LETS US SHATTER IMPERIALIST MOVES TOWARDS AGGRESSION AND WAR AND SAFEGUARD PEACE AND INDEPENDENCE
KIM IL SUNG
LET US SHATTER IMPERIALIST MOVES TOWARDS AGGRESSION AND WAR
AND SAFEGUARD PEACE AND INDEPENDENCE
A Speech at a Banquet in Honour of Delegates to the World Conference of Journalists against
Imperialism and for Friendship and Peace
July 3, 1983
Esteemed Delegates,
Comrades and Friends,
The
World Conference of Journalists against Imperialism and for
Friendship and Peace which opened amid great expectations and
intense interest from progressive journalists and people the
world over, is working successfully thanks to the exalted spirit of cooperation and sincere efforts of all of you delegates.
Our
people are very happy that here in our capital city of
Pyongyang, where the Anti-US World Journalists’ Conference was
held 14 years ago, another global meeting of progressive
journalists has convened to oppose imperialism, safeguard peace
and strengthen friendship and solidarity among peoples.
Allow
me to welcome warmly all of you delegates who have come from the
various continents, bringing with you the noble ideas of
anti-imperialism, friendship and peace and warm feelings of
friendship for our people.
It
is highly significant that progressive men and women of the
world’s press have gathered together here to promote fraternity,
exchange experience and discuss their tasks and action programme.
This world conference of journalists will mark an important stage in destroying imperialist manoeuvres
aimed at aggression and war, defending global peace and security
and achieving the people’s cause of independence.
All
you journalists and people of the press from various countries
attending this World Conference of Journalists against
Imperialism and for Friendship and Peace,
are the close friends and dependable comrades-in-arms of our
people. Progressive people of the press throughout the world have
stood in the ranks with our people in the fight against
imperialism and for independence, and have worked actively in support of
our people’s struggle for the independent, peaceful
reunification of our country and the building of socialism.
During this Month of Joint Struggle against US Imperialism, when
our people are marking the 30th anniversary of the historic
victory in the Fatherland Liberation War, numerous foreign
journalist delegates and people of the press have come to our country to
condemn US imperialism and raise the call for justice, peace and
independence. This support brings tremendous encouragement to
our people.
I
would like to express my deep gratitude to the justice- and
peace-loving progressive people of the world press for their
positive support and encouragement for our people’s revolutionary
cause.
Comrades and friends,
The
world situation is more complex and tense now than ever before.
Owing to the aggressive imperialist move to provoke war peace is
being disturbed in many parts of the globe, the danger of a new
war has increased and the sovereignty of countries and nations is
being violated.
The
US imperialists, who seek world hegemony, are openly resorting
to “power politics”; they are increasing their armaments and
reinforcing their forces of aggression on a large scale, while at
the same time scheming to strengthen the aggressive military
bloc of NATO, deploy new types of nuclear weapons in Europe and
expand their aggressive military bases in many parts of the world,
including the Indian Ocean. The US and other imperialists are
intensifying their aggressive activities intended to unleash a new war
in various areas of the world. In the Middle East and Southern
Africa the imperialists are instigating Zionists and South
African racists to increased aggression and intervention, and in
Central America they are perpetrating heinous armed
interventions and subversive activities against countries which have
achieved national independence and chosen the road to independence
against imperialism.
The
US imperialists’ moves to provoke a new war are assuming a very
grave and dangerous character in the Far East , which includes
our country. In accordance with their aggressive Asian strategy,
they are expanding their military bases in and around south
Korea and shipping in a huge amount of nuclear weapons and other
sophisticated means of war, while accelerating the formation of
a US-Japan-south Korea triangular military alliance. The
US imperialists, who have stationed armed forces of aggression
numbering more than 40,000 men in south Korea and shipped in over
1,000 nuclear weapons and many other weapons of mass
destruction, are now staging one large-scale war exercise after another
directed against our Republic. Recently they have even been
trying to deploy neutron weapons in south
Korea , which has provoked the unanimous protest and
denunciation of the peoples of the world. South Korea has thus
now become a most dangerous powder keg and a US nuclear
war base. In our country an extremely tense situation has been created
which may spark off a war at any moment.
