KIM IL SUNG-LET US BRING THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIALISM IN OUR COUNTRY INTO FULL PLAY

KIM IL SUNG



LET US BRING THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIALISM

IN OUR COUNTRY INTO FULL PLAY





Policy Speech Addressed to the First Session of the 9th Supreme People’s Assembly

of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

May 24, 1990





Comrade Deputies,

The election to the 9th Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has been held in an atmosphere of great political enthusiasm and with the active participation of all the people at a time of upswing in which the grand march of the 1990s is progressing vigorously.

Through this election we have made the people’s govern­ment rock-solid and powerfully demonstrated the political and ideological unity of our people who are united closely behind the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Government of our Repub­lic.

You, Comrade Deputies, representing the will of all the peo­ple, have placed great confidence in me by entrusting me with the continued leadership of the new Government of the Republic as its President. For this trust I express my heartfelt gratitude to you.

The new Government of the Republic will serve the popular masses more faithfully by performing its noble duties and meeting the people’s high expectations. It will make every effort to achieve the victory of the cause of socialism and the self-determined, peace­ful reunification of the country.



1

Comrades,

The socialist system in our country is the greatest achievement of our people in their struggle to realize independence under the excel­lent leadership of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Government of the Republic.

Our people are proud of the fact that they have, from their own conviction, chosen the path to socialism and have been building socialism successfully by their own efforts.

Our socialism is, in short, man-centered socialism, the embodi­ment of the Juche idea. The principal characteristic of our society is that it is a truly people-orientated society of which the popular mass­es are the genuine masters and in which everything serves the mass­es.

The process of building socialism by the application of the Juche idea can be described as the process of strengthening the motive force of the revolution and of transforming all the sectors of society to meet the requirements of Juche, in other words, the process of thoroughly establishing Juche.

Strengthening the motive force of the revolution is the funda­mental matter in the struggle for socialism. Unless they are fully prepared as the motive force of the revolution, the popular masses will be unable to emerge victorious from the struggle for political power; unless the motive force is consolidated steadily, it will find it impossible to build a socialist society and bring its advantages into play.

In carrying out the revolution and construction, we have always put preferential efforts into the consolidation of the motive force.

We have promoted the work of strengthening the motive force in keeping with the development of the revolution and the progress of our construction to higher levels.

By imbuing the popular masses with the Juche idea, the guiding ideology of our revolution, we have thoroughly established Juche in ideology, strengthened the Party and united all the people closely behind the Party, with the result that our revolutionary ranks have been welded into a socio-political organism. Today in our country the seasoned Workers’ Party of Korea stands firmly at the centre of the revolutionary ranks, and the masses of the people who have withstood all trials and have always shared their destiny with the Party even when poised between life and death during the long-drawn-out revolutionary struggle, are solidly united around the Party in a single purpose and mind. The fact that we have given definite priority to the work of strengthening the motive force of the revolu­tion and thus strengthened the politico-ideological unity of the popu­lar masses and helped them to fulfill their responsibility and role as befitting masters, has been the cardinal factor for success in the socialist revolution and in the building of socialism.

Transforming all the sectors of society creatively to meet the desire for independence of the popular masses, the motive force of the revolution, is the basic direction in which to build man-centered socialism. Throughout the course of building socialism, our Party and the Government of our Republic have consistently maintained the independent and creative stands and implemented the line of independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliant defence.

We have practiced independent politics to safeguard and realize the political independence of the popular masses, the masters of society, and have constructed an economy which can stand on its feet and can meet the people’s material needs on its own. We have also prepared self-reliant defence forces capable of reliably main­taining the security of the country and of protecting our revolution­ary achievements.

As a result of the establishment of solid political independence, reliable economic self-sufficiency and firm self-reliant national defence, our country has become a Juche, independent socialist country which continues to develop in all spheres, free from subjugation to and dependence on others.

The strong, independent motive force of our revolution which is based on the unbreakable unity of ideology and purpose between the Party and the popular masses, and its steady consolidation and development on the strong basis of independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliant defence, constitute the source of the might and indestructibility of the socialist system in our country and a sure guaran­tee for our accomplishment of the socialist cause without wavering, whatever the difficulty or complexity.

The advantages of our socialist system find clear expression in the happy and worthwhile lives of our people under socialism.

A socialist life is an independent and creative life for the popular masses as the masters of the state and society; it is a collectivist life for the people who share weal and woe, helping one another and leading one another forward. Every one of our people is now leading a political life, a cultural life and an economic life which accord with the intrinsic desire of man as social being, and with socialist ideals.

An economic life constitutes the basis of social life. A socialist economic life must be sound, contributing to the fulfillment of the people’s desire for independence and to the provision of creative activities for them; it must be equitable, providing everyone with equal happiness without differences between rich and poor.

In our country everyone is granted the right to be provided with food, clothing and housing by the state and society and is furnished with the conditions he needs by them. All the working people have steady jobs and participate in creative work for the good of the soci­ety and for their own good according to their abilities. They not only receive distribution according to the results of their work but also are granted many benefits by the people-orientated measures of the state.

Although they cannot say that they are rich, our people are now free from worries about their livelihood. Whether they are workers, farmers or office workers, whether they live in urban or rural communities, they all enjoy an equally happy life. In our country the material wealth created by the people is devoted totally to the promotion of their well-being, and their material standard of living rises steadily as the building of socialism makes progress.

