ON OUR PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR SOCIALIST CONSTRUCTION AND NATIONAL REUNIFICATION

KIM IL SUNG

ON OUR PEOPLE’S STRUGGLE FOR SOCIALIST CONSTRUCTION

AND NATIONAL REUNIFICATION

Talk to a Delegation from the Communist Party of the United States of America

June 24, 1988

On behalf of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea I should like to warmly welcome the delegation from the Communist Party of the United States of America, headed by Comrade General Secretary, to our country.

I am grateful to you. Comrade General Secretary, for your detailed introduction of the political situation in the United States and of the activities of the US Communist Party as well as for your admirable speech in strong support of the struggle of our Party and our people for socialist construction and national reunification.

Our Party and people are now implementing two tasks: firstly, the complete victory of socialism through accelerating the building of socialism in the northern half of Korea and, secondly, the inde­pendent, peaceful reunification of our country as soon as possible through joint efforts with the south Korean people, who are fighting for independence, democracy and national reunification.

In accordance with the policy advanced by the Sixth Party Congress, we are now waging an energetic struggle to achieve the complete victory of socialism.

The Sixth Congress of our Party defined imbuing the whole of society with the Juche idea to be the general task of our revolution and set the attainment of the complete victory of socialism as the immediate fighting task in modelling the whole society on the Juche idea.

In order to build a communist society by transforming the whole of society in accordance with the Juche idea, we must capture two fortresses, in other words, the ideological fortress and the material fortress. We cannot build a communist society if we take only the material fortress. We must conquer the ideological fortress as well as the material fortress, and we must give priority to efforts to occupy the ideological fortress. Unless we remould all people along commu­nist lines, we cannot seize the material fortress of communism either. However, this does not justify neglecting the work to take the material fortress. If people experience inconvenience in their daily life because of a shortage of goods owing to unsatisfactory work to scale the material fortress, they may not support socialist and com­munist society with all their heart, no matter how fully they are pre­pared ideologically.

The basic means of achieving the complete victory of socialism and building a communist society is to vigorously promote the three revolutions—ideological, technical and cultural. This is essential for succeeding in capturing both the ideological and material fortresses of communism. Our Party has defined the three revolutions as the basic content of the revolution that must be carried out in a socialist society, as the task of the uninterrupted revolution that must be car­ried out until communism is built, and is directing great efforts into effecting these revolutions.

Above all else, our Party is giving strong impetus to the ideologi­cal revolution.

The ideological revolution aims to turn all members of the soci­ety into communist-type people through reeducation. In other words, it works to revolutionize them and assimilate them into the working class.

To achieve the complete victory of socialism, it is extremely important to intensify educational work to remould people into revo­lutionary and working-class patterns. Only when ideological educa­tion is increased among people, will it be possible to establish in the whole of society the communist tone of working and living—one for all and all for one. If a working-class party neglects ideological edu­cation after it has carried out socialist revolution and established a socialist system, obsolete ideas lingering in the minds of people will grow. In the end, people will become degenerate ideologically and inclined to lead an easy life, disliking work. If this happens, opium addicts and drunken brawlers may appear, and, in consequence, it will be impossible to build a socialist and communist society suc­cessfully.

The revolutionary education of people must be further intensified as the revolution advances and life becomes prosperous. When peo­ple are in need, their enthusiasm to make revolution is high and they work in good faith. However, when they have no worries about food, clothing or housing, they will become contented, their revolu­tionary zeal may gradually cool and they may show no enthusiasm for their work.

Under the Japanese imperialist colonial rule in the past our peo­ple lived in extreme poverty. At that time they were slaves, exploited and oppressed not only by the Japanese imperialists, but also by the landlords and capitalists. However, at present our people all lead a good life. It cannot be said as yet that they enjoy a rich material life, but they are leading a happy life, with no worries about food, cloth­ing and housing. In our country everyone is entitled to be supplied with provisions by the state from the moment he or she is . Our industrial and office workers are supplied with provisions by the state at nominal prices. The state buys rice from the peasants for 60 jon per kilogramme and supplies it to industrial and office workers for 8 jon. In fact, the money the state charges industrial and office workers for provisions hardly covers transport costs. In our country the people are provided with housing free of charge. The state builds housing not only for industrial and office workers, but also for coop erative farmers. All our people enjoy the benefits of free medical care. If anyone falls ill, he or she can undergo medical examination and get medicine gratis at a hospital. If necessary, one may receive hospital treatment. Universal eleven-year free and compulsory edu­cation is in effect in our country. In order to ensure that pupils and students have no difficulties in their studies, the state supplies school uniforms free of charge and sells school requisites at considerably cheaper prices than other goods. The state even provides scholar­ships to university and college students. Therefore, if we are to ensure that our people enjoy more prosperous and cultured lives, we must step up ideological education, so that they will work with great enthusiasm, displaying creativity and highly conscious of being mas­ters of the revolution.

The most important thing in carrying out ideological revolution is to induce the members of society to strengthen their life in a revolu­tionary organization. In our country all members of society belong to a political organization and receive ideological training through their life in the organization. Schoolchildren lead their life in the Children’s Union, young people in the League of Socialist Working Youth, and Party members in the Party organization. Furthermore, workers lead their life in the trade unions, cooperative farmers in the Union of Agri­cultural Working People, and women in the Women’s Union.

In our country the entire Party, the whole nation and all the army study. Everyone raises his or her political and ideological level by belonging to a study and lecture network, according to his or her intellectual level and to the characteristics of his or her profession. In our country people study regularly, cadres in the study group for cadres and Party members and other working people in the study group for Party members and other working people. All people attend public lectures twice a month. In our country even the mem­bers of the Children’s Union, to say nothing of the cadres. Party members and other working people, arm themselves with the ideas and policies of our Party and receive communist education regularly.

We have achieved great success in revolutionizing people and assimilating them into the working class by pressing ahead with the ideological revolution, giving definite priority to it over all other work. Today the ideological and mental state of our people is very good.

We are also vigorously promoting the technical and cultural revo­lutions.

Our technical revolution aims at freeing the working people from difficult and arduous labour. We intend to free our working people, who have been emancipated from the exploitation and oppression of the imperialists, landlords and capitalists, even from difficult and backbreaking work.

In order to free the working people from difficult and arduous labour, in all sectors of the national economy outdated techniques must be replaced by new techniques, and mechanization, semiautomation, automation and robots must be introduced into work. In this sense the technical revolution is essentially a mechanical revolu­tion. In the United States, a developed capitalist country, it will not be so difficult to lay the material foundation commensurate with a socialist society once the capitalists are overthrown and the people seize power. However, it is not at all easy for our country, which has taken over a backward colonial economy, to introduce mechaniza­tion, semiautomation, automation and robots into all production pro­cesses. To attain this in our country, we still have to do a lot of work, and this will require considerable time.

We are channelling great efforts into stepping up the rural techni­cal revolution.

The basic task we have set forth for the rural technical revolution is to attain irrigation, electrification, mechanization and the use of chemicals in agriculture. Only when this is achieved, can agricultur­al production be increased and peasants freed from difficult work, working eight hours a day like workers. We have already accom­plished the tasks of irrigation and electrification of agriculture. We are now working to complete comprehensive mechanization and the use of chemicals.

We are developing the socialist rural economy strictly in our own way. It is said that some socialist countries are effecting a system of individual responsibility for production or a household piecework system in rural areas. However, we are not doing so. We are steadily consolidating and developing a socialist cooperative economy in accordance with the policy set forth in Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country. I published these theses a long time ago. They clearly expound the principles and ways to develop agriculture in a socialist society. Our country, which is thoroughly implement­ing the socialist rural theses, raises good crops every year. We are not yet able to sell grain to other countries, but we have attained self-sufficiency in food. It is not easy to attain self-sufficiency in food for our country that has a small crop area in comparison with its population. Our real life clearly shows the validity and vitality of the Theses on the Socialist Rural Question in Our Country. Some socialist countries are said to be introducing reform and restructur­ing, but our country is not doing so. In the course of building social­ism we have already reformed and restructured what was wrong. Therefore there is nothing more to be reformed and restructured.

We intend to turn cooperative ownership into all-people owner­ship and develop the cooperative farms into large socialist farms in future. Our country has been managing large socialist farms on a trial basis for a long time. We have provided sufficient modern farm machines to a state farm that has 8,000 hectares of arable land, enabling it to do all farm work with the help of machines. On that farm each worker is now cultivating 30 hectares of crops. This shows that in socialist countries turning farms into large state farms is an absolutely correct way of developing the agricultural produc­tive forces and freeing the peasants from difficult and arduous labour.

Agriculture is developed in the United States and the level of mechanization is high. At present the United States produces a large amount of grain and exports some of it. According to publications, the developed state of agriculture in the US is attributable to large farms having been organized and crops raised on a scientific and technical basis. In the US the owners of large farms are agricultural capitalists, and the products of the farms are mostly owned by them. Therefore the agricultural labourers hired by the farms cannot dis­play creativity. However, because the level of mechanization is high on these farms, they achieve a success in agricultural production that cannot be attained by a small-scale farm economy.

