Our
UK KFA delegation consisting of Dermot Hudson , Alex Meads and Jose
Blazquez visited the DPRK from the 11th of August until the 19th of
August to participate in the great 5th International Festival in Praise
of the Great Persons born of Mt Paektu ( the great leader President KIM
IL SUNG , Chairman KIM JONG IL, respected Marshal KIM JONG UN and
anti-Japanese woman heroine Madame KIM JONG SUK .
It was my 14th visit , the 3rd visit for Alex and the first ever time for Jose to visit the DPRK.
Our
delegation arrived in Pyongyang on the 11th of August after a chaotic
and difficult transit through Beijing the capital of Chinese
revisionism. Beijing
airport seems to be chaotic and inefficient It is full of capitalist
advertising .It is a prime example of an over-expanded airport and
symbolic of globalisation which is a toxic disease destroying countries.
Our difficulty was that the delegation were on different flights . This
should not have been a problem however the flight I was on
just sat on the runaway for nearly an hour without letting the passengers off . Then the Air Koryo plane to Pyongyang was delayed by nearly 2 hours from leaving , we do not know why .!
Our plane glided into the DPRK , we soared over the revolutionary
sites where the martyrs of the anti-Japanese war led by the great leader
President KIM IL SUNG lay . We were glad to arrive at Pyongyang Sunan
International Airport and to be away from the chaos of Beijing airport
.In contrast to the globalised mess of Beijing airport , you could only
see the planes of the DPRK national airline AIr Koryo in Pyongyang
Airport.
We
were greeted at the airport by comrade Ham Sung Jin who is secretary
general of the Korean Committee for Friendship with the British People
.Later when we got on the bus we met our translators Miss Kim , a pretty
and bright young girl from the Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies
and Mr Zang a graduate student from the same university .
We
were accommodated at the splendid 47 storey Yangkaddo Hotel which is
on an island on the River Taedong in Pyongyang . My room had a great
view of Pyongyang including the Juche Idea Tower, I could also see the
Koryo Hotel which I had stayed in many times.
Our guide comrade Ham made a short speech on the coach on the way to
Pyongyang saying that we had come at a very difficult time , a time of
very acute tension. Only days before we travelled the increasingly
deranged and idiotic buffoon who occupies the position of US president
talked of unleashing "Fire and fury " against People's Korea , this
followed the imposition of severe sanctions by the UN Security
Council(a corrupt and venal body entirely controlled by US imperialism
and big powers). The Yankee imperialists had been stunned by the test
fires of the Hwasong-14 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile on the 4th of
July and the 29th of July. Thus the DPRK has emerged as a socialist
nuclear power of Juche and an ICBM launching nation . The US
imperialists are now on their deathbed and have resorted to desperate
and reckless to try and prevent the emergence of a nuclear DPRK and to
stifle to socialist system of the DPRK. It is a fact that when the US ,
the UNSC , Japan , EU , Russia, China and the south Korean puppets talk
about the denuclearisiation of the DPRK they really mean breaking up the
socialist system of the DPRK . The US defence secretary talked about
the "destruction of the people " of the DPRK .
The DPRK has not taken these threats laying down but instead the
Strategic Rocket Force of the Korean People's Army declared that they
would submit a plan for a strike by Hwasong-12
missiles on the US occupied island of Guam. On the 15th of August
,whilst we were staying in the DPRK, dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN
visited the Command of the Strategic Force of the Korean People's Army
and praised the KPA Strategic Force for having drawn up a close and
careful plan as intended by the Party and examined the firing
preparations for power demonstration. He warned that if the US persist
in their foolhardy and reckless provocations then the strike plan will
be carried out .
People in the DPRK were not bowed or intimidated by the US
imperialist threats . They were going about their business quite
normally and calmly . Indeed when I attended the Karoake and dinner on
the last night the idea of war seemed quite surreal and far off. However
the Korean people have a heightened anti-US,anti-imperialist spirit.
Two days before we arrived there was a massive rally against the UNSC sanctions. New anti-US posters have gone up in the streets of Pyongyang .We also saw members of the Red Young Guards marching up Kwangbok streetwith
Red flags and placards which called for smashing the 'secret warfare'
and 'regime change' plans of the US imperialists and world reactionaries
. This was a deeply inspiring sight as it showed the revolutionary and
militant nature of People's Korea guided by the great Juche idea . No
other country in the world is so strong in anti-imperialist spirit and
revolutionary ardour ! It was a great contrast to the neighbouring
country , China, where all kinds of capitalist rubbish are readily
accepted and a contrast to the tired , worn out bureaucratic revisionist led
socialist countries of Europe that I had visited in the 1980s. So long as People's Korea is guided by the militant anti-imperialist Juche idea and self-reliance it can never collapse!
