ON ORGANIZING AND WAGING ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST JAPANESE IMPERIALISM-KIM IL SUNG

KIM IL SUNG





ON ORGANIZING AND WAGING ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST JAPANESE IMPERIALISM



Speech Delivered at the Meeting of Party and Young Communist League

Cadres Held at Mingyuegou, Yanji County

December 16, 1931



Comrades,

The present situation demands that we immediately organize and wage armed struggle against Japanese imperialism.

While they are starting aggression against the continent, the Japanese imperialists are intensifying their all-round reactionary offensive against the Korean people for the “security of the rear”. These scoundrels are now suppressing the Korean people’s revolutionary advance by force of arms; they are wantonly arresting, imprisoning and murdering our innocent people in every part of the country. This greatly aggravates the national and class contradictions between Japanese imperialism and the Korean people.

The anti-Japanese struggle of workers, peasants and the remaining broad masses to resist the Japanese imperialists’ barbarous suppression grows stronger, and is gradually developing into violent conflict.

The general strike of dockers at Wonsan , the strikes by workers at the Sinhung Coal Mine and the Pyongyang Rubber Factory, the peasant uprising in Tanchon, and the peasant struggle on the Fuji farm of Ryongchon—all these show that the workers and peasants in our country began with violent opposition to Japanese imperialism armed to the teeth. A youth and student resistance is also rapidly developing with the Kwangju Student Incident as a driving force.

In keeping with the violent advance of the people in the homeland, the Korean peasants’ struggle is rapidly gaining momentum in east Manchuria , too. Under the leadership of the Korean communists, a large-scale, well-organized autumn struggle took place involving more than 100,000 peasants in east Manchuria ; and this developed into a violent struggle and struck a great blow against Japanese imperialism and reactionary landlords, thus winning a brilliant victory.

It became obvious to the Korean working class, peasants, youths and students and other patriotic-minded people, that they could not escape the destiny of a ruined people nor meet the simple needs of their lives without resorting to revolutionary violence.

Under these conditions, it is vital for the anti-Japanese national-liberation struggle to organize the surging violence of the masses and to develop it into armed struggle.

To organize and launch armed struggle is the only correct method of restoring the country and liberating the people from Japanese imperialist colonial enslavement.

The Japanese imperialists, the burglars, have occupied our country by force of arms, and employed counter-revolutionary forces to maintain their colonial rule in Korea . In order to violently suppress every patriotic struggle of the Korean people, they permanently station armed forces of more than two divisions, and have set up at least 2,000 police stations and military police institutions, and dozens of prison houses in our country. They have passed all kinds of evil fascist laws, whereby they deprive the Korean people of the freedom of speech, of the press, assembly, association and demonstration, and prohibit them from all political activities.

The Japanese imperialist aggressors are using all possible means and methods to reduce the Korean people to permanent colonial slavery. They will not retreat even one step until their aggressive forces are crushed.

It is a naive illusion to expect the Japanese imperialist scoundrels to leave our country meekly. This fact is confirmed by the experience of the past twenty-odd years of the anti-Japanese national-liberation movement.

From around the time when the Japanese imperialists occupied Korea to this day, our people have continued to develop all forms of anti-Japanese struggle. But each time Japanese imperialism mobilized its armed forces and barbarously suppressed these protests. Patriots grieved over the ruin of the country and fervently appealed for independence, but in vain. Foolishly enough, the bigoted nationalists tried to attain independence by means of “petition”, disregarding the people’s will, and Japanese imperialism answered this with bloody suppression.

There were also the armed uprisings of the Righteous Volunteers’ Army and of the Independence Army. But these struggles were foiled one by one by the counter-revolutionary forces of Japanese imperialism, because they, too, failed to be guided by Marxist-Leninist strategy and tactics and were sporadic.

Experience clearly shows that our national desire for the liberation of the country can never be achieved without crushing the aggressive forces of Japanese imperialism.

In order to smash these forces and liberate the country, it is imperative that we launch an organized armed struggle based on the strategy and tactics of Marxism-Leninism.

It is self-evident that we cannot depend upon nor beg to anyone for our country’s liberation.

We must achieve the liberation of our country and nation by our own efforts through an active armed struggle.

Comrades,

The present tense revolutionary situation, which has been brought about by the Japanese imperialist occupation of Manchuria , urgently demands that we take up arms.

