Thursday 16 February 2023

KIM JONG IL AND JUCHE-BASED SOCIALISM -speech of Dr Dermot Hudson to the online meeting 13.02.2023

KIM JONG IL AND JUCHE-BASED SOCIALISM .


The life of the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL was closely associated with the building of Juche-based socialism in People’s Korea. He carried forward the building of Juche-based socialism in Korea which had been initiated by the great leader President KIM IL SUNG.



  Comrade KIM JONG IL was involved in the work of socialist construction from the time he was a builder who participated in the reconstruction of Pyongyang in the late 1950s and later took the helm when he started to work at the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in June 1964.

                                           



 Comrade KIM JONG IL made an important contribution to the theory of socialist construction in his speech to officials of the Science and Education Department of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea on the 13th of June 1967, titled "On Having a Correct Understanding of the Political, Moral and Material Incentives ".KIM JONG IL addressed the question of material incentives and the question of speed v equilibrium was a central question of debate amongst the economists of the socialist camp. The revisionists advocated more and more material incentives which basically would have restored capitalism. A major impediment to the work of socialist construction in Korea was the harmful aftereffects of the moves of bourgeois, revisionist elements in the economic sector. The anti-Party, revisionist elements stealthily spread revisionist economic theory in various spheres, claiming priority to material incentives for the working people and equilibrium in socialist construction; they issued something like "promissory notes" in an attempt to create selfishness among the people and decelerate economic development. KIM JONG IL smashed the sophistries of the revisionists. He pointed out that

"the political and moral incentive to work should be always reinforced by material incentives". Taking aim  at the low growth 'theory' advanced by some people he said  ..".revisionist theory which is blind to the superiority of the socialist system; this is a very harmful capitulationist tendency to restrict the growth of the socialist economy"

During the 1970s comrade KIM JONG IL actively pushed forward such ideas in the practical domain. He took charge in the speed campaign of  1974 and the three revolution movement . During the  1974 Speed Campaign industrial output value in the DPRK soared by 70% probably the highest ever rate of growth ever achieved by any country in the world , it surpassed even that of the Soviet Union under Stalin during the 1930s. In agriculture, a bumper harvest was reaped.By 1975 the DPRK had basically fulfilled the 6-year plan 1 year ahead of schedule.

                                       




 Comrade KIM JONG IL also made economic and technical innovations such as the construction of the Unryul mine conveyor belt which was an example of true genius. This conveyor belt carried soil that had been excavated from the mine out to sea and deposited it, creating new land, a simple yet brilliant idea.


                            


                              



 

All the DPRK's achievements were firmly based on self-reliance which comrade KIM JONG IL always emphasised self-reliance saying that:

"It is only when one displays a great revolutionary spirit of self-reliance that one can have faith in one's own strength, exploit the internal resources of one's country to the maximum and conduct the revolution and construction with success. Experience shows that only when one gives full play to the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance can one surmount every manner of difficulty and ordeal.



Even though the anti-Japanese guerrillas received no assistance from a regular army or from a state in the past, they, by displaying to a high degree the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance, overcame manifold difficulties and hardships, defeated the brandish Japanese imperialists and accomplished the noble cause of national liberation. In the period after the Korean War our party members and working people rehabilitated the devastated economy by our efforts and transformed our country into a powerful socialist industrial state in a short span of time.




The situation we are in today demands that we display to a high degree the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance. At present no country is willing to help another nor is any country in a position to help another, even should she want to"

In the mid and late 1990s, the DPRK faced an incredibly difficult situation in which three factors combined to create very serious difficulties for the DPRK, these factors were; the disappearance of the world socialist market due to the frustration of socialism in the USSR and elsewhere, severe natural disasters and the sanctions and blockades of the imperialists. This period was known as the Arduous March.

Comrade KIM JONG IL ensured that socialist construction was carried on despite the most trying conditions, by applying the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance. The gigantic Anbyon power station was completed in 1996 .this in terms of construction costs, materials and resources were double that of the West Sea Barrage which was constructed in the 1980s at the cost of $ 4 billion. Many small and medium-sized power stations were also built. The KPA  between 1995 and 2000  built the Chongynu Bridge, the Kumnung Tunnel No 2, the Pyongyang-Hyangsan motorway, the Thaechon Power station no 5 and the April 25 hotel. There is a great deal of false and mendacious propaganda about the ‘Arduous March ‘ period in the DPRK but the above shows that rather than the so-called ‘famine ‘ and ‘collapse ‘that the Western media portrayed it socialist construction continued. Rather than mass starvation, the population of the DPRK actually increased by 1 million between 1995 and 2000.


At the height of the ‘arduous march ‘ comrade KIM JONG IL took a measure to ensure that children were supplied with soya milk. The sight of soya milk vans driving along the streets became a familiar one.

     

    Measures were taken one by one to alleviate the food shortage issue.  In 1997 Chairman KIM JONG IL said that the entire army and all people must be mobilized for effective farming that year by all means, so as to solve the food problem decisively and bring the “Arduous March” to a successful conclusion. The People’s Army, he said, should give active, large-scale support to farming that year, organizing support to the countryside down to the last detail. Land rezoning was carried out on a massive so as to eliminate any residual vestiges of feudal landownership, making it impossible to restore capitalism in the DPRK countryside and boosting production by allowing the more widespread use of machinery. In  2009 100-day and 200-day campaigns were launched. Under the 100-day campaign, the growth in industrial output value topped 30% a truly phenomenal figure without parallel in the world and much higher than the figure for south Korea. This figure showed that the DPRK was the fastest-growing economy in the world.

  In 2010 the February 8th Vinalon Complex was recommissioned and put back into operation vinalon being known as the Juche fibre (which is made from limestone, a true example of self-reliance). The KPA also built the Huichon Power station, and the Taedonggang Fruit Farm and renovated the Kosan Fruit Farm.  

                    


                                            

The great leader comrade KIM JONG IL laid the foundations for the DPRK's independent self-reliant space industry which is today conquering the stars

                                    




.On the 31st of August 1998 the Kwangymysong 1 satellite was successfully launched. Then in April 2009 the Kwangmysong 2 was launched and on December 12 2012, the Kwangmysong 3 -2 blasted off. This was a great achievement, particularly in view of the harsh US sanctions, blockade and pressure.

Under the leadership of comrade KIM JONG IL the Korean people enjoyed the fruits of Juche-based socialism such as virtually free housing, free health care, free education, low-cost public transport and cheap food.


   To conclude the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL  made shining achievements in leading the work of socialist construction over several decades, laying firm foundations for a powerful and thriving socialist country of Juche based firmly on the idea of self-development, He was the genius of self-reliant socialist construction. His work is continued today by his worthy and loyal successor  dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN.


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