The large farms we intend to form in our country in future are fundamentally different in character from those of the United States. The owners of our large farms will be agricultural workers and the products of the farms will be entirely owned by them. For this rea­son the agricultural workers will display all their creative initiative for society and themselves. In future, when we develop our coopera­tive farms into large state farms, they will display incomparably great superiority and vitality than large capitalist farms.

We are now working to carry out the Third Seven-Year Plan for Development of the National Economy. This plan ends in 1993. By that time we shall annually produce 10 million tons of steel, 100,000 million kwh of electricity, 120 million tons of coal, 22 million tons of cement, 7.2 million tons of chemical fertilizers, 1,500 million metres of fabric, 1.7 million tons of nonferrous metals, 15 million tons of grain and 11 million tons of seafood. We shall also have reclaimed 300,000 hectares of tidal flats by that time. When all this is achieved, our country will rank among the developed countries.

Along with the ideological revolution, the cultural revolution aims at turning people into communist types. The cultural revolution is closely related to the ideological revolution. People can become genuine communist types when they have not only revolutionized themselves and assimilated themselves into the working class, but also attained a high cultural and intellectual level. Only when people have attained a high cultural and intellectual level, will they not commit misdemeanours and work more conscientiously. Only then will it be possible to successfully take the material fortress of com­munism.

Promoting the cultural revolution vigorously was particularly important for our country, which was a colony of Japanese imperial­ism for 36 years in the past. When we regained our fatherland by fighting the Japanese imperialists, there were a large number of illit­erates in our country. However, as a result of our vigorous promo­tion of the cultural revolution, all the working people in our country have now received general secondary schooling and attained a high level of cultural and technical knowledge.

An important policy put forward by our Party in carrying out the cultural revolution is to raise the cultural and intellectual level of all the people to that of a college graduate. In other words, it is to assimilate the whole society into the intelligentsia.

There were not many intellectuals in our country in the past. Occupying our country and enforcing their colonial rule here for a long time, the Japanese imperialists prevented Koreans from receiv­ing higher education. In the days of the Japanese imperialist, colo­nial rule Koreans had to change their names to Japanese names if they wanted to receive higher education. Even those who received higher education before liberation studied mainly law and literature instead of natural sciences, including engineering. In those days Koreans could not hold important posts even after graduating from university, but merely worked as scriveners or novelists. Neverthe­less, at that time they could not write novels in praise of their coun­try.

The greatest problem in building a new society after we liberated the country was the shortage of Korean technicians. The men of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, who had fought the Japanese imperialists shoulder to shoulder with us, were good at making speeches and shooting, but they lacked technology. In those days the correct solution of the problem of the intellectuals was a very serious problem, affecting the success in building a new society. Although the main motive force of the revolution is the working class and the peasantry, we cannot succeed in the revolution and construction with the working class and peasants alone. In the revolutionary struggle and construction work the intellectuals play no less important a role than the workers and peasants. Therefore, when we were founding our Party, we defined the intellectuals as an important component along with the workers and peasants. The emblem of our Party has a hammer, a sickle and a writing brush, symbolizing the workers. peasants and working intellectuals that comprise the Party.

After we liberated the country, we sent letters to the intellectuals scattered in various parts of the country and ensured that they were brought to us. In those days intellectuals came to us from south Korea, too. Nevertheless, very few had scientific and technological knowledge. We regarded the small number of intellectuals as price­less assets. We did not take issue with the intellectuals, although they had been  into rich families and received education at Japanese universities and colleges. We regarded them as “brood hens” for training our own cadres. The intellectuals who played the role of “brood hens” in those days have become doctors and aca­demicians and are now working at universities, colleges and scientif­ic research institutes. Their hair has turned grey. They have hatched a large number of “chicks”. We are now rich in intellectuals. We have a huge army of 1.3 million intellectuals. Our new intellectuals do not find it hard even if they sit up all night working.

When the three-year-long Fatherland Liberation War was over in our country, we had to build many houses. However, at that time there were very few people who were able to lay bricks properly, so we sent over 600 workers abroad to learn brick-laying skills. Now our officials are good at building houses. Because our technicians and workers are efficient at construction, other countries request us to build deluxe buildings such as theatres and hotels.

Today our people are firmly armed with the Juche idea of our Party and are stepping up the great project of socialist construction, fully confident of victory. Judging by their present fighting spirit, I believe that the task of achieving the complete victory of socialism will be accomplished before long in our country.

If you personally witness our people working for grand socialist construction during your visit to our country, you will have a better understanding of our country’s socialist construction.

At the same time as stepping up socialist construction in the northern half of Korea, we are working to reunify the country.

At the Sixth Congress of our Party we put forward a proposal for reunifying the country by founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo and a ten-point policy to be carried out by this republic.

The proposal for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo is to reunify the country by forming a federal state, leaving the ideas and social systems existing in the north and south of Korea as they are. For a long time different ideas and social sys­tems have existed in the north and south of our country. Therefore, if we are to reunify the country, no side should try to force its ideas and social system on the other side. The north should not try to force the socialist system on the south or to swallow it up, and the south should not try to force the capitalist system on the north or to invade it. If each side tries to force its ideas and social system on the other side, it will be impossible to reunify the country peacefully.

In the ten-point policy to be carried out by the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo we clarified that this republic should be a fully independent and sovereign state and a non-aligned nation that is not a satellite of any other nation and does not depend on any for­eign forces. In the ten-point policy we also made it clear that we would leave the capital invested by other nations in south Korea prior to reunification of the country intact and continue to guarantee the concessions of these countries. Capital from not only the United States but also from many other countries, including Japan, France and West Germany, has made inroads into south Korea. Those who have invested capital in south Korea fear they will be deprived of it when our country is reunified.

It would be a good idea for you. Comrade General Secretary, to read the report to the Sixth Congress of our Party if you can find the time. If you read this report, you will clearly understand the stand of our Party with regard to national reunification, including the propos­al to found the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo.

At present the general internal and external situation is changing in favour of our people’s struggle for national reunification.

The south Korean people are gradually gaining a correct under­standing of our Republic and are getting rid of their idea of worship­ping and kowtowing to the United States. With a view to concealing their crimes as stooges of the US imperialists, the south Korean reac­tionaries have conducted a lot of false propaganda against the northern half of Korea among the south Korean people, labelling us communists someone’s lackeys. However, now the south Korean people know well that we set store by independence more than anyone else and consis­tently follow an independent policy in our state activities. In the past they regarded the US imperialists as their “benefactors”, believing them to be their “liberators” and “helpers”. Nevertheless, seeing with their own eyes how the US imperialists have turned south Korea into an advance nuclear base for their aggression, occupying south Korea and pursuing a colonial enslavement policy there for a long time, they have gradually come to see the true colours of the United States. The south Korean people have come to realize that the US imperialists are not “liberators” but aggressors, not “helpers” but predators. They have also come to realize that it is none other than the US imperialists who obstruct the reunification of our country. They have come to realize all this not by hearing anyone else’s propaganda, but through their own protracted experience.

The south Korean youth and students have now turned out for national independence, social democracy and the reunification of the country. Their spirit is soaring. On June 10 this year they called for holding talks with their counterparts from the northern half of Korea in Panmunjom and rose up in the struggle to put this into effect. The south Korean reactionaries mobilized over 60,000 policemen to repress their struggle. We recorded on videotape the struggle of the south Korean youth and students. If you have some spare time, you will be able to see it.

The situation in south Korea is now developing favourably. How­ever, we still must solve many problems if we are to drive the US imperialists out of south Korea and reunify our country.

There are also many international problems that must be resolved in order to settle the Korean question. Needless to say, the masters of Korea are the Korean people, and the Korean question must be solved by the efforts of the Korean people themselves in all circum­stances. However, it is difficult to solve the Korean question in iso­lation from international relations, because it is closely connected with these relations. The US imperialists are holding on to south Korea as a military base in order to check and invade the Soviet Union and other socialist countries. They have deployed over 1,000 nuclear weapons in south Korea. If they intended to invade only the DPRK, three small nuclear bornbs would be sufficient. In deploying more than 1,000 nuclear weapons in south Korea, the US imperial­ists aim at checking and invading not only the DPRK, but also the Soviet Union, China and other socialist countries. For a speedy solu­tion of the Korean question problems related to it must be resolved, and we must also get help from progressive people throughout the world.

At the Sixth Congress of our Party we made it clear that indepen­dence, friendship and peace represent the underlying theme of our Party’s foreign policy. In accordance with this theme, we are devel­oping friendly and cooperative relations with the political parties, organizations and progressive people of various countries that advo­cate independence and love peace.

Our Party has been hoping for a long time to further develop its relations with the Communist Party of the United States of America. I think that developing these relations is important for both the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Communist Party of the United States of America, because US imperialism is the target of struggle not only of the US Communist Party but also of our Party. US impe­rialism is guilty of the division of our country; it is the sworn enemy of the Korean people, obstructing the reunification of our country. The Workers’ Party of Korea and the Communist Party of the Unit­ed States of America must wage a dynamic joint struggle against US imperialism.