Now is the best time to undertake an anti-Japanese war on a mass scale by waging an armed struggle. First, because the whole of Manchuria is in a stale of anarchy, as the Kuomintang rule has disintegrated and the Japanese imperialist ruling machinery is not yet established; second, because the Chinese people have risen up en masse in their anti-Japanese struggle, thus opening up a great era of stormy revolution. The broad sectors of the Chinese people are launching an anti-Japanese save-the-nation movement throughout their country against the imperialist occupation of Manchuria . Among the armed units engaged in that movement, the progressive sector, led by the Communist Party of China, is small as yet. But we can develop it into a more vigorous struggle when we fight in unity with all the anti-Japanese armed units.

The time has come when everyone should come out, weapons in hand, in the dedicated struggle to restore their country. Let us fully mobilize all the patriotic forces opposed to Japanese imperialism irrespective of wealth or poverty, partisanship and religion, whether nobles or commoners. We must guarantee that the whole nation participate in the anti-Japanese armed conflict in full force, those who possess weapons offering weapons, those who have money donating money and those who have strength dedicating strength.

We must support the national-liberation struggle of the Chinese people fighting Japanese imperialism, the common enemy, and form a united front with them, thus enjoying mass support from not only the Korean people but broad sectors of the Chinese people in Manchuria .

In this way we shall successfully develop the anti-Japanese armed struggle, enjoying the active support and encouragement of the two peoples.

From now on we must begin to organize armed units, and expand and develop our own armed forces, taking weapons away from the enemy to arm ourselves. If we use to our advantage the nature and terrain of Korea ’s border and the wide expanse of Manchuria , we can win a final victory, weakening and smashing the enemy forces progressively even with small forces.

This means that we must organize and wage armed struggle with guerrilla warfare as our major tactic.

Guerrilla warfare is a method of armed struggle which will enable us to deal heavy political and military blows to the enemy while preserving our own forces, and to defeat the numerically or technically superior enemy even with small forces. Only when we organize and launch armed struggle using guerrilla warfare, while relying on the active support and encouragement of the masses of the people and the favourable conditions of nature and terrain, are we fully capable of defeating the piratical Japanese imperialist aggressive forces.





1. ON ORGANIZING THE ANTI-JAPANESE PEOPLE'S GUERRILLA ARMY



Comrades,

If we want to organize and wage armed conflict, we must found our own revolutionary armed forces sufficiently to smash the enemy’s counter-revolutionary armed forces. In order to win the fight against the Japanese imperialist robbers it is essential that we have revolutionary armed forces which are fully capable of preserving and expanding our own forces, continuously weakening and destroying the enemy’s forces in the long-drawn-out struggle. We must organize such revolutionary armed forces as an Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army.

The Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army must be fundamentally different from the nationalist armed forces, the Righteous Volunteers’ Army or the Independence Army which advocated Korea ’s independence. It must become a genuine people’s army, made up of the fine sons and daughters of workers and peasants; it must become a genuine revolutionary army equipped with Marxist-Leninist ideas, and fighting for the country’s liberation, the people’s freedom and happiness. The guerrilla army must become a political army which not only fights for the people’s interests but educates, organizes and mobilizes them in the revolutionary struggle; and it must become a working-class army which is true not only to the Korean revolution but to the world revolution.

We are not starting from scratch in organizing revolutionary armed forces now.

In the past we brought up the communists of the new generation in the organizations of the Young Communist League of Korea and the Anti-Imperialist Youth League. Thus we provided the core from which we can organize the revolutionary armed forces.

Furthermore, last year we gained some experience and learned some lessons by organizing the Korean Revolutionary Army and by carrying on political and military action.

On the basis of these successes and experiences we must, first, push ahead actively with the work of organizing an Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army with a core of fine young communists seasoned and tested in the crucible of the hard-fought underground revolutionary struggle. By closely combining the organization of the guerrilla army with the masses’ revolutionary advance, we shall admit progressive workers and peasants as well as patriotic youth, trained and tested in the practical revolutionary struggle, and strive to continue to reinforce the ranks.

In order to guarantee that the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army properly discharges its mission as a genuine people’s army, a revolutionary army, we should intensify the struggle to consolidate its ranks politically and militarily while fully ensuring the communists’ leadership in it.

Obtaining arms is another important task to be carried out at the same time as the organization of the guerrilla army.

