera­tion is replaced by another, the socialist cause will suffer twists and turns and end in failure. This is clearly illustrated by the situation in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was the first to triumph in the socialist revolution under Lenin’s leadership and the most developed socialist power but failed in the socialist cause because it had failed in the solution of the problem of succession to leadership. Because wrong persons succeeded the leader in the Soviet Union, the Party degenerated into a revisionist party and was unable to adhere to the revolutionary traditions and socialist principles; bureaucratism became rife in Party and state activities, and unity of the Party and the popular masses was not realized. The Party’s degeneration and divorce from the people made it impossible for the Party to give political leadership to the revolution and construction, and for the people, the motive force of socialism, to play their role as they should and defend socialism from the anti-socialist offensive of the imperialists and reactionaries. In consequence, the flag of socialism that had flown for 70 years in the Soviet Union fell into the mire overnight, and the downfall of socialism in the Soviet Union was followed by the collapse of socialism in the Eastern European coun­tries that had been acting under the baton of the Soviet Union.

In our country Comrade Kim Jong Il has been giving wise leader­ship to all the work of the Party, state and army; the problem of ensuring continuity of leadership has thus been brilliantly solved.

In our country now Party work is successful, state work is a successful, military operation are successful and socialist construction is successful, under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Il. Today in our country all the people have become a great family, single-heartedly united around the Party, and they are loyally supporting the Party’s leadership. In the course of many years of struggle under the Party’s leadership, our people have realized deep in their hearts that our Party is the true representative and stalwart champion of the masses and their great guide. Therefore, they entrust their destiny entirely to the Party. The recent conference of the families of martyrs from all parts of the country, the conference of Korean intellectuals and the Eighth Congress of the League of Socialist Working Youth of Korea and other conferences have clearly demonstrated again our people’s ardent and loyal support for the Party and their unshakable determination to defend and accomplish the socialist cause under the leadership of the Party.

We still have a lot of work to do to accomplish the socialist cause, the revolutionary cause of Juche. We must firmly adhere to our Party’s general line and press ahead with the ideological, technological and cultural revolutions to consolidate and develop people-centered socialism in our country and also realize national reunification, the cherished desire of our nation.

We have struggled for socialism all our lives, and it is inconceivable now to discard the best socialism of ours and restore capitalism, a society where “the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer.” The road of socialism is the road of true freedom and happiness for the people, whereas the road of capitalism is the road of exploitation and oppression, misery and suffering for the people. The defense of socialism means victory, whereas giving up socialism means death. Since we pledged to build socialism when we started fighting for the revolution, we must defend socialism through to the end without the slightest vacillation and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche.

In order to defend the people-centered socialism of our country and brilliantly accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche, the entire Party and all the people must unite firmly behind Comrade Kim Jong Il and loyally support his leadership. Loyal support for Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership is the sure guarantee for continuing and accomplishing the socialist cause.

Comrade Kim Jong Il is the genuine leader of the people. He is loyal and dutiful and versed in civil and military affairs. He is a preeminent thinker and theoretician, statesman and military strategist, unfailingly loyal to the country and people and very dutiful to his parents. He is the paragon of loyalty and filial devotion.

The most important mission of the leader of the revolution is to develop the guiding ideology of the revolution and clearly show the road to be followed by the masses’ cause of independence. The people’s cause of independence can overcome the trials of history and advance along the road of victory only when it is guided by the beacon of ideology that correctly reflects the requirements of the times and the people’s aspirations.

Comrade Kim Jong Il has been engaged in ideological and theoretical activities with an unusually strong spirit of inquiry and energy, brightening our Party’s Juche idea as the great guiding ideology of the age of independence.

I put forward the Juche idea, which reflects the requirements of our revolution and the aspirations of the people in the new age of independence, and have led the revolution and construction, guided by this idea, but I have not given much thought to systematizing the principles of the Juche idea. This task has been carried out splendidly by Comrade Kim Jong Il. On the basis of his profound study of the basic principles and essence of the Juche idea, he defined our Party’s guiding ideology as the integral system of the idea, theory and method of Juche. He has also enriched the Juche idea with new principles and content to meet the requirements of our times and the development of the revolution and fully developed it in depth. In addition, he has worked energetically to equip our people with the Juche idea and give wide publicity to this idea abroad. He has thus ensured that the Juche idea is the revolutionary idea of the popular masses themselves in name as well as in fact. In other words, he has cultivated the Juche idea, the seed which I had planted in the soil of our people and developed, into a thriving crop and has gathered a rich harvest, so to speak.