The Workers’ Party of Korea and the Communist Party of the United States of America can wage a joint struggle against the US imperialists’ armaments race and their manoeuvres for arms build­up. At present the Soviet Union is holding talks with the United States on the problem of reducing nuclear weapons and discontinu­ing their production. We support the discussion of the problem of nuclear disarmament at the USSR-US summit talks, for these talks benefit the peace and security of the world and the solution of the reunification question of our country. The arms drive must be stopped. The US government must agree to the proposal of the Sovi­et Union to reduce strategic offensive weapons by 50 per cent and must discontinue the production of nuclear weapons.

Now that the Soviet Union and the United States are holding talks on nuclear disarmament, we intend to fight more dynamically to have the nuclear weapons and the US troops withdrawn from south Korea and to reunify our country in a peaceful way.

I think that you and the Communist Party of the United States of America can do many things conducive to the struggle of our people for national reunification. If you give the American peo­ple, including the progressives, as well as our compatriots living in your country, full information of our Party’s policy for national reunification and of the south Korean people’s struggle for national independence, social democracy and national reuni­fication, this will greatly contribute to the reunification of our country. It is said that more than 800,000 Koreans are residing in the United States. If they are given full information of our Party’s policy for national reunification, they will extend active support for our country’s reunification. We are not now working with our compatriots in the United States as efficiently as with those in Japan. We hope that the Communist Party of the United States of America will help us by exerting a positive influence on the Koreans residing in America, so that they will support our cause and commit themselves to the struggle for national reunifi­cation.

We also believe that you can help us in promoting talks between the DPRK and the United States.

We hope to hold talks between the DPRK and the United States or tripartite talks with the participation of the DPRK, the US and south Korea to replace the Korean Armistice Agreement with a peace agreement and adopt a nonaggression declaration between the DPRK and south Korea. However, the US government opposes tri­partite talks because of its misunderstanding of us. The US govern­ment misunderstands us because it has heard only the south Korean reactionaries or the misguided words of some foreigners who have nothing to do with the Korean question. The south Korean reac­tionaries cannot convey the earnest desire of the Korean people to the US government. To improve relations between the DPRK and the United States, the US government’s misunderstanding of our country must be dispelled. To this end, we and the US government must have face-to-face talks. Unless both sides sit down together, the misunderstanding cannot be removed.

I hope you will strive to hew a channel for talks between the DPRK and the United States. We can have both open and closed talks with the US government. In any case we want to create an opportunity to tell the US government directly of our Party’s just stand for national reunification. We want to remove the distrust between the DPRK and the United States and ease tension in the Korean peninsula by all possible means.

I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to talk with you today. I should like to meet you again and have more talks with you, but I cannot afford to do so, because I have to leave soon for a visit to Mongolia. I regret this. My visit to Mongolia will take about ten days. You plan to stay in our country for about one week, but it would seem advisable for you to stay here a week longer than sched­uled and rest. If you do so, I shall be able to meet you again, have more talks with you and accompany you to inspect some places upon my return from Mongolia.

I hope you will spend joyful days during your stay in our country, relaxing and visiting various places.

Der grosse Führer Präsident KIM IL SUNG ist der ewige Leitstern der nationalen Wiedervereinigung!

Artikel des Schweizerischen Gedenkkomitees zum 20. Todestag des Präsidenten Kim Il Sung (8. Juli)

Präsident Kim Il Sung empfängt Rim Min Sik, Generalsekretär des Uebersee-Hauptquartiers der Pannationalen Allianz für die Wiedervereinigung Koreas (Pomminryon).

Korea ist eine alte Nation mit einer über 5000-jährigen Geschichte. Es war immer eine homogene Nation des gleichen Blutes, der gleichen Kultur und Sprache und der gleichen Sitten und Bräuche.
Als die USA-Imperialisten im September 1945 die südliche Hälfte Koreas besetzten, teilten sie das Land.
Von diesem Moment an begann der grosse Führer Präsident Kim Il Sung unermüdlich für die Wiederherstellung der nationalen Einheit zu kämpfen.
Nachdem er die japanischen Imperialisten am 15. August Juche 34 (1945) besiegt und das Vaterland befreit hatte, baute er in der nördlichen Landeshälfte das neue demokratische Korea auf und gründete am 9. September Juche 37 (1948) die Demokratische Volksrepublik Korea (DVRK).
Doch die illegale und kriminelle Besetzung Südkoreas durch die USA-Imperialisten liess ihm keinen ruhigen Moment und machte ihn traurig. Es wurde sein lebenslanges heiliges Ziel, die Yankee-Besatzer vom Boden der südlichen Hälfte des Vaterlandes zu verjagen und die Nation zu vereinigen.
Von der Zeit der Teilung Koreas bis zum Ende seines ruhmreichen und glanzvollen Lebens am 8. Juli Juche 83 (1994) publizierte Präsident Kim Il Sung viele Initiativen und Vorschläge für die nationale Wiedervereinigung.
Er organisierte die Gemeinsame Konferenz der Politischen Parteien und Gesellschaftlichen Organisationen Nord- und Südkoreas, die im April Juche 37 (1948) unter seiner Leitung in Pyongyang stattfand. Dabei scharte er Landsleute mit unterschiedlichen Meinungen und Ideologien um sich und gewann sie für die übergeordnete gemeinsame Sache der nationalen Wiedervereinigung.
Präsident Kim Il Sung kämpfte stets für die unabhängige Wiedervereinigung ohne Einmischung fremder Kräfte. Er unterstrich die entscheidende Wichtigkeit, jegliche Kollaboration mit fremden Kräften zurückzuweisen und die Juche-Linie der grossen nationalen Einheit zu verfolgen.
Er proklamierte im Mai Juche 61 (1972) die Drei Prinzipien der nationalen Wiedervereinigung - Unabhängigkeit, friedliche Wiedervereinigung und grosse nationale Einheit. Dank der Einhaltung dieser Prinzipien konnte die gemeinsame Nord-Süd-Erklärung vom 4. Juli 1972 angenommen werden.
Im Oktober Juche 69 (1980) stellte Präsident Kim Il Sung in seinem Bericht an den 6. Parteitag der Partei der Arbeit Koreas (PdAK) den historischen Plan für die Gründung der Demokratischen Föderativen Republik Koryo (DFRK) vor. Er sagte dazu Folgendes:

Unsere Partei besteht darauf, eine föderative Republik zu schaffen und auf diese Weise die Heimat zu vereinigen, wobei Nord und Süd auf der Grundlage der gegenseitigen Anerkennung und Billigung der beiderseitigen Ideen und Ordnungen eine nationale einheitliche Regierung schaffen, in der sie gleichberechtigt mitwirken und unter deren Leitung sie mit jeweils gleichen Befugnissen und Pflichten regionale Selbstverwaltungen ausüben sollten.
.............
Was die Bezeichnung des föderativen Staates betrifft, so wird es zweckmässig sein, ihn Demokratische Föderative Republik Koryo zu nennen, was den Namen des weltweit bekannten einheitlichen Staates unseres Landes und die nach Demokratie strebenden gemeinsamen politischen Ideale von Nord und Süd widerspiegeln würde.

Auf diesem Föderationsplan aufbauend, proklamierte Präsident Kim Il Sung im April Juche 82 (1993) das 10-Punkte-Programm zum grossen Zusammenschluss der ganzen Nation für die Wiedervereinigung des Vaterlandes.
Bis ans Ende seines grossen und glanzvollen Lebens vergass Präsident Kim Il Sung auch nie für den kürzesten Moment sein erhabenes Lebensziel der nationalen Wiedervereinigung. Noch am 7. Juli Juche 83 (1994) - nur einen Tag, bevor sein edles Herz aufhörte zu schlagen - unterschrieb er ein Dokument zur Wiedervereinigungsfrage mit seiner Signatur KIM IL SUNG, 7. Juli 1994. Diese Worte mit seiner letzten Unterschrift sind auf einer revolutionären Gedenkstätte in Panmunjom in Stein eingraviert zu sehen.
Dank der loyalen Umsetzung der Initiativen und Pläne des Präsidenten Kim Il Sung für die nationale Wiedervereinigung durch den Führer Kim Jong Il kamen im Juni Juche 89 (2000) und im Oktober Juche 96 (2007) in Pyongyang zwei historische innerkoreanische Gipfeltreffen zustande. Dabei wurden zwei epochale Dokumente unterzeichnet - die gemeinsame Nord-Süd-Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000 und die Erklärung vom 4. Oktober 2007.
Mit der Publikation dieser beiden richtungweisenden innerkoreanischen Erklärungen krönte der Vorsitzende Kim Jong Il  den unermüdlichen Kampf des Präsidenten Kim Il Sung für die nationale Wiedervereinigung mit einem brillanten Sieg. Die patriotische Wiedervereinigungs-Idee Durch unsere Nation selber wurde geboren.
Leider war es weder dem Präsidenten Kim Il Sung noch dem Führer Kim Jong Il vergönnt, die Wiedervereinigung Koreas zu erleben.
Doch der geliebte und verehrte Marschall Kim Jong Un, der das Werk der beiden grossen Führer loyal fortsetzt, wird mit Gewissheit das Vaterland vereinigen.
Das koreanische Volk sehnt sich mehr denn je nach dem grossen Präsidenten Kim Il Sung. Er war der Leitstern der nationalen Wiedervereinigung und der geliebte Vater der Nation und des Volkes.
Alle Verteidiger und Freunde Koreas - allen voran die Korean Friendship Association (KFA) - und alle Anhänger der Juche-Ideologie und der Songun-Idee auf allen Kontinenten halten den grossen Präsidenten Kim Il Sung als den Pionier der globalen Unabhängigkeit in höchsten Ehren.
Der grosse Führer Präsident Kim Il Sung ist unsterblich und lebt ewig in den Herzen des koreanischen Volkes und der progressiven Menschheit fort.
Korea ist nicht und wird nie ohne den Präsidenten Kim Il Sung und ohne den Führer Kim Jong Il sein! Der geliebte und verehrte Marschall Kim Jong Un ist absolut identisch mit ihnen und wird deren Vermächtnisse realisieren.