Men and weapons are the two elements of the armed forces. Arming is one of the basic factors in the success of the armed struggle.

How, then, should we equip the guerrilla army?

We have no source of weapons, nor anyone to give them to us. Therefore, we have no alternative but to get them by our own efforts.

The only way is to capture them from the enemy and to arm ourselves. True, this is a dangerous and difficult task. But if we actively attack the enemy, displaying bravery and a self-sacrificing spirit with a high degree of revolutionary determination and if, at the same time, we surprise them, skilfully utilizing and intensifying their weaknesses, then we are fully capable of seizing their weapons and arming ourselves. “Weapons are our life and soul! Oppose armed force with armed force!”―this must become our fighting slogan at present.

Under this slogan we are required to display a revolutionary spirit of self-reliance. Thus, we shall take weapons from the Japanese imperialist aggressive army, the Chinese Northeastern Army which surrendered to Japanese imperialism, Japanese and Chinese northeast police, evil reactionary landlords and bureaucrats, and so obtain arms for the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army soon to be organized.

While seizing enemy weapons and arming ourselves, we must not neglect to make spears, swords, clubs and the like, for even without these primitive weapons, it is impossible to capture enemy weapons.

We have to begin by organizing small guerrilla units in different areas and arming them, and then gradually expand them into revolutionary armed forces of large units.

When we organize the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army with the fine sons and daughters of workers and peasants, we young communists at the core, and give repeated political and military blows to Japanese imperialism by waging swift and flexible guerrilla warfare everywhere, the scoundrels will be rendered powerless and will surely be driven out of Korea and Manchuria .





2. ON ESTABLISHING A GUERRILLA BASE



To organize and develop the armed struggle through guerrilla warfare, a guerrilla base must be set up. A solid guerrilla base will make it possible to continually expand the armed ranks and wage protracted guerrilla warfare even when besieged by the formidable enemy. It will also make it possible for us to protect the revolutionary masses from the cold-blooded murder and barbarity of the enemy. In particular, as we fight the armed struggle with no state backing and no aid from outside, we badly need our own firm military base, a rear base. Furthermore, this base is absolutely necessary in order to progress with preparations for the founding of the Communist Party and the revolutionary movement as a whole, while waging armed struggle.

A guerrilla base can take different forms according to the prevailing subjective and objective situation, the environment and conditions of struggle or the degree of preparation of armed forces.

Our present conditions demand the establishment of guerrilla zones—bases in the form of liberated areas. Only when guerrilla zones, completely beyond the enemy’s ruling system, are set up, will it be possible to protect the young revolutionary armed forces and the revolutionary masses and make successful military and political preparations which will enable us to develop the anti-Japanese national-liberation struggle as a whole, concentrating on armed struggle.

To establish guerrilla zones we should, in the initial stage, struggle to revolutionize the broad rural areas.

The revolutionized rural area will, on the one hand, serve as the provisional centre from which the guerrilla army can conduct its operations until the guerrilla zones are established, and, on the other hand, it will serve as a firm basis for establishing them. Moreover, in the course of revolutionizing the countryside, valuable experience will be gained for founding such zones.

From now on, therefore, we must force the revolutionization of rural areas so that the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army, the moment it is organized, can rely on these areas to carry on guerrilla warfare and constantly expand its own military and political force. We will have to set up firm guerrilla bases or liberated areas in the favourable zones of revolutionized rural areas, as the conditions develop in time.

The establishment of a guerrilla base or liberated area must presuppose the following three basic conditions: first, there must be an economic base and a mass foundation to enlist protection and support from the revolutionary masses: second, it must be geographically advantageous for the guerrilla army to defend itself even with small armed forces and the site should be such that it would be difficult for the enemy to attack the guerrilla army even though he has up-to-date weapons; third, it must have armed forces of its own which should at least be capable of self-defence.

The mountainous area along the Tuman-gang River , the northern border area of our country, satisfies these conditions fairly well.

This is the area where more than 80 per cent of the population is composed of poverty-stricken peasants who immigrated from Korea, unable to endure the oppression and exploitation of Japanese imperialism and where the socialist enlightenment developed from early days, and so the national and class awareness of the masses is comparatively high.

In particular, it is here that revolutionary organizations rapidly expanded and a great many followers were united around them after the Mingyuegou Meeting of last spring, and that the mass movement swiftly developed through the recent autumn struggle.