Our Party paper now publishes important documents written by Comrade Kim Jong Il one after another. This alone shows how hard he is working to develop and enrich the Juche idea and equip the people with it. Recently, The Historical Lesson in Building Socialism and the General Line of Our Party and On the Fundamentals of Revolutionary Party Building have been published. These documents have historic significance in that they provide a scientific exposition of the basic cause of the collapse of socialism in several countries and clarify the path of true socialism and the fundamental principles of building revolutionary parties. The documents he has published serve not only as excellent pabulum for the revolutionary education of our Party members and working people but also as the revolutionary banner that encourages the revolutionaries and progressive people throughout the world in their struggle for sovereignty, independence and socialism and lights their road ahead.

Comrade Kim Jong Il gives wise leadership to the revolution and construction with uncommon leadership ability.

The ability to lead the revolution and construction can be said to find expression in the leader’s capacity and skill with which to encourage the masses, the motive force of the revolution, to display their creativity to the highest. The masses have unfathomable strength. Success in revolution and construction depends on how the masses are encouraged to exert their unfathomable strength. If the masses are to make such efforts, they need to be awakened to political consciousness, organized and ideologically motivated. The work of awakening them to political consciousness, organizing them and motivating them ideologically can only be done by the revolutionary party of the working class. This function and activity of the revolutionary party is ensured by the guidance of the leader with outstanding ability and skill.

Comrade Kim Jong Il strengthens the Party and enhances its leadership role as the main link in the whole chain of leading the revolution and construction. He has put forward and implemented the policy of modeling the entire Party on the Juche idea, developed it into an unconquerable force, united on the basis of the Juche idea, into a seasoned leading political organization with strong fighting capacity. He has strengthened the motive force of our revolution as never before by uniting all the people around the Party. While thoroughly establishing the system of giving Party leadership to the revolution and construction on the one hand, he ensures on the other hand that priority is given to ideological education, the transformation of people, in Party activity under the banner of ideology. By so doing he makes sure that all the Party members and working people, firmly equipped with the revolutionary idea of our Party, fulfill their responsibilities and role as masters of the revolution and construction. Today our Party is working hard to protect the people’s interests more effectively and meet their desire for independence to the fullest under the slogan, “We serve the people,” and the people are displaying their revolutionary enthusiasm and creativity in the struggle to carry out the Party’s lines and policies under the slogan, “When the Party is determined, we can do anything!”

Under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Il, our revolution ushered in a new period of upsurge. Since he assumed leadership, a new change has taken place in all areas of political, economic and cultural work as well as in Party work. Important innovations and upsurge have been effected on all fronts of socialist construction.

For example, under his guidance, a great heyday of Juche art and literature was unfolded in the first few years of the 1970s. In this period, amazing progress was made in all areas of cinema and other arts and literature, masterpieces of world standard were created and made public one after another, and in the course of this, writers and artists became the front rankers in the revolutionary transformation of the whole society and its assimilation to the working class. People call this the “revolution in art and literature” or the “Renaissance in the 20th century”. I do not think they are mistaken.

Under the leadership of Comrade Kim Jong Il, our people have been inspired with the pride of being victors and have exalted their honor and dignity in the eyes of the whole world. On their visits to our country leaders of many countries and other foreign guests enviously admire the solid unity of the Party and the popular masses and the vigorous advances of all the people, full of confidence in victory, under the Party’s leadership.

I should say that Comrade Kim Jong Il has rendered distinguished services when he has developed a powerful motive force, welding the Party and the popular masses into a single socio-political organism and effected a great historic change by transforming nature and society on the strength of the motive force. This bespeaks his loyalty to the revolutionary cause of Juche and also proves his preeminent qualities and ability as the leader.

Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership has brought about a new change also in building up the revolutionary armed forces.