Kim Ung U war ein grosser Patriot Koreas

Der gestrige 17. Juni war der 166. Geburtstag von Kim Ung U, des Urgrossvaters des Präsidenten Kim Il Sung.
Kim Ung U wurde am 17. Juni 1848 in Mangyongdae bei Pyongyang in einer armen Bauernfamilie geboren.
Er war zeitlebens ein grosser Patriot. Nachdem er im Jahre 1866 vernommen hatte, dass das amerikanische Piratenschiff General Sherman auf dem Taedong-Fluss ins Landesinnere Koreas eingedrungen und zur Insel Yanggak bei Pyongyang vorgedrungen war und dabei die Bevölkerung massakriert hatte, mobilisierte er die Bewohner von Mangyongdae, um gegen die Aggressoren zu kämpfen.
Kim Ung U führte die Bewohner Mangyongdaes und Pyongyangs bei der Versenkung der General Sherman mittels Feuergeschossen an.
Die siegreiche Versenkung des Schiffes leitete die ruhmreiche Geschichte der grossen Siege des koreanischen Volkes über die USA-Aggressoren ein.
Später entsandten die USA-Imperialisten das Kriegsschiff Shenandoah nach Korea. Es drang ebenfalls auf dem Taedong-Fluss ins Landesinnere vor und mordete, brandschatzte und plünderte.
Kim Ung U bildete eine Freiwilligeneinheit und führte die Bewohner Mangyongdaes und Pyongyangs erneut zum Kampf gegen die Aggressoren.
Das koreanische Volk verehrt Kim Ung U als einen grossen Patrioten und Freiheitskämpfer.
Beinahe 102 Jahre später, im Januar Juche 57 (1968), waren es Kim Ung Us Urenkel Kim Il Sung und Ur-Urenkel Kim Jong Il, die das bewaffnete Spionageschiff Pueblo des USA-Imperialismus, das im Koreanischen Ostmeer in die Territorialgewässer der Demokratischen Volksrepublik Korea (DVRK) eingedrungen war, durch Offiziere und Soldaten der Koreanischen Volksarmee (KVA) aufbringen und festsetzen liessen.
Der glorreiche Sieg über die Pueblo-Banditen war ein historischer Triumph der koreanischen Nation, auf den alle Koreaner stolz sind.
Die Generalissimi Kim Il Sung und Kim Jong Il sowie Marschall Kim Jong Un führten bzw. führen im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert siegreich fort, was ihr Vorfahre Kim Ung U im 19. Jahrhundert begonnen hatte - nämlich die Verteidigung der Unabhängigkeit und Freiheit Koreas gegen die ruchlosen Yankee-Aggressoren.

Gemeinsame Nord-Süd-Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000 - Banner der unabhängigen Wiedervereinigung Koreas

Zur Feier des 14. Jahrestages der gemeinsamen Nord-Süd-Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000

Auf die unermüdliche Initiative des Führers Kim Jong Il kam im Juni Juche 89 (2000) - nach damals 55 Jahren der Teilung Koreas - das historische erste innerkoreanische Gipfeltreffen zustande.
Der Vorsitzende Kim Jong Il empfing in Pyongyang den damaligen südkoreanischen Präsidenten Kim Dae Jung zu Gesprächen auf höchster Ebene.
Zum Abschluss des erfolgreichen Gipfeltreffens unterzeichnete der Vorsitzende Kim Jong Il gemeinsam mit Kim Dae Jung am 15. Juni 2000 die genannte Erklärung.
Die Erklärung fusst auf den vom Präsidenten Kim Il Sung proklamierten Drei Chartas der Wiedervereinigung - den Drei Prinzipien der Wiedervereinigung (1972), dem Plan für die Gründung der Demokratischen Föderativen Republik Koryo (1980) und dem 10-Punkte-Programm zum grossen Zusammenschluss der ganzen Nation für die Wiedervereinigung des Vaterlandes (1993).
Die gemeinsame Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000 strebt die unabhängige Wiedervereinigung Koreas durch die Koreaner selber an und weist jegliche Einmischung fremder Mächte in die Wiedervereinigungsfrage kategorisch zurück. Auf diesen Prinzipien basiert die patriotische Idee Durch unsere Nation selber.
In den Jahren 2000-2007 wich die jahrzehntelange Konfrontation in den innerkoreanischen Beziehungen der Kooperation und Versöhnung. Es kam zur Zusammenarbeit auf vielen Ebenen, zur Repatriierung von gesinnungstreuen Langzeitgefangenen aus der Zeit des Korea-Krieges (1950-1953) in den Norden, zu Begegnungen getrennter Familienangehöriger und Verwandter sowie zur Wiederaneinanderkoppelung unterbrochener Bahnlinien und Strassen.
Auf allen Gebieten der Nord-Süd-Beziehungen wurden sensationelle Erfolge erzielt. Es waren Jahre der Hoffnung auf eine baldige Wiedervereinigung Koreas.
Im Oktober 2007 fand in Pyongyang das zweite innerkoreanische Gipfeltreffen statt und wurde die Erklärung vom 4. Oktober 2007 unterzeichnet.
Doch den USA-Imperialisten passte die Wiedervereinigungs-Aera des 15. Juni überhaupt nicht. Sie sahen die Tage ihrer illegalen neokolonialen Besatzungsherrschaft über Südkorea bereits gezählt.
Washington sorgte dafür, dass im Jahre 2008 ein konservativer proamerikanischer "Präsident" in Südkorea an die "Macht" kam. Auf die der nationalen Wiedervereinigung günstig gesinnten und reformorientierten Politiker Kim Dae Jung und Roh Moo Hyun folgte der ultrakonservative Reaktionär Ri Myong Bak, der die gemeinsame Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000 für ungültig erklärte.
Auf ihn folgte im Jahre 2013 die ebenso reaktionäre Politikerin Pak Kun Hye, die gegenwärtig die Konfrontation gegen die Landsleute im Norden auf die Spitze treibt.
Doch die gemeinsame Erklärung vom 15. Juni 2000 und die Idee Durch unsere Nation selber sind unumkehrbar und werden triumphieren.
Der verehrte Marschall Kim Jong Un wird die von den grossen Führern Kim Il Sung und Kim Jong Il angestrebte unabhängige Wiedervereinigung Koreas erfolgreich realisieren. Das ist gewiss!

ON PRESERVING THE JUCHE CHARACTER AND NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE REVOLUTION AND CONSTRUCTION

KIM JONG IL

 

ON PRESERVING THE JUCHE CHARACTER AND NATIONAL
CHARACTER OF THE REVOLUTION AND CONSTRUCTION

 

June 19, 1997

  There is now a sharp confrontation in the world between socialism and imperialism, and between the forces of independence and the forces of dominationism. In the complex international situation and relationship between forces, the people’s struggle against domination and subjugation and for independence is continuing.The imperialists and reactionaries are tenaciously maneuvering to arrest the world progressive people’s drive towards independence and to obstruct their struggle for independence with a view to realizing their ambition for domination, but no forcer can ever turn back the main trend of our age which is heading for independence.

 In order to thwart the dominationist machinations of the imperialists and reactionaries and give a strong impetus to the people’s cause of independence, the cause of socialism, we must maintain the Juche character of the revolutionary struggle and construction and sustain their national character.Preserving these qualities is imperative for the independent development of the country and nation and for success in realizing independence for the popular masses.Past experience and lessons have proved that adherence to the Juche character and national character is the key to success in the revolution and construction and vital to national prosperity.

 Under the wise leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and our people have resolutely maintained the Juche character and national character in opposition to imperialism and dominationism throughout the entire period of the revolutionary struggle.As a result, they have achieved an independent development of the country and nation without any deviation and have won brilliant victory in the revolution and construction.

 In the future, too, we shall firmly keep the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction and fight staunchly along the road of Juche.

1

 Adherence to the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction is a fundamental principle that must be maintained in accomplishing the people’s cause of independence, the cause of socialism.

 Maintaining the Juche character of the revolution and construction means that the popular masses shape the destiny of their country and nation and their own destiny independently and creatively by being the masters of their destiny.Sustaining the national character means preserving and developing the good qualities of the nation and embodying them in all spheres of social life.