In addition, this area is covered with steep mountains and valleys as well as dense forests and so forms a natural fortress difficult for the enemies to attack even with their modern weapons, but easy for the guerrilla army to defend.

Also, as it immediately adjoins the Hamgyong and the Rangnim Mountains of our country, this area is conveniently placed for an advance into our homeland for the future revolutionary movement.

For these reasons we must set up guerrilla zones—guerrilla bases in the form of liberated areas—right in the mountainous and the revolutionized rural areas along the Tuman-gang River .

In the guerrilla zone we must not only develop the guerrilla army politically and militarily; we must also expand and reinforce paramilitary organizations such as the Red Guards and the Children’s Vanguard and arm everyone in defence of the guerrilla base. At the same time we must actively train qualified cadres for the Korean revolution and unite the broad masses into a single revolutionary force through the intensified work of all the revolutionary organizations, thus energetically organizing and mobilizing them for victory in the armed conflict. In this zone we must also establish a revolutionary government, enforce democratic reforms, build a school, a hospital, an armoury, a publishing house, etc. and bring about a new revolutionary order.

Only by accomplishing these tasks can the guerrilla zone creditably perform its part as a base for the armed struggle, a base for the Korean revolution.

A guerrilla zone can be only consolidated when it is closely adjacent to the revolutionized rural areas. If not, it will fail to be in contact with the broad masses in the enemy-held area and will consequently be isolated, hemmed in by the enemy.

Therefore, we must concentrate on revolutionizing the rural areas even after the establishment of the guerrilla zone. To this end we must deploy the revolutionary organizations in the rural areas around it, and educate the masses in revolution. We must also make sure that our comrades hold the positions of village head and sub-county head working at the lowest levels of the enemy’s ruling institutions. If the broad masses are revolutionized and our men take these posts, then such an area is under enemy control only in name, but in actuality, it is, like the guerrilla zone, under the jurisdiction of the revolutionary government. When these revolutionized areas expand they will clearly favour the establishment, consolidation and development of the guerrilla zones, and will also guarantee very advantageous conditions for guerrilla operation.

For the purpose of stifling by arms the Korean people’s national-liberation struggle, which is daily intensifying all over the northern border area of our country, the Japanese imperialists are now harshly suppressing revolutionary organizations, even massacring the Korean people, especially revolutionaries.

Therefore, unless we rapidly expand the revolutionized rural areas and successfully establish the guerrilla zones, there is a risk of losing the revolutionary masses.

So, we have to push ahead energetically with the work of setting up the guerrilla bases in close combination with the organization of the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army.





3. ON LAYING THE MASS FOUNDATION FOR THE ARMED STRUGGLE



In order to organize and proceed with armed struggle there must be a solid mass foundation on which the guerrilla army can depend in its operations.

Guerrilla warfare is, in essence, a people’s warfare that presupposes the active participation of the masses. The energetic participation and support and encouragement of the people is the basic condition that guarantees the constant reinforcement of the guerrilla army and the success of guerrilla warfare. Only when there is a solid mass foundation and close ties of kinship with the masses can the guerrilla army break bottlenecks, overcome difficulties and win a final victory however protracted and arduous the struggle.

Therefore, we must firmly unite the broad sectors of the people under the banner of the anti-Japanese armed struggle by strengthening the organizational and political activity among them.

The present situation favours the promotion of the movement for the anti-Japanese national united front embracing all sectors of our people.

With the Japanese imperialist invasion of Manchuria , the anti-Japanese sentiments of Korean people in all social strata have risen higher than ever before and the anti-Japanese struggle of the masses is rapidly gaining momentum.

In the homeland violent protest by workers, peasants, youth and students is increasing, and the anti-Japanese movement of conscientious nationalists and patriotic religious men is developing rapidly. In particular, the revolutionary spirit of the Korean peasants in east Manchuria is higher than ever before.

When we give full play to this mounting revolutionary spirit and the anti-Japanese sentiments of the masses and organize and mobilize them properly, we can form the anti-Japanese national united front on a nationwide scale and lay a solid mass foundation for the armed struggle.

