Paragon of Internationalism

Paragon of Internationalism



President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) of Korea is always remembered by many people of the world as a paragon of internationalism.

In the difficult period of arduous armed struggle against the Japanese imperialists to liberate Korea from their occupation (1905-1945), the President regarded it as an internationalist obligation of the Korean revolutionaries to help the anti-imperialist struggle of the Chinese people, their neighbor. He therefore put forward a line of forming the anti-imperialist joint front with the Chinese, waged and commanded joint operations with the Chinese anti-Japanese units. Those operations included the attack on the Fusong County in August 1936 and the battle at Shuangshanzi in May 1938-he himself commanded the fights, leaving a vivid embodiment of internationalism in the history of the Korea-Chinese anti-Japanese struggle.

In this period, he also waged an energetic struggle to defend with arms the Soviet Union, the first socialist state.

He put forward slogan, “Defend the Soviet Union with arms!” and carried out harassment operations in the rear of the Japanese army, thus frustrating the Japanese aggressive maneuvers at every step.

When the Japanese imperialist aggressors made armed provocations against the Soviet Union in the areas of Lake Khasan in 1938 and Khalkhin-Gol in 1939 respectively, he fought many battles and dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese armed invasion attempts against the Soviet Union.

Even after Korea’s liberation on August 15, 1945, President Kim Il Sung gave selfless support in every field to the Chinese Communist Party engaged in arduous struggle against the Chiang Kai-shek-led Kuomintang. That is why the Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong said that the Chinese national flag inscribed with five starts is tinted with the blood shed by Korean revolutionaries.

Kim Il Sung actively supported and helped the people in the forefront of the anti-imperialist struggle in the 20th century, imprinting its political history with indelible marks.

When the Cuban Missile crisis took place in October 1962, the President, saying that nothing must be spared to defend the Cuban revolution from the US aggression, gave political and military assistance, while sending food and tractors as well as a group of authoritative technicians. He strengthened solidarity and gave selfless support to the struggle of many peoples- to the Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians out against the US imperialists’ aggression and interference; the anti-colonial struggle waged in African countries of Algeria, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and so on; and the Latin-American peoples against the US and pro-US dictatorship. Whenever Middle Eastern Arab countries were engaged in the wars started by the Israeli Zionists, President Kim Il Sung expressed firm solidarity with the Arab peoples and gave them unstinted material and military assistance. He also made public several works such as Let Us Intensify the Anti-Imperialist, Anti-US Struggle and The Great Anti-Imperialist Revolutionary Cause of Asian, African and Latin-American People Is Invincible where he encourage the people of the world in their revolutionary struggle conducted under the banner of anti-imperialism and independence, and clearly illuminated the correct path to the cause of making the world independent.

The leaders and statesmen of the countries, who won freedom from the imperialist colonial shatters, often visited Korea for help, when Kim Il Sung told them about the successes and experience the Koreans gained in the building of new society, and rendered all possible help to them. He also saw it to that efficient technicians’ groups were dispatched to several countries to build irrigation works and farm implement factories as well as a lot of tractors, vehicles and machine-tools, etc. in this way he gave many-sided support and cooperation.

Didier Ratsiraka, former President of Madagascar, said: “Some foreigners only give us some fish of their catch when we are hungry. It means that we should always depend on them. But President Kim Il Sung has taught us how to catch fish, so we could catch them by ourselves if necessary.”

President Kim Il Sung, who has created the noble paragon of internationalism, will live in eternal memory of the progressive humankind advancing toward independence.