Holding the Festival was in itself a blow against US imperialism . Some
300 delegates from all over the globe, all continents being represented
had braved threats of war by US imperialism to come to People's Korea
the land of Juche . In fact there were so many countries it was hard to
list them all / One lie is that the DPRK is isolated but were so many
people in Pyongyang including a former Nepalese Prime Minister and
representatives of the World Peace Council and the Organisation for Solidarity with Asian , African and Latin American Peoples.
The
Korean Friendship Association (KFA) was represented by delegations
from the UK, Spain,Belgium , Cyprus , Estonia ,Switzerland Thailand and
Ireland . There was a great buzz and a great vibe with meeting all sorts
of different people.
Undoubtedly the high point of the trip was going up Mt Paektu , the
sacred mountain of the Korean revolution and spiritual birthplace of the
great Korean nation .Although I had visited the DPRK over 10 times I
had never been to Mt Paektu We travelled to the far northeastern part
of the DPRK by an Air Koryo domestic flight , my first time on a DPRK
domestic flight. Our plane landed at the
charming Samjiyon airport .
The
scenery of the region was breathtaking to say the least , awe
inspiring and like nothing I had seen before . What is incredible is
that we drove through a thick forest for over a hour , this shows that
the DPRK takes care of the environment .The air in the area around Mt
Paektu and Samjiyon is even purer and cleaner than in Pyongyang . I
would like to live in the area as I know that I would feel very healthy
and live long .
The
town of Samjiyon in the north of the DPRK is very clean, neat and
tidy,. Here people looked just as well as in Pyongyang and had mobile
phones. There was no sign of poverty or destitution . Friendly people
waved to us . waved to us .We saw new buildings under construction there .
We went first to the Samjiyon Grand Monument . A truly remarkable
place which shows the great exploits of the great leader comrade KIM IL
SUNG in leading the anti-Japanese armed struggle to victory. I had seen
pictures of this place in books but never visited it before.
We were accommodated in the excellent Pegabong hotel where we were
treated to an excellent open air performance of the local school
children . The educational level of the children here is the same as
Pyongyang . I had heard some negative reports about the Pegabong Hotel
but it was well run and had hot water and electricity all night.It was
also warm .
On the morning of Monday 14th of August we woke up early and left the hotel by 6am . We we drove to Mt Paektu by bus.Mt Paetku is 2,700 metres above sea level .
The
buses ascended the steep road to the peak . We got out where it was no
longer possible for the bus to travel . You have to see Mt Paektu in
reality not just read about it.The scenery is simply breathtaking I had
been up mountains in Scotland but Mt Paektu was really different to
these. We could look down and see Lake Chon , a volcanic lake, which had clear blue water .
We
held a rally on the mountain with both speeches and poems .There were
speakers from Guinea , Pakistan and Peru . The meeting adopted the Paektusan declaration . We marched down the mountain with a banner .
The adoption of the Mt Paektu declaration was highly significant. The
spirit of Mt Paektu is the spirit of independence, The Mt Paektu spirit
of independence , Juche and self-reliance permeates the whole of the
DPRK and the country pulsates with independence and self-reliance. It is
this spirit of independence and self-reliance that is enabling the
Korean people to smash the sanctions of the US , the UNSC and the big
power chauvinists . It is worth adding here that we saw no effect of
sanctions on the DPRK . New buildings are rising and I could hear
construction work going on outside my hotel all night . The DPRK seems
to become more self-reliant each day , for example canned iced coffee is
a popular drink in the DPRK , previously this had been imported or
produced under licence in the DPRK but now the DPRK is producing its own
cans of iced coffee.
We
also visited the Secret Camp on Mt Paektu which is the birthplace of
the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL and was the headquarters of the
Korean People's Revolutionary Army(KPRA) . The scenery here is just as
breathtaking as on Mt Paektu . We could see Jong Il Peak rising in the
distance with sheer incredible majesty . There were clear streams that
were refreshing to look at , it was tempting to drink the water from
these streams . A red
flag was proudly flying from the log cabin that had been the HQ of the
KPRA . This was striking symbolism as the DPRK virtually alone in the
world is upholding the red flag and maintaining socialist principles
even though others,such as the Soviet revisionists and the Chinese , have thrown it down shamefully.