In the past we infiltrated workers, peasants and all other sectors of the Korean people in central and east Manchuria, formed the mass organizations such as the Labour Union, the Peasants’ Association and the Anti-Imperialist League, and carried on active mass political work, uniting the broad masses under them. In the course of this the mass foundation for the armed struggle was gradually built up, and we accumulated rich experiences in mass political work.

In particular, we brought about a radical change in the mass political work in accordance with the correct organizational line laid down at the Mingyuegou Meeting last spring. As a result, we revolutionized many rural districts all over the northern border area of our country and east Manchuria and, basing ourselves on this success, led the recent autumn struggle to victory.

On the basis of the successes and experiences in mass political work we must, in future, go among the broad sectors of anti-Japanese masses—workers, peasants, youth and students, intellectuals, petty bourgeoisie, national capitalists, religious men—and strengthen the work of educating, awakening and uniting them in the revolutionary organizations. In this way we shall lay a solid mass foundation for the anti-Japanese armed struggle.

In order to lay a firm mass foundation for the armed struggle it is of great importance to get the majority of the people from all walks of life to join the Anti-Imperialist Youth League, the Peasants’ Association, the Revolutionary Mutual Aid Society and other various revolutionary organizations, and strengthen their revolutionary education. To do this educational work well, we must first arm ourselves firmly with the revolutionary ideas of the working class and adopt the revolutionary work attitude of relying on the masses. If we fail to do so we cannot enjoy the trust of the majority of working people nor develop the mass movement. First of all, we must go among the basic masses of revolution—workers and peasants and carry on active propaganda by speech and pamphlets to suit the given situation and people. In due course we must bring the progressive elements among them to class awareness and train them to be revolutionaries. And we must ensure that they revolutionize their families and villages and further wide rural areas.

While developing the revolutionary leading core elements in each district and continuously raising their leadership role, we must form basic party organizations on an experimental basis, reinforce the YCL organizations and expand and strengthen numerous mass organizations. In the rural areas, in particular, it is necessary to strengthen the Peasants’ Association, the Revolutionary Mutual Aid Society and the Anti-Imperialist League, actively receive the peasant masses into the organizations and give them organizational training.

To lay the firm mass foundation for the armed struggle we must also continue forming, training and expanding the revolutionary forces in revolutionary practice in a militant way.

While continuously encouraging the revolutionary advance of the masses we must, in the course of this, expand the revolutionary organizations and develop and train the revolutionary forces so as to lay a more solid mass foundation for the anti-Japanese armed struggle.





4. ON FORMING THE ANTI-JAPANESE UNITED FRONT OF THE KOREAN AND CHINESE PEOPLES



A successful armed struggle against Japanese imperialism also requires the formation of the broad anti-Japanese united front of the Korean and Chinese peoples.

The Japanese imperialists’ occupation of Manchuria has stirred up the Chinese people’s indignation. The mass of the Chinese people started with the anti-Japanese save-the-nation movement and some units of the Chinese Northeastern Army have risen in mutiny under the anti-Japanese banner.

It is a matter of urgency which brooks no delay to form the anti-Japanese united front of the Korean and Chinese peoples in the struggle against the common enemy, the Japanese imperialists.

Only when we form the united front with the anti-Japanese forces of the majority of the Chinese people will it be possible to combine the efforts of the Korean and Chinese peoples to the utmost and deal greater political and military blows against the Japanese imperialist aggressors.

Today, the most urgent need in organizing the anti-Japanese united front of the Korean and Chinese peoples, is to form an allied front with the soldiers of the Chinese Northeastern Army who rose up holding the anti-Japanese save-the-nation banner against the Japanese imperialist invasion of Manchuria .

Overawed by the Japanese imperialist aggression in Manchuria, the Chinese northeast warlords wavered, did not resist and have ultimately escaped to China proper or surrendered to the Japanese imperialist aggressors. Chief of the northeast warlords, Zhang Xuehang, fled to Jinzhou the moment the Japanese made inroads and then, in October, left Manchuria and went through Shanhaiguan over to China proper. Many other warlords in the military areas under the control of the Chinese Northeastern Army knelt down before the Japanese imperialist aggressors without even fighting and became their puppets, so betraying their homeland.

But many soldiers and some officers of national conscience in the Chinese Northeastern Army have mutinied against their warlords’ attempt to surrender and have gone into the mountains.

