I visited the DPRK from the 23rd of July to July 30th, at the invitation of the DPRK Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, to participate in the grand celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the victory in the great Fatherland Liberation War and to participate in the international march for peace and reunification of Korea.
I arrived in Pyongyang on July 23rd and was greeted at the airport by Mrs Kim Un OK secretary general of the Korean Committee for Friendship with the British People and desk officer of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. This time I was accommodated in the majestic Yanggakaddo hotel which has 43 floors and is situated on an island on the River Taedong. The rooms command a birds eye of Pyongyang city and there is an excellent revolving restaurant which serves the most delicious food.
Pyongyang was literally a buzz with excitement. Many delegations from different parties , societies and groups from the 4 corners of the earth. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet old friends such as Alejandro Cao De Benos President of KFA and also Martin Lotscher as well getting acquainted with people such as Raymond Ferguson of the Australia -DPRK society the author of the book " Korea Welfare State ". I also met many old Korean friends such as the section chief of the Korean Association of Social Scientists and comrade Zo Il Min head of the Pyongyang Mission of the AINDF.
The situation in the DPRK is extremely good. Pyongyang is alive with massive construction work everywhere including many new apartment blocks. On our way to Kaesong and Sinchon we could see crops growing in the fields well . There were maize plants as tall as a person . Basic products are very cheap I was able to buy DPRK made batteries "My Home Town " for 0.10p ,1 tenth of the minimum price of the cheapest batteries in the UK. A demonstration of the superiority of the DPRK's Juche based socialist planned economy !
There were plenty of new play parks for kids by blocks of flats in well the well laid out streets of Pyongyang. Childcare is free in the DPRK. My guide Mrs Kim Un Ok told me that her son goes to full time nursery free of charge. In the UK someone like Mrs Kim would not be able to go out to work or would be able to work only part time due to lack of childcare or the high cost of it.
I participated in the international peace March which was joined by high level officials like SPA vice president Yang Hyong Sop . They also wore the same T-shirts as the marchers. The march was accompanied by the excellent woman’s band of the Ministry of People's Security who were dressed in attractive outfits. The banner of the UK Korean Friendship Association was proudly carried by Korean friends !
I spoke at the mass rally against US hostile policy in the beautiful City of Kaesong . This was a great honour for me. At Panmunjom I witnessed the crime of Korea's division . One could see that there was no geographical or physical logic to Korea's division , it was the artificial creation of the US imperialists . The Yanks and south Korean puppets appeared to be hiding out of view.
We witnessed the heinous mass slaughter carried out by the US imperialists at Sinchon Ri . Here the US imperialists murdered 35383 people . Particularly sickening and horrific was the murder of mothers and children in the Chestnut valley . It not just the US imperialists that carried out the massacre but also class enemies such as overthrown landlords, former capitalists and exploiters. We must never forgot the crimes carried out by the US imperialists and class enemies. An indignation meeting was held addressed by veteran peace campaigner Ramsey Clark who is a former attorney general of the
US no less.
There were many colourful, exciting and dynamic events that took place. Undoubtedly the high point of these, the pinnacle was the giant July 27th war victory parade and mass demonstration. I have seen nothing like it. It surpassed the excellent April 15th Military parade of 2012. It put the military parades of the former socialist countries such as the USSR and East Germany. There was an amazing array of firepower demonstrating
the massive Juche-orientated military might of Songun Korea led by dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un. Helicopter pilots daringly buzzed the parade and the DPRK ,s long range bomber aircraft roared above Kim Il Sung square for the first ever time. At the end of the parade dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un waved cheerfully to the audience. Watching the parade I was even more firmly convinced of the final victory of the Korean people over US imperialism.
(this report is brief and short report which will be expanded in more
detail and depth later)
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