UK KFA statement on February 16th Greatest National Holiday of the Korean people

UK KOREAN FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION STATEMENT ON FEBRUARY 16TH GREATEST NATIONAL HOLIDAY OF THE KOREAN PEOPLE
February 16th is celebrated by the people of the DPRK, as well friends of the  DPRK throughout the world, as the greatest national holiday of the
Korean people.Why? because leader Kim Jong Il chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK(the highest organ of state),who is also
general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army was born on February 16th 1942.
         Comrade Kim Jong Il was not born in comfortable or easy or peaceful surroundings but in a simple log cabin on blizzard swept
Mt Paektu during the fierce anti Japanese armed struggle.For this reason he developed
strong revolutionary,anti imperialist and patriotic consciousness.

As a senior school student and university he participated in manual labour such as the work of reconstructing Pyongyang and also in production
pratice at Lathe No 26 at the Pyongyang Textile Machinery Factory.

Never an armchair leader but always a man of action he became involved with the work of leadership of both the Workers' Party of Korean and the
DPRK revolutionary armed forces in the 1960's.In the mid 70s he led the "70 speed battle" for socialist construction arousing workers to great miracles
such as industrial production leaping forward 1.7 times. In 1975 he visited the Komdok Mine and despite being told not to go down the mine,he went into the pit using the same rail car as used by ordinary miners saying that if they used it he must too.He believed that
there should be no distinction between him and the masses.Even today he wears the same style of clothes as workers instead of a shiny business
suit.
He developed the Juche idea in depth by writing the famous treatise "ON THE JUCHE IDEA" and many other works on the Juche philsophy.This treatise
developed the concept that man is the master of everything and decides everything to a higher level and elucidated that man has
independence,creativity and consciousness.Leader Kim Jong Il is well versed in philosophy.Indeed he has written on many subjects such as the
cinema,opera,art, music and historiography, not just politics or the military.
He also developed the Songun policy of giving priority to the army and making it the pillar of the revolution.This was essential to defend the
DPRK's independence and socialist system from the encroachments on its sovereignity by US imperialism.

Chairman Kim Jong Il continues with  on the spot guidance today.It does not just mean going and visiting a factory or locality and giving
instructions but actively guiding work,finding solutions to problems and learning from the masses.In 2009 he gave on the spot guidance 200 times
and 140 times in the first half of 2010. As a result the DPRK is in a period of upswing with new buildings
appearing everyway.New world class flats with all mod cons have been built in Mansudae Street in Pyongyang and all sorts of public buildings have
been built or extended such the e library and swimming at the Kim Il Sung university,the State theatre and a new People's Study House in Sariwon
city.
The DPRK is surging forward under the Songun leadership of comrade Kim Jong
Il.
UK KFA salutes the 69th birthday of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il,a great man of theory and practice and great leader and guide of the Korean
people,creator of the Songun era !