On
August 15th the Gathering 2017-Praise to the Great Persons of Mt
Paektu was held at the People's Palace of Culture . In attendance were
leading figures of the DPRK government such as Kim Yong Nam , Kim Ki Man
and Ri Su Gyong . The chairwoman of the Korean Committee for Cultural
Relations was presiding over the gathering with keynote speeches made
by Peter Woods from Australia and Madhav Kumar the former prime minister
of Nepal.
, On Wednesday our
delegation participated in the international Solidarity meeting with
the Korean People which was presided over by a leading official of the
World Peace Council. A representative of OSPAAL addressed the meeting
and I also spoke.
We
were able to witness first hand the pain of the division of Korea
caused by brutish US imperialism at Panmunjom as well as witnessing that
the US admitted its defeat in Korea by signing the Korean Armistice
Agreement on July 27th. Looking around the Armistice hall I saw that not
only was US imperialism defeated in 1953 but also in the Pueblo
incident of 1968, the EC121 incident of 1969 and many other cases. We
also saw materials on captured US and south Korean spies. At Panmunjom
we saw the monument to the autograph of the great leader President KIM
IL SUNG on the document for national reunification . Had the proposals
set down by the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG for national
reunification had been accepted by south Korea and US troops withdrawn
Korea would have been reunified a long time ago. I had a chat about the
Juche idea with a friendly KPA Officer .
As well as Panmunjom and Samjiyon we also travelled to Mt Myohyang to
see the International Friendship Exhibition . Travelling to different
parts of the DPRK by road we saw lush fields of crops . The imperialists
had been making propaganda that the DPRK was affected by drought and
that there would even be massive famine. However during our visit it
rained several times and we were told that the effects of the drought
had been overcome .
We were able to see the great scientific potenial of People's Korea when we visited the Sci-Tech Complex. Here we had a joint meeting with the satelitte scientists of the DPRK National Aerospace Development Adminstration . They explained the history of the DPRK satellite programme and the foundation of NADA . They pointed out that is the independent and sovereign right of the DPRK to pursue space exploration
Another lie was proved false during our visit . The Wikipedia
claims that the DPRK has 10 year compulsory military service . However
in reality it is usually 3
years and there is no conscription because everyone wants to join the
Army to fight the Yankees and defend the country , so there is no
shortage of recruits for the army so no need for conscription.
We also learnt an interesting fact . In the DPRK a mobile phone costs only0.32
dollars for 3 months with 200 minutes of calls per month ! This is
incredible when you compare to the high costs of mobile phones in the UK
. Most people in the DPRK have mobile phones .It is a true peoples
paradise.
Our delegation was able to enjoy an excellent performance by the
Samjiyon band at the majestic East Pyongyang Grand Theatre , we also saw
the splendid Manyondae Childrens Palace and the Fatherland Liberation
War Museum.
We
paid our respects to the great leaders comrades KIM IL SUNG and KIM
JONG IL at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. We also visited the
birthplace of the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG at Mangyondae .
Our delegation and the Swiss delegation had an excellent
meeting with our comrades in arms the Anti-Imperialist National
Democratic Front of south Korea.The chief of the Pyongyang Mission of
the AINDF explained the struggle for reunification in south Korea and
demolished any illusions about the so-called 'liberal' government in
south Korea.
I
also attended a function organised by the Korean Association of Social
Scientists held at Okryu restaurant The food was excellent and the staff
were very helpful . The next day I had a separate meeting with KASS professor Kim Chang Gyong.
We took part in many state functions and events. I met comrade Kim
Yong Nam , Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of
the DPRK.
.For
me most memorable was the impromptu dinner and Karaoke organised by the
Cultural Relations Committee . I was amazed at myself participating in
the Karoake after a beautiful waitress took my hand and led me on to the
stage.
I
was greatly honoured to receive the Order of Friendship Second Class
and also win a prize in the International Literary contest .
Such a great atmosphere it was sad to leave !Dr Dermot Hudson head of British Delegation
Chairman UK Preparatory Committee For the 2017 Gathering to Praise the Great Persons Born of Mt Paektu
Official Delegate Korean Friendship Association UK
Chairman Juche Idea Study Group of England
President Association For the Study of Songun Politics UK.
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