President
Kim
Il Sung’s
Reminiscence “With
the Century”
Extracts
Book
5
Kim
Jong Suk lived for other people, not for herself. She devoted her
entire life to others. She always took care of other people at her
expense. Whenever she was served food, she would share it with
soldiers with bulkier bodies or with young soldiers. The young
curly-haired soldier of the 1st Platoon, 4th Company, who was said to
have been a bosom friend of her younger brother, Ki Song, must have
eaten her share more than anyone else. She would mend the torn
uniforms and shoes of male soldiers, when everybody else had gone to
bed.
Devotion
to her comrades and the common cause was the nucleus of her
personality and personal charm.
Kim
Jong Suk did not regard people as one to be educated; she looked on
them as simple and common men and women. Even if she met an
individual she had to win over for her work, she did not consider him
or her to be educated and herself as educator; she treated him or her
just as she would attend to her tender neighbour. In this way she
became the people’s daughter and their neighbour trusted by them.
These were the basic characteristics of Kim Jong Suk as an
underground operative.
As
I myself have keenly experienced throughout my life, a man must think
of himself as a son, servant and friend of the people to mix with
them and at the same time regard them as his parents, brothers,
sisters and teachers. Anyone who purports to be the teacher of
the people, a bureaucrat reigning over them and leader governing
them, cannot mix with them or enjoy their trust. The people do not
open up their minds to such individuals.
Through
these secret places Kim Jong Suk amassed details on the movement of
the troops, led by Kim Sok Won at the battle in Jiansanfeng and
reported them to Headquarters in time, rendering a great
contribution to the victory of the People’s Revolutionary
Army.
Kim
Jong Suk instructed members of organizations to learn the strength of
enemy troops and police stationed in the Sinpha area, the
distribution of their military installations and their military
equipment. She herself personally confirmed the width and depth of
the River Amnok, the speed of its current and even the most
favourable site for crossing the river and returning; she then made a
rough sketch before sending it to us.
In
summer 1937 Kim Jong Suk was arrested by the enemy.
The
rolls of paper which Women’s Association members in Taoquanli
had prepared to send to our printing shop were detected during a
search by Jingan army soldiers. This served as the prime reason
behind her arrest….
Believing
that this was the last moment of her life, she wrote her will to the
organization, which read as follows:
“Take
it easy. I will be killed, but the organization must continue its
existence. I enclose two yuan,
my only assets. Please use it for the organization’s funds.”…
… Jong
Tong Chol prepared the written warranty they demanded and put it on
the chiefs desk. The chiefs eyes almost popped out in astonishment.
It was a common, popular mentality not to seal rashly with one’s
thumb a document testifying that a “disturbing element”, spotted
as a “traitor” or “communist bandit”, was in fact a “good
citizen”. Although he had promised to release her in exchange for
the written warranty as a matter of prestige arising from his
“friendship” with Jong Tong Chol, the station chief thought it
could never be carried out.
The
warranty was signed by 500 seals and thumbs—this was indeed a
miracle….
So
many people placed without hesitation their stamps on the document
as proof of their infinite love and support for her. In other words
the people’s absolute trust and support proved more powerful than
me power of authority and money….
Kim
Jong Suk recalled tearfully her rescue from the jaws of death, thanks
to the help of her comrades. She said that during her detainment in
Yaofangzi, she could easily have escaped, but had decided not to. She
said:
…When
I looked at them, I thought: I can easily slip off; but if I do so,
what will happen to the old couple and village head Jong, who vouched
for my innocence and how much suffering and distress will the
underground organizations and people in Taoquanli have to face?
“This
thought made me determined to protect the organizations and people at
the cost of my life. That night I slept soundly in the front room of
the house. My determination to sacrifice my life calmed me. I feared
nothing.”
The
Women’s Association members also followed her, shedding tears and
begging her to take them with her. One of them kept following her
until she crossed over Mt. Baotai without any thought of returning
home. After repeated attempts to dissuade her coming with her, Kim
Jong Suk put her silver ring on the woman’s finger and untied the
woman’s red belt and tied it round her own waist….