As you comrades have seen, the parade held in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army demonstrated the unfailing loyalty of our revolutionary armed forces, particularly the People’s Army, to the Party and the revolution, their high level of organization and discipline and their unconquerable strength. It is entirely the result of his correct leadership that the People’s Army has been strengthened into revolutionary armed forces, each soldier being fully prepared politically, ideologically and militarily and a match for a hundred foes. It has been discharging its honorable mission as the defender of the Party and the revolution, the country and the people. In line with the Juche-orientated policy of building the army, he stepped up the work of the Party’s political and ideological education, established the Juche-orientated military command system by which the entire army moves as one under the Party’s leadership, and made the People’s Army truly the army of the Party, the army of the revolution. In keeping with the requirements for modern warfare and the specific conditions in our country, he has developed the Juche art of war, built a powerful, modern defense industry and steadily increased the combative power of the People’s Army and improved its weapons and equipment. Under his leadership, our People’s Army has become a loyal combat force laying down their lives for the Party and the revolution, and developed into an invincible force equipped with modern means of both attack and defense. The all-people defense system with the People’s Army at the core has been solidly established. Comrade Kim Jong Il has unbreakable will, audacity, outstanding strategic intelligence and the art of military leadership worthy of the supreme commander of the revolutionary armed forces. This is the guarantee for the continuous development of our revolutionary armed forces and their victory in every battle.

Comrade Kim Jong Il has all the best qualities required of the people’s leader.

He is, before all else, unfailingly loyal and devoted to the Party and the revolution, and to the country and the people.

He makes every effort and carries out whatever he thinks is needed for the country and the people. In particular he spares no effort to do things I wish and to solve the problems of my concern so that he can give me pleasure.

This can be illustrated by the fact that Pyongyang, the capital of revolution, has been constructed as one of the most magnificent and beautiful cities in the world. Constructing Pyongyang in such a way that it may be called the face of our country, was my desire and that of our people. On my return from a visit to the Soviet Union and the socialist countries in East Europe in 1984, I told officials that I had seen nothing envious in those countries and that one thing I regretted was that there were few modern streets in Pyongyang with accommodation capable of appropriately hosting major international functions. I said it would be desirable to build such a large street in the direction of Mangyongdae so that Pyongyang might take on a better appearance as the capital of the revolution. Comrade Kim Jong Il, in enthusiastic support of my idea, said that he would take charge of the construction of a new modern street in Pyongyang. He undertook a bold, building operation in a big way and constructed Kwangbok Street and Chongchun Street in a short span of time. Immediately after the pro­ject was completed, he proposed the construction of Thongil Street and carried it out with great effort. As a result, Pyongyang took on a new appearance; the people’s housing problem was also resolved. On the occasion of my 70th birthday, he ensured the construction of the splendid Ice Rink and the Grand People’s Study House in Pyongyang as I had hoped. In addition the Maternity Hospital, the Changgwang Health Complex and many other modern cultural facilities and monumental structures were completed. Whenever I look around magnificent and beautiful Pyongyang, I feel great pleasure.

As you can see. Comrade Kim Jong Il does everything to see that my wishes come true, and that the problems of my concern are resolved. Exactly here his loyalty to the Party and the leader, his devotion to the country and the people, and his filial devotion find concentrated expression.

He has been working day and night, with all devotion and without taking care of himself, in order to carry forward and develop the revolutionary cause of Juche. Concerned over his health, I have advised him to relax now and then, but he continues to overwork, saying that he is impatient over the passage of time while he has so much work to do.

I am now old, but still working in good health thanks to his loyalty and filial devotion. He always pays special attention to my health, rest and relaxation. He takes all the necessary measures to relieve me of inconveniences in my work. Worried over my eyesight growing weak and my fatigue from reading many papers, he has taken steps to get the reports to me typed in large letters and some of the papers and information for me tape-recorded. Thanks to his measures I do not feel tired even though I read a lot of papers requiring my approval.

Comrade Kim Jong Il has the virtue of respecting his seniors in the revolution.

He respects and gives prominence to the veteran revolutionaries, my comrades-in-arms in the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, and takes meticulous care of them in and out of work. He looks after retired veterans, providing them with good clothing and sending them to holiday homes every year to keep them in good health. You comrades, who are present here, say that I need not worry over you because you are living in happiness, being provided with good houses, color television sets and deluxe cars thanks to his consideration. That is a good thing. He sincerely cares for not only the veter­ans of the anti-Japanese revolution but also the aged officials, who have worked with me since the liberation of the country, and looks after them kindly. I am very pleased with this.

His respect for my comrades in the revolution and holding them in public esteem is an expression of his unshakable determination to accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche by carrying forward the revolutionary traditions we established. Revolutionaries must always bear in mind the roots of the revolution and inherit the revolutionary traditions in a pure way. Inheriting them does not mean anything special. Respecting the forerunners that pioneered the revolutionary cause and preserving and brightening their idea and achievements means inheriting and developing the revolutionary traditions. The attitude towards the revolutionary forerunners and the purity of the inheritance of their revolutionary traditions are the touchstone that distinguishes between the true successor to the revolution and a traitor. As for the behavior of the persons that claimed to be leaders of a certain country, they disparaged their revolutionary forerunners and put themselves forward as soon as they came to power. This is an act of traitors. Such an act will cut off the lifeline of the revolution.

