Speech by Dr Dermot Hudson to the Online Seminar of BGSJI and UK KFA on the 88th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People's Army

The 25th of April is the day of foundation of the Korean People's Army (KPA)  as it was 88 years ago  on the 25th of April 1932 that President KIM IL SUNG founded the Anti-Japanese People's Guerrilla Army (AJPGA ) which is the forerunner of the KPA . April 25th marks the day of foundation of the KPA as a guerrilla armed force whereas February 8th  marks the day of the foundation of the KPA in 1948 as regular standing armed force.  The foundation of the Anti-Japanese People's Guerrilla Army heralded the birth of the Juche revolutionary armed forces .
    The AJPGA  was formed in Antu , Manchuria because Korean people had been driven out of their homeland by the Japanese imperialists . President KIM IL SUNG started his revolutionary struggle  among the Korean communities in Manchuria.
   The AJPGA became the Korean People's Revolutionary Army in March 1934 . It fought many battles under the command of the great leader President KIM IL SUNG such as the battle of Pochonbo . In 1945 Korea was liberated from Japanese imperialists by the KPRA and Soviet Red Army. It was actually the KPRA commanded by President KIM IL SUNG which played the decisive role . It was the KPRA that stormed Japanese imperialist positions .Moreover  the USSR had actually concluded a neutrality pact with Japan and only declared war on Japan on the 9th of August 1945 whereas the anti-Japanese armed struggle had been carried out for more than a decade.
 After the Korean People's Revolutionary Army was transformed into a regular revolutionary armed force in 1948 it honourably defended the independence and freedom of the Juche motherland  under the leadership of President KIM IL SUNG .he KPA inflicted a crushing defeat on the US imperialists in the great Fatherland Liberation War of 1950-1953.The KPA also defeated the US in the ‘Pueblo incident’,'EC121 incident’, ‘Panmunjom incident’ of 1976 and the various nuclear crisis . In the recent period the KPA faced down the aggressive US imperialists in 2013 , 2015 and 2017 . In 2017 when the tension was great the KPA declared that it would strike at Guam  which decisively foiled the aggressive schemes of the US imperialists .
     There are three basic features of the KPA which make it distinctive . Firstly it is a revolutionary armed force of the workers and peasants unlike the armies of capitalist and imperialist countries which protect the capitalist system and uphold the interests of the exploiting class . Secondly , it is based on Juche , on self -reliance . During the days of the anti-Japanese armed struggle some people thought the USSR , the first workers and peasants state , would supply them with a handgrenade factory but this was not forthcoming so President KIM IL SUNG himself created the Yongil bomb which our delegation saw when we visited the Pyongchon revolutionary museum in 2016 . President KIM IL SUNG keenly realised that the DPRK could not entrust its defence to outside forces particularly after the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 when the USSR pulled the missiles out of Cuba without consulting Cuba . President KIM IL SUNG put forward the line of developing the economy and defence in parallel later Marshal KIM JONG UN in 2013 creatively developed the line of Pyongjin , of developing the nuclear force and economy in parallel . Thirdly , the Korean People's Army is truly a people's army which helps the people . During my first visit to the DPRK in 1992 I saw KPA soldiers transplanting rice . The Anbyon power station was constructed by the KPA soldier builders and massive projects in recent years such as Ryomyong Street and Samjoyon City  were built with KPA participation .
   The KPA also has a proud internationalist record and has actively helped the anti-imperialist forces in a number of places such as Cuba , Vietnam and Egypt.
  Today commanded by respected Marshal  KIM JONG UN  the KPA is standing guard over the achievements of Juche socialism and stands on the frontline between imperialism and socialism >
LONG LIVE THE KOREAN PEOPLE'S ARMY
LONG LIVE JUCHE !
LONG LIVE SUPREME COMMANDER MARSHAL KIM JONG UN !