On the 16th of February the Korean people will celebrate the Day of the Shining Star , the birth anniversary of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il . The 16th of February was designated as the day of the shining star by the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK in 2012.
Two years ago I visited the DPRK on the occasion of the Day of the Shining Star.
I saw the reverence of the Korean people for the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL manifested at the bronze statues at the Mansu Hill where people were coming in droves to lay flowers in front of the statues of the great leaders. The Kimjongilia exhibition features stands from different DPRK ministries and institutions . I liked the stand from the Ministry of Railways and the Construction Bureau .
On the Day of the Shining Star I was taken for a meal at the Pizza Restaurant in Mirae Scientists Street. The Committee paid and the driver joined us . We were entertained by a Karaoke singer who sang Korean , Chinese and Russian songs. We had a meal of pizza and spaghetti and a cup of Korean barley tea. I saw Korean families tucking into very large and hearty meals in stark contrast to some of the recent reports about the DPRK alleging hunger etc.
I was able to enjoy a performance of dolphins and sea lions at the Rungna Dolphinarium and also a circus performance which included a successful 5 rotations by acrobats.
( you can read my account on the blog from 2 years ago and dare I mention the short documentary film ‘ Confessions of a Foreigner ‘ about the visit - apologies for self-promotion )
Comrade Kim Jong Il was born the son of guerrillas on February 16th 1942 during the severe anti-Japanese revolutionary war for independence .
Our UK KFA delegation to the International Festival in the DPRK in August 2017,was able to visit the birthplace of comrade Kim Jong Il on Mt Paektu and saw the log cabin that he grew up in .
He did not come from a privileged background but was brought up in clothes made from old uniforms and spent his childhood in a simple log cabin. He grew up to the echoes of the gunshots of the anti Japanese war and later as a young boy also witnessed the Fatherland Liberation War against the US imperialist aggressors which saw not only the atrocities and devastation wrought by the US imperialists but also their defeat . I remember reading a story in a biography of comrade Kim Jong Il about how he came face to face with a US pilot who was shot down but bailed out over Pyongyang . It was his first time to see a US imperialist !
Comrade Kim Jong Il lived a most simple life . As a school student and later as a university student he participated in the reconstruction of Pyongyang following the devastation caused by the US during the Korean War and later in new construction projects to build up Pyongyang better . He also worked at a textile machinery factory at lathe no 26. Thus comrade Kim Jong Il was a true people's leader , always with the people sharing both hardship and joy with them. Often comrade Kim Jong Il did not celebrate his own birthday and dressed in an old parka.
At the beginning of the 1960s Kim Jong Il gave guidance to the historic Seoul Ryu Kyong Su 105 Guards Tank Division of the KPA . In June 1964 he started work at the central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea. As well as practical day to day leadership he developed the ideology and theory of the WPK . He systematized the Juche Idea and created Kimilsungism . Because of his skills as a theoretician and ideologist plus his modest style as a people's leader he was acclaimed as the successor to the great leader President Kim Il Sung .
Comrade Kim Jong Il steered the DPRK through the difficult period of the "arduous march ". Even though the DPRK faced difficulties he made sure that a high level of social benefits was maintained . Not a single school or hospital in the DPRK closed during that period .Vans with soya milk for children were always seen on the streets of the DPRK in this period.
The ideas of the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung on national reunification were thoroughly applied and developed in depth by comrade Kim Jong Il . He made a decisive breakthrough in the struggle for national reunification by having the June 15 Declaration signed with the then south Korean chief executive Kim Dae Jung in 2000.
Declaring "Expect No Change from me!" comrade Kim Jong Il combated the pressure and machinations of US imperialists for regime change in the DPRK . This was a great inspiration to the peoples of the world aspiring for socialism .
Comrade Kim Jong Il made sure that the DPRK continued firmly along the road of Juche charted by comrade Kim Il Sung by upholding the banner of Juche further supplemented it with the Songun idea and Songun politics the treasured sword for defending independence.
Today the DPRK is the world's most independent country . It is seen as a country that does not take nonsense from any imperialists or big powers . This is the legacy of comrade Kim Jong Il, a legacy that is today further developed and carried forward by the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un , the one and only successor to the Juche cause.
We join with the Korean people and world progressives in commemorating the great leader generalissimo Kim Jong Il on the 79th anniversary of his birth .
Thank you for listening.
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