Judging from the single fact that Comrade Kim Jong Il respects the revolutionary forerunners and holds them in high public esteem, we can say that he has an excellent virtue as the leader of the people. If he trains many more officials loyal to the Party and the revolutionary cause and educates the younger generation so that all of them maintain the tradition of respecting their revolutionary forerunners, our revolutionary cause will be stoutly carried forward from generation to generation.

Comrade Kim Jong Il takes loving care of the people and his comrades in the revolution.

Once he trusts a person, he holds him dear as his revolutionary comrade and cares for his destiny through to the end on his responsibility. If officials make mistakes in their work, he feels very sorry for them. While criticizing them sternly, he sets store by their loyal­ty, trusts them invariably and leads them to brighten their political integrity all their lives. Therefore, our officials regard Party criticism as an expression of its trust in them and strive to correct their mistakes to remain loyal to the Party as long as they live.

Comrade Kim Jong Il takes care of the workers, farmers, intellectuals and all the other sections of the population in his embrace, puts them forward as the masters of our society and leads them to play their role as masters. He warmly looks after even people with stained family backgrounds or with checkered socio-political records without discrimination and enlists them as legitimate members of our revolutionary ranks if they follow our Party and support socialism at present. He always goes out among the people, shares weal and woe with them and spares nothing for their happiness.

I can say that love for and trust in his revolutionary comrades and the people are the basic characteristics of Comrade Kim Jong Il’s statesmanship. His statecraft of love and trust has produced loyalty and filial devotion among our Party members and other working people, brought about a full flowering of beautiful communist virtues in all parts of the country and changed the whole of society into a large harmonious family, which is united on the collectivist principle, “One for all and all for one!” Our people now call his state management the politics of love, politics of trust or all-embracing politics. This is an expression of their confidence in him and praise of him, one who trusts the people and dedicates himself to the struggle for them.

For his leadership ability and character and for his loyalty, devo­tion and achievements, Comrade Kim Jong Il has earned the people’s respect and love as well as high prestige as their leader.

A person that makes sincere efforts and fights for the people with all devotion will enjoy the people’s support and a high public reputation although he refrains from showing off. Comrade Kim Jong Il does not like being in the limelight in the belief that all that he needs to do is to work with loyalty to the country and his fellow people, but our people respect and support him, calling him “Dear Leader” for a long time. This title carries with it our people’s love and confidence in him.

It is a matter of great pleasure that Comrade Kim Jong Il, as the leader carrying forward the Juche revolutionary cause, is respected, loved and praised by the people. That is why I composed a poem in praise of him, representing the unanimous feelings of the people on the occasion of his 50th birthday.

The 19th Plenary Meeting of the Sixth Central Committee of our Party acclaimed Comrade Kim Jong Il as the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army. This is a high evaluation of his qualifications and his revolutionary achievements as well as the expression of the unshakable will of our Party and the people to accomplish the Juche revolutionary cause under his leadership.

The officers and men of our People’s Army and all the people take great delight in having Comrade Kim Jong Il as the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army and are bidding him an enthusiastic welcome. His acclamation as the Supreme Commander strengthens our People’s Army further and inspires our people with higher spirits. In contrast, the enemies tremble with fear of him.

Because Comrade Kim Jong Il carries forward our revolutionary cause splendidly, everything in our country is going successfully at present and will proceed with success in the future as well. The era of Kim Jong Il is glorious today and will be more prosperous and resplendent in the future. Our revolution has a really great future.

Our people now sing a song to the effect that without Comrade Kim Jong Il there would be no motherland. This is a good song. As the song says, without him both you comrades and the socialist motherland would not exist. His destiny is your destiny and the destiny of the country. The destiny of the leader, the Party and the people is one. You must, therefore, remain unfailingly loyal to him and brilliantly accomplish the socialist cause and the reunification of the country under his leadership.

In order to support his leadership as you should, you must continue to strengthen the single-hearted unity of the Party and the revolutionary ranks.