Because
of the US-led imperialists’ activities, the world’s people now
stand at the crossroads of war or peace, enslavement or
independence. The most urgent and solemn task now confronting
the progressive people throughout the world is to oppose
aggression and war and safeguard peace and independence.
It
is the unanimous desire of the world’s people to live peacefully
in a world free from aggression and war, subjugation and
oppression. Only when peace is secured can the peoples of all
countries successfully apply their creative labour to building a new and happy society.
Averting
war and safeguarding peace is a particularly urgent problem for
the peoples of the newly-emerging countries. The political
independence already achieved by these peoples is only the first
step towards complete national independence and the building of a
new society. Political independence can be securely safeguarded
and consolidated only when it is guaranteed by economic
independence. For the newly-emerging peoples to consolidate their
national independence and build a new and happy society,
they must eliminate the famine and poverty left behind by the
colonialists and build a sound, independent national economy. The
people need peace, not war, in building a new society. When a
lasting world peace is guaranteed, the newly-emerging peoples
will be successful in their struggle for the complete independence
of their countries and the building of a new society.
World peace can be ensured and safeguarded only through the struggle against imperialism.
All
the peace-loving people of the world should unite closely under
the banner of independence against imperialism and wage a
resolute struggle against the aggressive imperialist moves aimed
at war. They should direct a particularly intense attack against
the US imperialists, that main force of aggression and war, and
heinous strangler of peace and independence, in order to prevent
the US from recklessly invading other countries and sparking off
wars. The world’s people should strive to check and frustrate
the manoeuvres
of the US and other imperialists to expand their stocks of
armaments and reinforce their armed forces, and should compel
them to withdraw their aggressive military bases and armed
forces from the territory of other countries. They should also
strive to break up all military blocs, to establish and expand
nuclear-free peace zones in many areas of the world, and achieve
general and complete disarmament.
The world’s people should fight vigorously for freedom and independence,
strive to liquidate all forms of colonialism and dominationism,
achieve the ultimate and complete liberation of the nations, and
cling fast to independence, thus making the whole world
independent. Not until the independence of the whole world is
established will the danger of war be completely banished and a
durable peace guaranteed throughout the globe, and only then will
humanity be able to live in happiness and contentment in a safe
and prosperous world.
The
progressive people of the press are righteous warriors striving
to oppose all social evils and injustices and to realize the
people’s aspirations and desires. They should fight determinedly
against aggressive imperialist moves aimed at war and in defence of peace and independence, in order to fulfil the lofty mission and role assigned to them by history and the people at the present time.
In
the hands of progressive people of the press the pen should be a
mighty weapon wielded against the imperialists, and their
writings should serve as denunciations of the enemies of peace.
Progressive people of the press the world over should sharply
expose imperialists’ activities aimed at expanding armaments and
reinforcing armed forces and should scathingly condemn the unpardonable
crimes of US imperialists who are bent on driving mankind into
nuclear holocaust. They should expose the aggressive nature and
crafty neocolonialist methods of imperialism, forcefully oppose
its ideological and cultural infiltration and all manner of
reactionary propaganda and decisively repel the enemy’s
reactionary ideological offensive with a revolutionary
counteroffensive.
They
should inform the whole world of the just struggles of the
peoples fighting against imperialism for peace and independence,
they should raise the cry of international solidarity and make
every possible effort to render positive support and
encouragement to the embattled peoples.
Friendship
and solidarity are the common aspirations of the peoples who
are fighting for peace and independence, and a sure guarantee of
victory. The progressive people of the world can fully realize
their desires and ideals only when they firmly unite politically
and develop close economic and technological cooperation by
strengthening their bonds of friendship under the banner of
anti-imperialism and independence.