 Maintaining the Juche character and sustaining the national character of the revolution and construction is a principled requirement for carrying out the socialist cause in keeping with its own nature of independence and past and present conditions.The socialist cause is the revolutionary cause of independence, which is aimed at realizing independence for the popular masses and advances and is accomplished by the struggle of the masses.A country and nation is a community of people as well as a basic unit in which they shape their destiny.The masses’ destiny is inseparably linked with the destiny of their country and nation.Since the popular masses live and shape their destiny within a nation-state as a unit, the masses’ cause of independence, the socialist cause, is in no way separate from their country and nation, and it is impossible to realize the masses’ independence unless the independence of their country and nation is ensured.A man as a social being is a member of a social stratum and social class as well as a member of his nation.He has both the class character and national character.Since each nation has peculiar cultural traditions that have been formed and consolidated down through history, it is impossible to meet the masses’ desire for independence and their interests to the full if their national character is ignored.It is only when the socialist cause preserves the Juche character and national character that it can be a truly revolutionary cause that champions and realizes independence for the masses and ensures the independent development and prosperity of the nation.

 Preserving the Juche character and national character is the common requirement and aspiration of all countries and all peoples.There exist no people who do not love and value their country and nation or like to see the dignity and soul of their nation trampled upon and ignored.In order to ensure that socialism strikes root deep in the people’s minds and advances with strong sympathy and support of the masses, it is necessary to maintain the Juche character and national character in carrying out the socialist cause so as to keep the dignity of the country and the soul of the nation.

Preserving the Juche character and national character and ensuring the independent development of the country and nation are an essential requirement for strengthening international unity and solidarity and contributing truly to the development of the world revolutionary movement.There are many countries nations in the world, and each country and nation has its own characteristics, but all the countries and nations are equal and independent.International unity and solidarity are the relationships of mutual support and cooperation among the countries and nations which aspire after independence.These relationships can develop as truly voluntary and durable ties only on the basis of ensuring the independent development of each country and nation and respecting each other’s independence.Unity and cooperation based on independence constitute a truly internationalist relationship among countries and nations.When the Juche character and national character are suppressed, and when the independence of countries and nations is trampled upon, inequality and discord occur among countries and nations, and unity and cooperation become impossible.The socialist cause is a national cause and also an international one, and the world socialist cause advances and is accomplished through the process of victory and development of the revolution in each country.Only when the people of each country carry out the revolution and construction in their country successfully as masters can the world socialist causes advance triumphantly.

 Although preserving the Juche character and national character is a matter of fundamental significance in shaping the masses’ destiny, no correct solution was given to this problem by the previous working-class theories.

 One previous theory, which clarified the law of the development of human history from the point of view of historical materialism, related the formation of nations to the emergence and development of capitalism and predicted that the nation itself would gradually disappear with the liquidation of the capitalist system and with progress in the building of socialism and communism in all countries.Under the circumstances in the past when the driving force of the revolution was not prepared in each country and nation and when the need to strengthen international solidarity among the working class in the struggle against capitalism and imperialism was the basic problem, that theory was unable to raise the question of sustaining the Juche character and national character of the socialist cause to be carried out.The previous theory’s argument that the working class has no motherland can be viewed as reflecting the requirement for strengthening international working-class unity and solidarity which were urgent for the socialist movement of the period as well as the need for overcoming opportunism which spread bourgeois nationalism in the working-class movement and the socialist movement.

 In our times when the popular masses carry out the revolution and construction actively on their own initiative with the nation-state as a unit and with their destiny firmly in their hands, the task of each country and nation for adhering to the Juche character and sustaining their national character has presented itself as an urgent requirement.However, the political parties in several countries which were building socialism in the past failed to evolve a new theory and a new policy in keeping with the new realities and find correct solutions to the problems arising in ensuring the independent development of countries and nations.Those parties regarded the national contingents carrying out the revolution and construction to meet their people’s desires and to suit their national characteristics and their countries’ specific situations within the world socialist movement as contradicting internationalism, and did not pay due attention to the matter of preserving independence of the countries and nations and sustaining the national characteristics.Because of this prejudice and incorrect policy, socialism in these countries failed to develop as a cause for these countries and nations and, in consequence, lost its national footholds and support. Socialism is a class cause and at the same time a cause for national development and prosperity. The process of the development and consummation of the socialist society must be the process of meeting the class demand and interests of the working masses and also the process of making the country rich and strong and bringing prosperity to the nation.Since the working class and the other working masses makeup the overwhelming majority of any nation, the practice of ignoring the Juche character and national character will inevitable result in the failure to meet even the class demand of the working masses properly.Because the socialist cause failed to become the cause of genuine national independence in several countries, socialism suffered a gradual weakening of its class foundation and was unable to ward off frustration and collapse due to the anti-socialist manoeuvres of the imperialists and the renegades from the revolution.

 In the countries where socialism collapsed, the dignity of the countries and nations was trampled upon, their peoples suffered disasters and even bloodshed was caused by the clashes between nations.Taking advantage of these events, the imperialists are making frantic efforts to cloud the image of socialism by attributing national calamities to socialism.

 The imperialists’ allegation that socialism is inferior to capitalism in the development of nations is a shameless lie that black is white and white is black.It is not socialism but capitalism that blocks the road of national development.In the capitalist society where the nation is split into hostile classes and individuals’ interests are placed above public interests, national unity cannot be achieved, people cannot have the attitude as befits masters towards the development of the country and nation, nor can the social wealth be used properly for the common development of the nation.The exploiting class which owns all the means of production and wealth in the capitalist society is only interested in making money.The reactionary exploiting class does not hesitate to sell out the interests of their country and nation and harm other countries and nations for money-making.It is the immutable nature of imperialism to dominate and plunder other nations.Under capitalism there can be neither national equality nor free development of nations.The genuine prosperity of a country and nation can only be realized in the socialist society in which the entire nation has common interests and all the social wealth is used for the common development of the nation.Socialism ensures free development of nations and abolishes both class exploitation and all forms of social inequality.

 Under the guidance of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and our people have firmly and consistently maintained the Juche character and properly sustained the national character of the revolution and construction and thus advanced the Juche revolutionary cause victoriously.

 The respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great thinker, theoretician and statesman who advanced the idea of preserving the Juche character and national character for the first time in history, translated it brilliantly into reality and gave successful leadership to the revolution and construction.

 Preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character is the principled requirement of the revolutionandconstructionelucidatedby the Juche idea created by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.The Juche idea, the man-centered outlook on the world, is a noble idea of loving the people as well as an idea of true love for the country and nation; it is a great revolutionary idea of our times which illuminates the road of advancing the cause of world independence forcefully.The Juche idea has clarified that the country and nation are the basic unit for shaping the destiny of the masses and that the popular masses must firmly maintain the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction in order to shape their destiny independently. The Juche idea has scientifically proved that the process of nations’ development in carrying out the socialist cause is not a process of one nation being assimilated to another nation or being merged into another, but a process of each nation developing into a civilized and powerful nation and steadily expanding and advancing cooperation and ties among different nations on the principle of complete equality and voluntary will while leading their own lives and making history with freedom.On the basis of the elucidation of the independent nature of the socialist cause and the socio-historical conditions of its implementation, the Juche idea has defined the maintenance of the Juche character and national character as the fundamental principle that must be adhered to in the whole course of building socialism.The Juche idea has linked socialism and nations to the same destiny for the first time, and guaranteed the possibility for countries and nations to achieve lasting prosperity in step with the victorious advance of socialist construction. By introducing the Juche idea and advancing the theory of maintaining the Juche character and national character, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung provided absolutely correct guidelines for leading the socialist cause as the genuine cause of independence for the popular masses, as the cause of countries and nations.This is an imperishable achievement he made in the history of human thought.

 Our Party and our people, holding high the banner of the Juche idea, have smashed all kinds of machinations of the imperialists and opportunists in the struggle for the independence and sovereignty of the country and for socialism, resolutely defended and embodied Juche character and national character. In the course of this, we have registered brilliant successes and accumulated valuable experiences.

 Our Party and our people have regarded the adherence to the Juche character as the basic principle of the revolution and construction and always subordinated everything to the destiny of our revolution and our nation and found solutions to all problems by centring on this matter, thus pioneering an untrodden path of revolution and construction in an independent and creative way.

 Rock-solidly united around the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, the Party and people categorically rejected and frustrated the great-power chauvinism which stood in the way of our revolution.This was of special importance in defending the interests and dignity of our nation and adhering to the Juche standpoint in the revolution and construction.In the past the great-power chauvinists slandered the maintenance of Juche by our Party and people in the revolution and construction as “nationalism” and “isolationism” and exerted pressure upon us.However, we fought them without compromise in order to save the destiny of the country, nation and socialism. Even when they were deprived of their country and had to fight the arduous revolutionary war in a foreign land against the Japanese, the Korean communists established Juche to the letter with an unshakable standpoint and attitude that they were the masters of the Korean revolution. During the difficult years of post-war rehabilitation and socialist construction, they also resolutely rejected the pressure and arbitrariness of the great-power chauvinists who meddled in our internal affairs and forced an “integrated economy”. If the Korean communists had not maintained their own lines and conviction that the Korean revolutionaries should carry out the Korean revolution, they would have failed to liberate their country.If we had abandoned the policy of building an independent national economy and entered the ‘CMEA’ unable to bear the pressure of the great-power chauvinists during socialist construction after the war, it would have been impossible for us to build the socialist state which is independent, self-sustenant and capable of self-reliant defence.While rejecting great-power chauvinism which put down the Juche character, our Party and people conducted a tireless, fierce struggle to overcome flunkeyism which flattered and yielded to the great power.We thus removed any room for great-power chauvinism to set foot, eradicated the idea of dependence on outside forces which was handed down through history and thoroughly established the standpoint and attitude as the masters of the revolution in our country.