The single-hearted unity we are speaking of is the single-hearted unity around a single centre, the leader. Only when the popular masses are united rock-solid around the leader as a socio-political organism can they be the independent motive force of the revolution and play their role as such. Our revolution has been able to advance victoriously, overcoming incomparably arduous trials and we are now defending and brightening socialism, changing adverse condi­tions into favorable ones. This has been achieved in the difficult situation in which the imperialists’ offensive against socialism has been unprecedentedly intensified. This is because our revolutionary ranks have become a powerful motive force of the revolution, one which is single-heartedly united behind the leader. All the officials must make active efforts to strengthen the unity of the Party and the revolutionary ranks around Comrade Kim Jong Il by carrying forward the tradition of single-hearted unity of our revolution.

In order to fortify this achievement, all the Party members and working people must support Comrade Kim Jong Il with pure hearts, safeguard him and protect him in every way on the basis of revolutionary faith in him and revolutionary obligation. There should not be the slightest affectation, pretension or self-interest in supporting one’s leader. A person with self-interest may be affected by the general trend and change with the change in the circumstances. One must always support one’s leader with a pure and sincere mind. Our Party members and working people must believe in their leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, follow him and support him invariably with unfailing loyalty whether in peace or in harsh trials.

The system of Comrade Kim Jong Il’s unified leadership of the entire Party and the whole of society, must be strengthened.

The leader’s unified leadership is essential for ensuring the unity of idea and purpose of the revolutionary ranks and their concerted action and for accelerating the revolution and construction in keeping with the aspirations and demands of the popular masses.

The unified leadership of the entire Party and the whole society is realized in the process of carrying out the leader’s lines and policies. All our officials and working people must accept Comrade Kim Jong Il’s lines and policies as absolutely valid and carry them out in whatever difficult conditions and circumstances. A person that strives with all his heart to carry out the Party’s lines and policies and works with all devotion, though speaking little, is a truly loyal person that knows how to support his leader.

We must establish revolutionary discipline by which the entire Party, all the people and the entire army move as one under Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership and prevent the infiltration among us of bourgeois idea, revisionist idea, flunkeyist idea and all other heterogeneous ideological trends that are contrary to our Party’s revolutionary idea, so that everyone in our Party and revolu­tionary ranks breathes the same air as the Party, speaks in accordance with the Party’s intention and walks in step with it.

The veterans of the anti-Japanese revolution must set an example in supporting Comrade Kim Jong Il.

Anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters are the honorable first generation of our revolution, who, together with me, pioneered and developed the revolutionary cause of Juche. You, the veterans of our revolution, must make sure, by your practical example, that the people and the younger generation sincerely support and follow their leader. Anti-Japanese revolutionary veterans must sincerely support and help Comrade Kim Jong Il just as they have been loyal to me until now, and ensure that the socialist cause, the Juche revolutionary cause, is accomplished. Since our revolution continues down through generations, loyalty to the leader must be carried forward down through generations. When loyalty to the leader continues to be loyalty to his successor, it will be genuine loyalty, and the person with such loyalty is a true and loyal revolutionary.

Anti-Japanese revolutionary veterans must educate their sons and daughters to support Comrade Kim Jong Il with loyalty and become stalwart heirs to the revolution.

The younger generation is the heirs to our revolutionary cause. The future of socialism we have built and the destiny of the Juche revolutionary cause depend entirely on how the new generation, the heirs to the revolution, are prepared. As history shows it, the younger generation in some countries has not been educated on revolutionary lines, so that the younger people were deceived by the imperialists and reactionaries, came out in opposition to socialism and followed the road of restoring capitalism. In view of the great importance of the younger generation’s education in the continuation of the revolutionary cause, we have for a long time put great efforts into training the younger people to be reliable heirs to the revolution.

Today the ideological and spiritual state of the young men and women, who have been educated by our Party, is very good. They are intensely loyal to the Party and work with all devotion to resolve the problems of our Party’s concern. Our young men and women volunteer to work in coal-mines, country areas and other fields where work is difficult and toilsome. Some have married honorably disabled soldiers and adopted orphans as their children. These laud­able deeds have become universal in our country. We are greatly proud of these excellent young men and women, and exactly for this reason the future of our revolution is securely guaranteed.

We must not rest content with success in education and training of the younger generation; we must continue to put great efforts into this work. The veteran revolutionaries must teach their children how their parents fought in the past for the freedom and independence of the country and for the people’s happiness; how socialism has been built as we see it today, and implant intense loyalty and an unbreak­able revolutionary spirit in their hearts. In this way you will make sure that not only your children but also your grandchildren and great-grandchildren take over the Juche revolutionary cause, securely defend it and brilliantly develop it.