True
to her promise, Kim Jong Suk wore the red woollen belt under her
uniform all the time after her return to the unit. It was only after
I married to her that I came to know the meaning of the belt, which
had never been removed from her waist.
Kim
Jong Suk always lived, cherishing the warmth of the people in her
body along with the belt. Her soul was never separated from the
people.
At
times I ask myself; how could Kim Jong Suk carry out such
challenging underground activities, enjoying the love and
support of so many people?
If
Kim Jong Suk hadn’t loved the people sincerely, they would not have
paid any attention to her on the eve of her death. Anyone who does
not devote his whole for the sake of the people, cannot receive
sincere help from them at crucial periods. She was duly paid
back by the people, whom she had treasured and nursed with so much
care, with all the affection she had devoted to them. All in all, the
written warranty signed by 500 people should be called an eternal
document, vouchsafing her fidelity to the people.
In
autumn 1991, more than half a century after Kim Jong Suk left
Taoquanli, I paid a visit to Sinpha during field guidance to
Ryanggang Province, the place she had devoted her heart and soul
to. Although scores of years had passed, the relics associated with
her secret activities were preserved, as they had been in those
days…
Looking
at the nasty fort standing on the River Amnok as it had been, I
thought that
Kim Jong Suk must have run many risks and gone through
several fateful moments to transform this locality in a
revolutionary fashion.
As
I headed for the railway station at dusk, I looked back at the
streets in Sinpha; I do not know why, but I felt reluctant to leave
this place.
Book
8
At
that time, some women guerrillas, getting wind of our photography
session, ran to me and said they also would like to get their photos
taken. So I posed for a few photos with them. They then suggested to
me that I should have a photo taken with Kim Jong Suk. Hearing this,
she grew shy and hid herself behind the backs of the women
guerrillas. They pushed her forward to my side, smiling all the way.
In order not to miss the moment, a comrade clicked the shutter.
That
was probably the first time in my life that I had posed with a woman
comrade individually. For Kim Jong Suk and me, it was as good as a
wedding photo.
In
those days we were still young and vivacious. We had many dreams of a
bright future. Though we greeted the spring in a foreign land, we
were full of confidence and in high spirits.
For
both of us, it was an unforgettable first spring that we greeted
after our wedding.
As
I wanted to remember that spring forever, I jotted down on the back
of the photo: “Greeting the spring in a foreign land, March 1,
1941. At Camp B.”
Kim
Jong Suk wore her hair bobbed, like the other women guerrillas did.
But you cannot see her hair style in this photo, for all her hair is
covered by her cap. There was a reason for this.
That
spring I went to Manchuria and the homeland with a small unit. As I
was passing Hunchun across the Soviet-Manchurian border, I felt my
feet growing warm. At first I took no notice, thinking that it was
the result of the long march. But at each step I felt something warm
and soft on my soles. So I pulled off my shoes, to find in them
liners made with hair. Only then did I remember that Kim Jong Suk had
been wearing her cap even indoors, and I realized that she had
cut her hair to make the liners. She must have worn her cap because
she was too shy to show her short hair.
It
may be said that Kim Jong Suk devoted all her life to me. Even after
marrying me, she considered me as Commander, Premier and as the
foremost leader. The relationship between her and me was that between
the leader and the led, between comrades. She always said she was a
soldier of the leader. She never addressed me in familiar terms; she
only said “General” or “Comrade Premier”.
Though
she dedicated her all to the well-being of her comrades and fellows
all her life, she did not leave a single penny or any property for
her son and daughter. The money she spent came out of my salary and
the house and furniture she used all belonged to the state.
If
there is any heritage she left with us, it is that she brought up
Comrade Kim
Jong Il to
be the leader of the future, and presented him to the motherland and
the Party. You say I brought him up to be my successor, but in actual
fact the foundation was laid by Kim Jong Suk. This is the greatest
service she rendered for the revolution.
On
her last day she sat Kim
Jong Il by
her side and told him to support his father loyally and inherit
and consummate his cause. This was her last will. Three hours later,
she breathed her last.
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