 The struggle of our Party and our people to adhere to the Juche character was conducted as an integral part of the struggle to strengthen the unity and solidarity of the world socialist movement.Thoroughly rejecting all sorts of misguided tendencies of setting the Juche character against internationalism, we made energetic efforts to strengthen internationalist unity and solidarity in keeping with the nature of the socialist movement.Even though they were carrying out the unprecedentedly complex and arduous revolution, the Korean communists and people maintained the internationalist principle of actively supporting and encouraging the people of other countries in their cause for anti-imperialist independence and for socialism and fighting in unity with the class comrades-in-arms and the revolutionary people.When the difference in opinions and discord between the socialist countries aggravated to the point of split in the world socialist movement, our Party, with a firm, principled and independent stand, directed great efforts to ensuring mutual understanding and harmony among the socialist countries.Even though it was carrying out the revolution under difficult circumstances, our Party gave unstinted assistance and support to the other socialist countries which were fighting an anti-US war.Our Party and our people made energetic and positive efforts to develop the relations of friendship and cooperation based on complete equality and mutual benefit not only with the socialist countries but also with all the countries which sought independence, thus making a great contribution to strengthening the internationalist solidarity among the progressive forces throughout the world.

 The successes and experiences of our struggle to pioneer the road of revolution in an original way as the masters of our own destiny and to unfold a new history of unity and solidarity in the world socialist movement and the progressive movement based on independence clearly demonstrate that the maintenance of the Juche character constitutes an important guarantee for the victory of both our revolution and the world revolutionary movement and that it is an absolutely correct way to remain loyal not only to the national but also to the international duties.

 Our Party has valued the national character, sustained our nation’s fine traditions in every possible way and materialized them in all spheres of the revolution and construction.

 The national character which is formed through history may have the limitation of the period and class, but it is a mistake to regard the national character as the breeding ground of the idea of returning to the past and bourgeois nationalism.The national character embodies the spirit of national independence and the cultural traditions of a nation, which constitute a precious wealth of the country and nation and an important asset for the building of socialism.

 Our Party has preserved and steadily developed the fine traits of our people who are resourceful and courageous, and who love justice and truth, value morality and resent injustice. These qualities have become an important factor in propelling socialist construction and in developing the country to be prosperous.Our Party’s policy of preserving and developing the national character has won active support from the people and displayed great vitality in deepening the people’s trust in the Party and planting socialism deep among them.

 Our Party made the national character a major basis of national unity.It is the common psychology of the members of the nation to love their nation and value their national character.This feeling is of great importance in uniting and rallying the whole nation. From the early days of the revolutionary struggle, the true Korean communists attached great importance to the national character and worked hard to achieve the unity of the people from all walks of life on the basis of it.In the course of this, they succeeded in achieving unity with the nationalists as well.The imperialists and reactionaries are talking as if there were an impassable gulf between communism and nationalism in order to drive a wedge of hostility and discord within the nation, but communism and nationalism have the common desire and aspiration of love for one’s country and nation. It is impossible to achieve national unity if the positive aspect of nationalism is ignored and rejected because of its limitations.What is opposed to communism is not nationalism in general but bourgeois nationalism, national egoism and national chauvinism which subordinate the common interests of the nation to the interests of a handful of the exploiting class in the guise of nationalism.We realized unity and cooperation with the nationalists on our initiative by giving prominence to the community of loving the nation and valuing the national character and led them tirelessly to go on the road of patriotism so that they make great contribution to the struggle for national liberation and socialism while casting their lots with the communists.

 It is the national character and love for the nation and the spirit of national independence which emanate from the national character that can be the foundations of great national unity and national reunification in our country where the nation is divided by foreign forces and different ideas and systems exist in the north and the south.Especially when the national character is trampled underfoot and obliterated in south Korea by foreign forces and the reactionaries, we may lose the foundations of the unity of the whole nation and national reunification and the nation may become heterogeneous and divided into different nations unless we hold high and sustain the national character in every way.

 All our Party’s policies for national reunification, particularly the 10-Point Programme of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation for Reunification of the Country put forward by the great national father Comrade Kim Il Sung, are blended with the noble spirit of national independence and love for the nation which value and sustain the national character.By paying deep attention to sustaining and embodying the national character in leading the struggle for national reunification, our Party has created mature conditions for uniting the whole nation in the north, the south and abroad, and for realizing the coordinated development of the country and nation.

 It is of special importance that we have stressed the Korean-nation-first principle in the struggle to preserve and embody the national character. Our Party has considered it to be a main link in the struggle for sustaining the national character to encourage the popular masses, the masters of the revolution construction, to take pride and self-confidence in the greatness of the Korean nation and brighten the soul and spirit of the nation, and laid great emphasis on this work.Our Party has brought about an all-round development and flowering of our people’s admirable national character, which has been shaped through history, created new fine national traits successfully in all fields of revolution and construction and social life and, on this basis, advanced the Korean-nation-first principle and armed the people with this principle.The establishment of the Korean-nation-first spirit has effected a new advance in the struggle to sustain the national character and raised its role beyond measure in carrying out the cause of socialism.As is evidenced in our people, young and old, men and women, throughout the country fondly singing “My Country is Best”, all our people are proud of being Koreans.With a high sense of self-respect and pride as the best nation living and working in the good socialist system under the care of the great leader, and under the leadership the great Party, our people are exalting the national dignity and displaying national resourcefulness in the struggle for the prosperity and development of the country and the victory of socialism.

 The experience of our Party and people in the struggle to sustain the national character shows that only when the party and the state of the working class value the national character and work hard to embody it in the revolution and construction can they unite the entire nation, advance triumphantly the cause of socialism by giving full play to their patriotic enthusiasm and realize the independent development and prosperity of the country and nation.

 By giving wise leadership to the struggle of our Party and people for the preservation of the Juche character and national character, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung set a brilliant example of leading to victory the revolutionary cause of the popular masses under the banner of independence. History has recorded numerous patriots and patriotic struggles, but it has never known such a communist revolutionary as the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung who firmly safeguarded the Juche character and national character with faith in independence and a noble patriotic spirit, treading a thorny revolutionary path nor has it witnessed such a revolutionary cause of genuine national independence as the Juche revolutionary cause pioneered and led by Comrade Kim Il Sung.

 The socialism of Juche is the brilliant fruition of the great idea and leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung who opened up an original way of carrying out the socialist cause, the cause of independence for the popular masses. Our socialism of Juche which has been built by ourselves in keeping with our desire and national characteristics is a people-centred socialism which has made the popular masses the masters of everything and made everything serve them; it is the socialism of independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliant defence, which has strengthened the Juche character and fully displayed the national character; it is the socialism dedicated to love for the country and nation.Here lies its essential characteristics and its superiority.Because it has most effectively combined love for the people with love for the country and nation, the independence of the popular masses with the independence of the country and nation, socialism in our country is advancing along the road of victory with an invincible vitality and force and displaying ever greater attraction in carrying out the cause of independence for humanity.

 By building Juche-orientated socialism which defends and realizes the independence of the popular masses and guarantees the independent development and prosperity of the nation under the guidance of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and people have proved that adhering to the principle of national independence as well as the principle of the working class in the revolution and construction and keeping the Juche character and national character are the road to victory and glory, Great-power chauvinists and opportunists slandered our adherence to the Juche character and national character and our struggle for the revolution and construction on the principle of national independence as if these were contrary to socialism, but, in the long run, it is our Party and our people that have defended and brightened socialism through to the end. Our socialism is vigorously advancing along its track in spite of worldwide political upheavals because our Party is consistently leading the revolution and construction from the standpoint of Juche.Although those who once posed themselves as “orthodox” socialists and internationalists discarded socialism and betrayed internationalism, our Party and people have been invariably and unfailingly faithful to internationalism under the banner of socialism and, while defending the impregnable fortress of socialism, are striving for the reconstruction of the socialist movement and the cause of independence for humanity by pooling efforts with all the revolutionary parties and progressive people who cherish independence and socialism.

2

Stepping up socialist construction and realizing the reunification of the country and its prosperity by preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character is the unshakable faith and will of our Party and people.We must thoroughly implement this line which was the life-long desire of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and whose credibility and validity have been proved by history.

 Loving one’s country and nation is a prerequisite for maintaining the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction.

 A revolutionary must boundlessly love and respect the country and nation. Without a country and nation, nobody can live and shape his destiny.As the destiny of an individual is inseparably connected with the destiny of the nation, our Party is exerting efforts to educate all members of society to have a correct view on the nation and producing such art and literary work as the multi-part feature film “The Nation and Destiny” expending much effort.The theme of “The Nation and Destiny” is that the destiny of the country and nation immediately means the destiny of individuals and that the existence of one depends on the survival of the other.Those who want to shape their own destiny truly must consider the country and nation as the base of their lives and as their home of happiness and love them ardently; they must find the worth and value of their lives in devoting their all for the independence and prosperity of the country and nation.