In east Manchuria alone, there is a growing tendency to refuse to surrender to Japanese imperialism among the units of the Chinese Northeastern Army stationed in Helong and Yanji; thousands of soldiers, in groups or individually, have already risen up against Japanese imperialism in Wangqing, Antu and other districts.

We, therefore, should form an allied front with the Chinese nationalist anti-Japanese units that separated from the Chinese Northeastern Army after mutinies under the banner of anti-Japanese national salvation. Then the anti-Japanese armed forces will rapidly grow in scope and strength and deal greater political and military blows to the Japanese imperialist aggressive forces.

Although they have rallied under the anti-Japanese banner, some units of the Chinese Anti-Japanese National Salvation Army and the peasants’ armed units now in mutiny are duped by the Japanese imperialists’ false propaganda and by attempts to set the nations against each other; and they take a hostile attitude towards the Korean people, communists in particular, saying that they are the “puppets of Japanese imperialism”, and that they are going to “communize Manchuria”.

Unless we make them realize their mistake and lead them in the right direction, it will be very difficult to unite the anti-Japanese forces and it will be impossible to concentrate our efforts on the struggle against Japanese imperialism.

Therefore, in order to expose the Japanese imperialists’ deceptive propaganda against the Korean communists and their trick of making the nations oppose each other, and to cement the militant unity of the Korean and Chinese peoples, we must do our utmost to form the allied front with the Chinese nationalist anti-Japanese units.

To form this allied front, we must, first of all, make bold approaches to the Chinese anti-Japanese units and strengthen the work among their soldiers.

Though the Chinese anti-Japanese units, a nationalist army, are not steadfast because of the vacillation and class limitations of the upper crust, they are big anti-Japanese forces. We must overcome their vacillation and dual characters through struggle, while actively encouraging their anti-Japanese element. At the same time, we must bring the rank and file, the basic masses in the anti-Japanese units, to the national and class awareness and thus actively lead them in the anti-Japanese struggle.

In forming the allied front with the Chinese nationalist anti-Japanese units the basic principle to which to adhere, must be to form a united front among the rank and file and, firmly relying on it, the united front at the top level. The top level of the anti-Japanese units consists of warlords of landlord and capitalist origin, and so they constantly waver in the anti-Japanese struggle, whereas the absolute majority of the rank and file are the basic masses of worker and peasant origin who can actively participate in that struggle. Therefore, we must first direct our serious attention to going boldly among the masses of anti-Japanese soldiers and to forming the allied front with them. Only when we base ourselves on the united front among the rank and file to form the united front at the top level can we easily overcome the latter’s vacillation and irresolution and soundly develop the movement for an anti-Japanese allied front as a whole.

However, we should not neglect to have contacts at the top level. An army is a group of strong esprit de corps, commanded by the superiors. So, if we make bold contacts with the high-ranking officers of the anti-Japanese units and win them over first, it will be a great help in forming the anti-Japanese allied front.

As an organizational step for actively winning over the Chinese nationalist anti-Japanese units we must organize detached columns in Wangqing and Antu where they gather. The detached columns must strive to win over the anti-Japanese units to expand our armed forces and, at the same time, increase organizational and political activity so that they may take an active part in the anti-Japanese struggle.

As mentioned above, we must strive to achieve the formation of the allied front with the Chinese anti-Japanese units, simultaneously with organizing an Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army unit in each county. By doing so, we shall forge ahead with the armed struggle against Japanese imperialism, the common enemy of the Korean and Chinese peoples.





5. ON STRENGTHENING THE WORK OF THE PARTY ORGANIZATIONS AND YOUNG COMMUNIST LEAGUE



Comrades,

The successful implementation of our important tasks makes it imperative to establish basic party organizations in all areas and strengthen the work of the YCL organizations.

We achieved no small successes in improving and strengthening the leadership of the work of the YCL and other mass organizations in accordance with the decisions of the Mingyuegou Meeting held last May.

On the basis of these successes we must continue to pay careful attention to forming party organizations and strengthening the work of the YCL.

Only when the vanguard role of party organizations is enhanced and the work of the YCL further strengthened, can we successfully carry out all the tasks that will arise in organizing and waging the armed struggle and make sound organizational and ideological preparations for founding a unified Marxist-Leninist party.

To establish the leadership elite of the guerrilla army and the organizational backbone of the Korean Communist Party to be founded in the future we must strengthen the life of Party organizations.