Through their activities, the progressive people of the press should create favourable
international conditions for the unity and cooperation of the
world’s progressive peoples and give extensive publicity to the
achievements and experiences of the people in the
anti-imperialist struggle and the building of a new society.
The newly-emerging peoples are now achieving great successes in their endeavours
to build a new society and have acquired a lot of experience and
many techniques which they can exchange as they cooperate with
each other. The progressive men of the press should give wide
publicity to the experience gained by the people and their
successes in building a new society, and thus contribute actively to the
development of economic and technological interchange and
cooperation among the newly-emerging nations and the
establishment of a prosperous new world.
If
the progressive men and women of the press in all countries are
to discharge their noble mission and responsibility, they should
further increase their unity and cooperation. In line with their
lofty ideas of friendship, solidarity and cooperation, they
should visit each other, share their experiences, strengthen
their solidarity, cooperate closely and keep pace with each other
in their professional activities.
It
has been the consistent foreign policy of the Government of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to fight against
imperialism, safeguard peace and independence and strengthen the
ties of friendship and solidarity with the peoples of all
countries.
As
in the past, so in the future, the Korean people will firmly
adhere to their steadfast anti-imperialist stand and fight
positively to oppose aggressive US imperialist activities aimed
at war and to safeguard world peace and security.
Our
people will actively support and encourage all the peoples who
are fighting for a common goal on the anti-imperialist front. We
strongly support the peoples of all countries in Asia, Africa and
Latin America, including those in the Middle East, Southern
Africa and Central America, who are fighting to oppose
imperialism and domination by all forces, to attain national
independence and build a new society; we proclaim our firm solidarity
with the European peoples in their struggle to ease tension and
strengthen peace and security in Europe.
The
struggle of the Korean people for the country’s reunification is
a major link in the chain of the struggle to check and frustrate
aggressive US imperialist manoeuvres aimed at war and to safeguard world peace and security. The withdrawal of US troops from south
Korea and the reunification of Korea is the only way to
eliminate this source of war and maintain the peace in Korea and
the Far East and, in addition, bolster global peace and
security.
The main obstacle to Korea ’s independent, peaceful reunification at present is the occupation of south
Korea by the US imperialist army of aggression and
interference by the US in our internal affairs. If the US
imperialists were to pull out of south
Korea and stop meddling in our affairs, the people of north and
south Korea would join hands and reunify the country
peacefully through their own efforts. With the active support and
encouragement of the progressive people of the world, we will drive the
US imperialist army of aggression out of south
Korea and achieve the independent, peaceful reunification of the
country, thus realizing our national aspiration and, at the same
time, fulfilling our important duty to the international cause
of independence against imperialism.
The
DPRK Government and the Korean people will strive to strengthen
their unity with the peoples of the socialist and nonaligned
countries and other progressive people of the world and to
promote friendly and cooperative relations with all countries
which are friendly towards our country.
In
firm unity with their progressive foreign colleagues, the Korean
people of the press will wage a resolute struggle and contribute
actively to humanity’s sacred common cause of building a new
world, free of imperialism, colonialism, aggression and war.
The
progressive people of the press are the proud pioneers of our
times, brave public and political figures. The progressive people
of the world press should unite firmly under the banner of
anti-imperialism, friendship and peace and vigorously pursue
their revolutionary writing activities, so that the voice of
justice may ring out more loudly throughout the globe.
My
hearty wishes to you delegates and the progressive men and women
of the press throughout the world for great success in your
work, and here at this gathering overflowing with revolutionary ardour and friendship, allow me to propose a toast:
To
the triumph of the cause of independence against imperialism, To
the lasting peace and security of the world, To the friendship
and solidarity of the world’s peace-lovers, To the health of you
delegates and the world’s progressive people of the press, and:
To the health of all comrades and friends present here.
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