 How people approach their own class and how they live as a member of the class is an important question, but it is no less important how they live and fight as a member of the nation.It is most important now for all Koreans to love the country and nation, lead a genuine life as members of the Korean nation and devote their all to the common aim of the nation, transcending the different systems created temporarily owing to national division, as well as different ideas and ideals, different political views and religions and different classes and strata.Those who share the blood and soul of the Korean nation must link their own destiny with the destiny of the country and nation and fight devoting body and soul for the independent reunification of the country and the prosperity of the nation, no matter which class and stratum they belong to, in what social system they exist and whether they live at home or abroad.

 For the party in the position of revolutionary leadership to treasure the country and nation and bear the responsibility for their destiny is the fundamental condition for fulfilling its leadership mission.Defending and maintaining the independence of the country and nation is a prerequisite for realizing the independence of the popular masses.If a working-class party regards only the ideals and demands of the class as absolute and neglects national interests, it cannot fulfil the responsibility for the destiny of the country and nation, give a correct guidance to the patriotic struggle and realize the independence of the masses with credit.A party which leads the revolution and construction must think and act with the attitude of attaching importance to the country and nation and lead the masses of the people correctly to defend the interests of the country and nation resolutely and realize the development of the country and the prosperity of the nation.

Our Party and people are proud of having set a brilliant example of patriotism in the long-drawn-pout revolutionary struggle for independence, sovereignty and socialism. The Korean communists were the most ardent patriots who had fought devoting their all to the liberation of the fatherland and its independent development.The history of pioneering and advancing the Korean revolution shows the ceaseless sacred struggle of our people for the country and nation.Our people are proud of their patriotic traditions which are now being carried forward brilliantly under the leadership of our Party.By carrying forward the noble patriotic traditions, all our people must implement devotedly our Party’s idea and policy of defending the fundamental interests of the country and nation and making their country, their motherland, more prosperous.

Carrying out the revolution and construction in one’s own style on the principle of national independence is the fundamental requirement for preserving the Juche character and national character.
Dealing with the problems arising in shaping the destiny of one’s country and nation according to one’s own decision is the right to independence which nobody can infringe upon.The revolutionary parties and peoples must resolutely reject the intervention and pressure of the outside forces and resolve their own problems according to their own decisions and judgement to suit their demands and interests.

The failure to assert one’s own opinion and faith, when under the pressure of foreign forces, leads to subordination and national ruin.This is proved by the catastrophic fate of the countries and nations which followed the intentions of the imperialists and dominationists and lived consulting their pleasure. The more pressure the imperialists and dominationists apply, the more firmly the revolutionary parties and peoples must assert their opinion and carry out the lines and policies they have adopted.If they yield to the pressure of the outside forces and vacillate or give up their aim in difficulty and thus abandon their faith and withdraw from the road they themselves have chose, they cannot rise up again.No matter how grave difficulties and trials they may face, the revolutionary parties and peoples should never lose their faith in the validity of their cause and invariably follow the road to independence, the road they have chosen, fighting with an indomitable will.

In advancing the revolution and construction and developing society, it is always necessary to find out and rely on one’s own way and methods.It is not right for the masters responsible for the destiny of the nation to copy or blindly imitate others.It is natural to introduce what is good or developed among others’ things, but it is intolerable to imitate them mechanically or consider them to be basic.The parties and peoples who are building socialism should not tolerate the capitalist “Western style” in managing the state and social system and organizing social life, but instead they should apply their own style, which is revolutionary and national, in all spheres of state and social life including politics, the economy and culture.

The countries which are experiencing social problems, economic difficulties and disasters because of national disputes must also find out a way to overcome them by their own efforts, not expecting anything from the “prescription” of the imperialists. The so-called “prescription” that the imperialists are propagating around the world are neither good for the development of other nations nor “ingenious plans” to activate the economy of other countries and ensure national reconciliation; these are the schemes to embellish themselves and gain their profit in this process.As reality shows, in the countries which accepted the imperialist “prescription”, social problems and economic difficulties have become more serious and national disputes become more chronic.The countries which are suffering social economic difficulties and national disputes must reject the “prescription” of the imperialists which only worsens their conditions.They must break through the difficulties following their own prescription.

Our Party and people are proud of having chosen their own revolutionary road independently and having advanced the revolutionary cause. Solving all the problems arising in the revolution and construction in their own way based on their independent views.Our style is derived from man-centred Juche philosophy and patriotism.Because we have not followed others’ opinion and prescription, but relied firmly on our own views and the revolutionary methods of our style, we have been able to build a powerful socialism of Juche and make it prosperous.In the future, too, we must live and carry out the revolution in our own way on the principle of national independence so as to firmly defend and develop socialism of our style and make the country and nation ever prosperous.

Our own force is the real guarantee for preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character.

The fundamental factor in preparing our own force is to build up the political force of our own.In order to preserve the Juche character and national character it is necessary to prepare our own force in all spheres including the material and economic force, but what is most important is to build up a strong political force, the driving force of the revolution.

Unity means the strength of the driving force of the revolution.

In the struggle for the independence of the country and nation it is imperative to achieve national unity based on the unanimous desire and common interests of the nation.At present, our urgent task is to achieve great national unity and build up our own force for national reunification.Only when a nation wide unity is realized can we crush the divisive forces at home and abroad and accomplish the cause of national reunification.All the compatriots in the north, the south and abroad must fight dynamically to realize the independent reunification of the country, the great national desire, rallied rock-solid under the banner of great national unity.

In the socialist society where class antagonism has been eliminated, the nation is the people and vice versa and the centre of their unity is the party and the leader.National unity in the socialist society must be the unity of the whole society in ideology and purpose centring on the party and the leader.Our Party has equipped the entire people firmly with the Juche idea and turned the whole of society into one socio-political organism, whose membershave been united firmly centring on the Party and the leader, thereby building up creditably the independent driving force of the revolution, the integrated whole of the leader, the Party and the masses.The strength of the independent driving force relying on the single-hearted unity of the leader, the party and the masses is the fundamental guarantee for all our victories both in the struggle against imperialism and in socialist construction.By consolidating and developing this single-hearted unity and displaying its power to the full, we must safeguard the independence of the country and nation firmly from enemy encroachment and step up the revolution and construction vigorously.

In addition to our own political force, the economic and military forces must be prepared.The parties and peoples who have not prepared their own economic and military forces cannot fulfil their responsibility and play their role satisfactorily as the independent driving force of the revolution and construction and preserve the Juche character and national character.The revolutionary parties and peoples should exert all their energy, enduring all hardships, to prepare their own economic and military forces that guarantee the independent development of the country.

The role of science and technology in economic construction and defence build-up has increased beyond measure, and the scientific and technological competition is brisk on a worldwide scale.In this situation, without developed science and technology it would be impossible to build up strong economic and military forces.

The parties and peoples who are building socialism should develop science and technology by their own efforts to suit the requirement of the revolution and the specific situation in their countries, maintain thoroughly their own attitude. The work of expanding and developing scientific and technological exchanges with different countries and introducing advanced science and technology from other countries, too, must be based on their own reality. If they give full rein to the strength and intelligence of their people relying on the strength of the advantages of socialism, and mobilize all possibilities and potentials actively, they will be fully able to scale a high peak of scientific and technical development and ensure the independent development of the country by means of science and technology.

Our Party and people have regarded it as the fundamental requirement for building an independent sovereign state to prepare their own strong economic and military forces and laid powerful economic and military foundations that guarantee the independence of the country and the prosperity of the nation, by waging an indomitable struggle sparing a penny and tightening their belts from the first days of the building of a new society. Today we can firmly defend the fundamental interests of the revolution and the dignity of the country from the imperialists’ vicious manoeuvres against socialism and our Republic because we have built the powerful independent national economy and self-reliant defence power.By continuing a vigorous struggle to strengthen the force of the independent national economy and self-reliant defence power, we must further strengthen the material foundation of the independent state and social life and defend reliably the security of the country and the happy lives of the people.

In preserving the Juche character and national character it is very important to enhance national pride and self-confidence among the people.

National pride and self-confidence are the manifestation of love for the nation and the spirit of national independence.The revolutionary parties should always step up ideological work to cultivate the spirit of national independence among the people so that they are proud of their country and nation and determined to defend and develop them.An ideological offensive for boosting the spirit of national independence should be undertaken especially by small and backward countries and the countries which have heavily suffered domination and intervention by big countries and in which flunkeyism and dogmatism remain deep-rooted.

National pride and self-confidence are formed and displayed when the good qualities of one’s nation are understood. The good qualities of a nation which are formed socially and historically in the struggle to shape the destiny of the country and nation have nothing in common with racial characteristics, nor are these qualities acquired by any special nation.Every nation is blessed with its good qualities and has the aspiration and desire to preserve and promote them.Only when the revolutionary parties appreciate the fine traits of their nations and encourage them positively, can they help the people to acquire national pride and self-confidence.