The organizational backbone of the revolution can only be formed through hard organizational training in the practical struggle. Therefore, we must accept into the party at grass-roots level those fine workers and peasants and progressive intellectuals who have been tempered in the mass political struggle, and give them even harder party training. In this way we shall bring them up to be the communist elite who establish the revolutionary world outlook, know no vacillation in any adversity and can be equal to any revolutionary task.

At present it is a very important task to strengthen the work of the YCL together with that of party organizations.

Since party organizations are still weak it is imperative to do good YCL work and keep on expanding its ranks. Only then can we form a group of pure new young communists who are not poisoned by factionalism and the filths of various kinds of opportunism and establish the organizational backbone of party building more soundly. Not only that, but only when we reinforce these ranks can we found the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army with fine young communists at the core and briskly organize and launch a mass movement for supporting and helping the guerrilla army.

To enlarge the YCL ranks we need a good knowledge of the characteristics of young workers and peasants and all other sectors of youth and to strengthen the organizational and political work to suit them.

Some YCL functionaries, who have little knowledge of the specific features of youth from all walks of life, do poor work with the young workers and peasants and other youths of basic class origin, saying that they cannot play a vanguard role because of their poor education and that they cannot keep secrets; they also keep them away, instead of educating them, and fail to actively enlist them in the YCL ranks. As a result, the staunch young workers and peasants with strong class hatred and high fighting spirit stand outside the ranks for one reason or another.

If we are careless about influencing the working youth and peasant youth and do not actively accept them into the YCL ranks, we will be unable to create young communists of basic class origin.

The YCL must attach the highest importance to work among the young workers and peasants.

Being young proletarians the working youth have a stronger revolutionary spirit, esprit de corps and sense of unity than their counterparts of any other class. Moreover, owing to their wretched plight—the absence of political rights and unbearable hunger and poverty, they have a vital interest in the revolution and naturally take the lead in the revolutionary struggle to overthrow the old society.

For this reason, even if they lack knowledge they can all be brought up as staunch young communists when they are educated in revolution and recruited into the YCL ranks.

Peasant youth, who account for the majority of our youth, are suffering from the most outrageous oppression and harsh feudal exploitation under the torture of the Japanese imperialists and landlords.

Therefore, even though they are still backward politically and do not have enough organizational training, when they are brought to class awakening and admitted to the YCL and other revolutionary organizations where they receive a good political education, they will go hand in hand with the working youth and creditably discharge their duties as the main force of the revolution.

It is of importance in YCL work to rally progressive students into the YCL organizations by working effectively amongst them.

They not only have a strong sense of justice and are sensitive to the progressive ideas and the trends of the time; they also have a very strong idea of social reform and anti-feudalism which will do away with the shackles of the old society and build a new one.

In particular, since the students of our country are subjected to the Japanese imperialists’ suppression and discrimination against the Korean nation, their anti-Japanese sentiments are strong and their national awareness high. So, if they are given a good education and organizational training they will successfully play the role of pioneer by disseminating progressive socialist ideas, and educating and awakening the majority of workers and peasants, thus guiding them to the revolutionary movement.

In reinforcing the YCL ranks it is important to form many leadership core elements among the most progressive of the young workers and peasants in each locality. As the enemy’s suppression becomes intensified only these elements in different areas can educate the majority of young people well, expand and develop the YCL organizations to suit the demand of the development of revolution and lead them to play the vanguard role creditably.

The YCL members must be pioneers in educating the masses and organizing and mobilizing them.

Revolutionary work always begins with mass political work, and to follow the political method of work is a revolutionary’s basic duty. The YCL cadres must acquire the revolutionary method of work—they put confidence in the masses’ strength and rely thoroughly on them and activate them in carrying on the revolutionary struggle.

Comrades,

Whether or not we can realize the historical cause of the country’s restoration by organizing and waging the armed struggle and wiping out Japanese imperialism depends entirely upon how we discharge our assigned revolutionary tasks.

We are the revolutionaries who are determined to devote our very lives to the country’s restoration and to the victory of the cause of socialism and communism.

Whatever ordeals and difficulties stand in our way, we will fulfil the duty of the communists as revolutionaries by finally accomplishing our revolutionary tasks.

Let us all pool our strength and come out in the armed struggle to destroy Japanese imperialism.

Victory will surely be ours and the country’s liberation achieved without fail.