The children of revolutionary martyrs, who are present here, have pledged to be single-heartedly loyal to dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il just as their parents were faithful to me in the past. That is good.

Your parents were loyal revolutionaries. They devoted everything to the struggle for the victory of our revolution in the past. None of your parents started the revolution in the hope of winning personal honor or an official position. They embarked on the road of revolution solely for the liberation and independence of the country and for the people’s happiness and unhesitatingly laid down their precious lives for that purpose. I can never forget your parents, who died while fighting heroically for the country and the revolution.

You must purely inherit the loyalty and revolutionary spirit of your parents and struggle with all devotion for the victory of the Juche revolutionary cause.

The Party deeply trusts the children of revolutionary martyrs and expects a great deal from them. The Party regards you as the hard core of our revolution and expects you to keep the important posts of the revolution rock-solid. You must always bear in mind the Party’s trust and expectations and become guards and shock brigades in sup­port of Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership.

In order to fulfill your duties, you must firmly prepare yourselves to be Juche-type communist revolutionaries.

As I always say the son does not become a revolutionary automatically simply because his father is a revolutionary. The children of revolutionary martyrs, to be true revolutionaries, must have high ambitions and a strong determination to carry forward the revolution following the example of the revolutionary spirit of their parents and steadily train themselves through revolutionary practice.

Only those who have high ideals and ambition and realize them without fail can become genuine revolutionaries. My father advanced the idea of “Aim High” and educated me to cherish it. I have fought with his words as my maxim and still keep them in my mind. You must bear in mind that the Juche revolutionary cause pioneered and developed by your parents is a great, noble undertaking for the prosperity of the country and the people’s happiness; you should become loyal men and women who share the same destiny with the Party for ever in the struggle to accomplish the cause.

The children of revolutionary martyrs, to be Juche-type commu­nist revolutionaries who are unfailingly loyal to the Party and the revolution, must firmly equip themselves with our Party’s Juche idea.

The Juche idea is the sole guiding ideology of our revolution and the revolutionary outlook on the world that the Juche-type communist revolutionaries must acquire. Only when you are solidly armed with the Juche idea can you have the awareness of being masters of the revolution and confidence in the victory of the revolution and fight for the victory of the Juche revolutionary cause through to the end. You the children of revolutionary martyrs must study the Juche idea harder, make it your unshakable belief and translate it thoroughly into work and life. You must, on no account, be affected with heterogeneous ideas that run counter to the Juche idea and with the decadent way of life. If you are affected with corrupt bourgeois ideas and way of life, you will become ideologically and mentally degenerate. If this happens, you will be unable to work for the revolution. You must reject these evils and think and act only in keeping with the requirements of the Juche idea.

Participating faithfully in organizational life is extremely impor­tant. People can add luster to their valuable socio-political integrity and lead worthwhile lives only through organizational life. The children of revolutionary martyrs must always value their organization, participate faithfully in organizational life so as to train themselves ideologically and prepare themselves into stalwart revolutionaries with a high sense of organization and discipline.

The children of revolutionary martyrs must be free from greed for high positions and refrain from hoping for privileges and special benefits. Greed for high positions and the desire for privileges and special benefits are alien to the qualities of revolutionaries. Since the days of the anti-Japanese armed struggle, I have considered it an iron rule of life to “oppose eating from a small pot”. This means opposing to live in a manner different from the ways of the masses without mixing with them. In the years of the anti-Japanese armed struggle I always shared bed and board with my men. During the Fatherland Liberation War when the people had to live on foxtail millet, I fought, eating foxtail millet. I still live in the way I did in the past. Only then can I feel peace of mind. Whatever you do and wherever you work, you the children of revolutionary martyrs must refrain from hoping for high positions and special treatment and carry out the assignments given by the Party in a responsible manner. You must also love and respect the people at all times and share hardships and pleasure with them.

The children of revolutionary martyrs must not be greedy for material wealth. Such greed is like opium that paralyses people’s revolutionary spirit. If people covet articles and money, they will become ideologically degenerate and end in betraying the revolution. You must work and live in a clean and pure way with a noble revolutionary spirit so that you want nothing more than to work for the revolution, even if you have to eat only frugal meals with soya-bean paste.

Today I have had a pleasant time with you, old comrades-in-arms of mine and the children of revolutionary martyrs.

I strongly believe that you will stoutly fight for the accomplishment of the socialist cause, the Juche revolutionary cause, in loyal support of Comrade Kim Jong Il’s leadership.