What is important in preserving and boosting the good qualities of the nation is to carry forward the national heritage correctly. Nihilism which ignores and abandons national inheritance is the main obstacle which impedes the flowering and development of the fine national traits.In order to preserve the good qualities of the nation, it is imperative to have an attitude of appreciating the national heritage and thoroughly reject and overcome nihilism which denies the nation’s fine traits.Restorationism which tries to preserve things of the past thoughtlessly on the excuse of appreciating the national heritage is also a harmful tendency preventing the good qualities of the nation from being preserved in a correct manner.If restorationism is tolerated, it would revive outdated and backward mentality which reflects the requirement and interests of the exploiting class and goes against times and create an obstacle in the way of preserving the fine national traits in conformity with the requirement of socialism.To preserve the fine national traits it is necessary to reject both the nihilistic attitude and the restorationist tendencies towards the national heritage and correctly combine the national stand with the class stand, the historical principle with the contemporary trend and thus discard what is outdated or incompatible with socialism and encourage and develop what is progressive and popular.

In addition to preserving the national heritage handed down through history with a correct view, new fine national traits must be cultivated continuously.It is only when new national traits are created based on the inherited good qualities of the nation that nation’s fine traits can bloom and develop further and their role become more essential in enhancing national pride and self-confidence.By stepping up the revolution and construction successfully, the parties which build socialism must create new national traits continuously in all spheres of politics, the economy, ideology, culture and morality and boost national pride and self-confidence among the people.

The good qualities of the nation are best cultivated and displayed while carrying out the revolutionary cause under the guidance of the great leader.These qualities can be attributed to the greatness of the leader; the pride and self-confidence in the nation’s excellence find concentrated expression in the pride and confidence in having the great leader.

Our people have become a great nation under the care of the respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and have acquired excellent national traits under his leadership.Today the people around the world call our nation in association with the name of the respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and praise the good qualities of our nation as the excellent traits of Kim Il Sung’s nation.

The core of the traits of Kim Il Sung’s nation consists of loyalty and dutifulness to their leader.Our people’s unlimited loyalty and dutifulnesstothegreatleaderComradeKim Il Sung have become firmly established as their faith and will, as their conscience and morality, through life experience of shaping the destiny of the country and nation for many years in history. Loyalty and dutifulness to the leader are the highest expression of the good qualities of Kim Il Sung’s nation and constitute the basis of all the other fine traits of his nation.The mental and moral excellence of our people – the strong sense of uniting behind the Party and the leader with a single mind and purpose, revolutionary faith in the socialism of Juche, unlimited devotion to their country and the revolution, the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude, revolutionary optimism, revolutionary morality and comradeship with which all members of society help and lead each other forward – emanates from their loyalty and dutifulness to the great leader and finds clear expression through them.We must further consolidate and carry forward stoutly the excellent qualities of our people who are loyal and dutiful to the leader so that the people remain unfailingly loyal and dutiful to their leader and their Party generation after generation.

We must continue to step up education in the Korean-nation-first principle to encourage the people to brighten the greatness of the Korean nation further with a strong sense of national pride and self-confidence.

The struggle to preserve the Juche character and national character is the struggle against imperialism and dominationism.

Taking advantage of the trials which the cause of independence for the popular masses is undergoing, the imperialists are nor working more blatantly than ever to obliterate the Juche character and traits of other countries and nations and realize their dominationist ambition.Without struggling against the dominationist machinations of the imperialists at present, it would be inconceivable to ensure the independent development of the countries and nations nor would it be possible to prevent people from falling to the lot of colonial slavery again.

The illusions about and fear of imperialism should be dispelled.

Aggression and plunder are the real nature of imperialism.No matter how the international situation may change, the dominationist ambition of the imperialists will not change.Nothing is more foolish and dangerous than pinning hopes on the imperialist “aid”, being unable to see through the aggressive and predatory nature of imperialism.The imperialist “aid” is a noose of plunder and subjugation aimed at robbing ten and even a hundred things for one thing that is given. The revolutionary parties and peoples must see clearly the miserable situation in the countries and nations which harboured illusions about imperialism, must always hold on to the anti-imperialist, independent stand and wipe out even the slightest element of illusions about the imperialists.

The fear of imperialism is another expression of illusions about imperialism.Imperialism is by no means an object of fear; it is doomed as the refuse of history.If you are afraid of confrontation with imperialism and are willing to abandon the anti-imperialist struggle, you will never free yourselves from its domination and control.The revolutionary parties and peoples must see through the vulnerability of imperialism, courageously stand against the bluffing imperialists, and resolutely crush their reactionary offensive with revolutionary offensive.

We must smash up the vicious and cunning policy of the imperialists who seek to obliterate nations and the reactionary doctrines which try to justify this policy.

The imperialists’ reactionary policy of suppressing the Juche character of nations and obliterating national traits is now taking on a new form in the guise of ganster-like fuss about the trend towards a “monolithic” world.In the situation where each country and nation shape their destiny with their own ideas and systems, there can be no “monolithic” world which covers all spheres of politics, economy and culture.With social development and ties and interchange among different nations becoming closer, common features increase in the lives of nations.However, this process always presupposes the independent and individualistic development of nations and takes place on the basis of such development.
 The imperialists have cooked up the trend of a “monolithic world” for the purpose of reducing the whole world to the Western-style “free world” and subjugating and assimilating all nations to themselves.All countries and nations must see clearly the danger of the imperialist policy of obliterating nations which is pursued in the name of the trend towards a “monolithic” world and must intensify the struggle to defeat the dominationist manoeuvres of the imperialists.

The imperialist moves to obliterate other nations and assimilate them are directed not only to foreign countries and nations but also to the minority nations and foreign residents in their own countries. The Japanese imperialists, who imposed immeasurable misfortune and suffering upon the Korean nation in the past by means of the most heinous colonial rule and the policy of obliterating our nation, are now making frantic efforts to suppress the national rights of the Koreans in Japan, and erase their national consciousness, and are working tenaciously to assimilate them to themselves.This is the most glaring example of the imperialist attempt.The parties and states, which are responsible for the destiny of their overseas compatriots, must keep a close eye on the cunning policy of national assimilation pursued by the imperialists and step up the struggle to expose and shatter it.

The “ethnological doctrine” “cosmopolitanism” and other reactionary doctrines which have been declared bankrupt by history are nor being adapted and changed into various forms and used as ideological instruments to paralyze people’s national consciousness and revolutionary spirit and justify the imperialist policy of obliterating nations.In order to keep the Juche character and national traits, we must thoroughly expose and shatter all sorts of reactionary ideological trends and lies aimed at hiding and justifying the dominationist nature of the imperialists.

The struggle against the dominationist maneovures of the imperialists should be linked with the struggle against the traitors to the nation. Without combating the traitors who sell out national interests in collusion with the imperialists against their own countries and nations, it would be impossible to defeat imperialism and dominationism or achieve the development of nations.This is clearly shown by the situation in the south of our country.

In south Korea where our national traits have been grossly trampled upon because of the flunkeyist, treacherous acts of the successive reactionary rulers, the soul of the nation and refined customs are now being totally erased by the clamour of the authorities for anti-national “internationalization” and ”globalization”.Their clamour for these schemes means an unheard-of treachery to maintain their powers and comfort in return for the obliteration of everything that is national and for their total sell-out of the country and nation to foreign forces.Their humiliating open-door policy which is pursued in the nbamne of “internationalization” and “globalization” allows the American, Japanese and Western fashions to flood all spheres of politics, economy and culture.In consequence, in south Korea all areas of social life, ranging from the mode of politics, the language, written and spoken, to the way of life, are imitating the American, Japanese and Western fashions, the foreign forces lord it over, and the national traits and dignity are being wantonly violated and obliterated.In order to cut off the noose of domination and subjugation by the imperialists in south Korea and open up the road of independent development, we must sweep away the traitors who have sold out the country and nation to foreign forces and invited all sorts of national misfortune and miseries.

In order to oppose imperialism and dominationism and preserve the Juche character and national character, international unity and cooperation among the progressive people of the world must be strengthened.Only when the progressive people throughout the world support and encourage each other, closely cooperate and pool their efforts can each country achieve national independence, prosperity and development, and the cause of globalindependence be realized with success.The socialist countries, non-aligned and developing countries must, in solid unity under the banner of independence, make dynamic efforts to democratize the international community, thus abolish the old international order of domination and subordination set up by the imperialists, and establish a new one which is based on sovereignty, equality, justice and impartiality.They must actively develop South-South cooperation on the principle of collective self-reliance so as to achieve prosperity all together.

Independence, peace and friendship are the ideals of our Party’s foreign policy which makes it possible to strengthen international solidarity and contribute to the cause of world independence. Our Party and our people have always endeavoured to develop relationships and cooperation with all the people of the world on the principles of independence and equality, peace and friendship and mutual benefit and to establish just international relations and order between countries and nations. We must make dynamic struggle to strengthen unity and cooperation with the progressive people throughout the world and to democratize the international community.We will thus fulfil our international duty and historic mission in the struggle to defend the independence of all countries and nations and to make the world independent.

It is a consistent policy pursued by our Party, which is guided by the Juche idea, to value, preserve and materialize the Juche character and national character.

 As it did in the past, our Party will invariably maintain the principle of Juche and national independence so as to bring further prosperity to our country and our fatherland which was won back and built by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, and to achieve the cause of national reunification and accomplish the socialist cause of Juche.