A man’s dignity and value as a social being find clearest expres­sion in his political and cultural life. People can claim that they truly live as men only when they lead a highly valuable political life and a rich cultural life in addition to a decent economic life.

Through their cultural life, people develop their consciousness of independence and their creative abilities, acquire ennobling mental and moral qualities and meet their various cultural and emotional requirements. The essential characteristic of socialist cultural life distinguishing it from capitalist cultural life that makes people degenerate and poisons them with maladies lies in the fact that it enables people to meet their intrinsic desire for continuous mental and physical development and encourages them all to create and enjoy culture.

Under the system of free and compulsory education in our coun­try everyone, with a full right and freedom to enjoy education, stud­ies all his life, developing himself into a new type of man with ver­satility, thanks to the system of free medical care and various other popular policies, he enjoys good health and a happy, long life.

Our people display their resourcefulness and talents to the full in creating and developing socialist culture and arts and enjoy rich cultural and emotional lives to their hearts’ content. With noble moral qualities as independent beings, all our people live in harmony. Free from all social evils, they lead a hope-filled life and are struggling, proud of their lives and with a conviction in a brighter future.

The political life which provides the people with genuine politi­cal freedom and rights as masters of the state and society, guarantees valuable socio-political integrity for them and enables them to add luster to it is the most important of all their activities.

Through the socialist political life, the people realize their political independence, weld their individual lives to the life of the community and thus become immortal by being trusted and loved by the community.

Today our people, as genuine masters of government, participate freely in state administration and socio-political activities. Belong­ing to a particular socio-political organization, every one of them leads a politico-organizational life. Through their political life, our people participate as masters in the formulation of Party and state policies and in their implementation and maintain inseparable ties with the socio-political organism that centers on the Party. In our country a political life is a daily routine for every member of the society. Our people’s political life is, indeed, a life of the highest value for people as social beings who regard independence as their lifeblood. It is the most precious and worthwhile life and nothing can be compared with it.

Our people’s socialist life will be more prosperous as long as they have our Party to lead them and the Government of the Repub­lic to serve them.

The struggle for socialism in our country has been an arduous struggle waged in the difficult and complex situation in which the country is divided and in which we are in direct confrontation with US imperialism, the ring-leader of world imperialism.

Our people have overcome many bitter trials and shed a lot of sweat and blood in their struggle for socialism, but not in vain. They have become complete masters of their destiny and laid lasting, unshakable foundations for socialism on this land. There may be trials and difficulties in the future for our people in their struggle for the accomplishment of the socialist cause, and the enemy will continue with his obstructive moves. However, no trial or difficul­ty and no obstructive scheme by the enemy will ever be able to dampen our people’s revolutionary conviction or check our advance.

The greatness of the Juche idea, the guiding ideology of our Party, the invincibility of our people who have established Juche, and the advantages of our socialist system which is the embodiment of the Juche idea; these are the summary of our people’s struggle for socialism, and it is precisely in them that our people take great pride and it is precisely from them that they derive their confidence in a brighter future.



2

Comrades,

Today we are faced with the honorable tasks of attaining a new, higher peak of socialism by pressing ahead with the revolution and construction, and of bringing the advantages of socialism in our country into full play.

The Government of the Republic must accelerate the building of socialism by holding fast to our Party’s general line of stepping up the ideological, technical and cultural revolutions while strengthen­ing the people’s state power and steadily enhancing its functions and role.

In order to accomplish the cause of socialism and communism, we must continue with the revolution even after the socialist system has been established and occupy the ideological and material fortresses, the major strategic objectives for building socialism and communism.

In the course of building socialism and communism, we must make strenuous efforts to capture the two fortresses of com­munism, while giving priority to the struggle to capture the ideologi­cal fortress.

The need to secure the material fortress for building a commu­nist society is clear to everybody. But the attainment of this objective alone will not make a communist society a reality. In essence, capturing the material fortress is an effort to prepare the objective conditions for a communist society, but the work of securing the ideological fortress is an undertaking to transform people, the masters of society, along communist lines, in other words, to prepare the motive force of a communist society. The work of capturing the ideological fortress constitutes the most important aspect of building communism, and the outcome of socialist and communist construction depends, ultimately, on how this work is done.

We must direct our efforts preferentially to the work of securing the ideological fortress and develop all the members of society into people of a communist type who have acquired a high level of ideo­logical consciousness of independence and creative ability, and we must make the whole of society a communist collective based on comradeship.

In order to develop all the members of society into people of a communist type, we must speed up the ideological and cultural revolutions and transform the whole of society in a revolutionary manner and assimilate all the members of society to the working class and to the intelligentsia.

From the point of view of man’s transformation, the process of building socialism and communism can be described as the process of making all the members of society revolutionary and assimilating them to the working class and to the intelligentsia. It is a law-gov­erned process that, with social progress, all working people are assimilated to the working class in terms of their socio-economic positions as well as to the intelligentsia in terms of their cultural and technical levels.

Spurring on their revolutionary transformation and their assimilation to the working class and to the intelligentsia so as to make everyone an intellectual who has been assimilated to the working class and a member of the working class who has been assimilated to the intelligentsia is the basic orientation of the trans­formation of man that must be carried out for the building of social­ism and communism.

The most important task in the revolutionary transformation of all the members of society and in their assimilation to the working class is to imbue them with the Juche idea.

The Juche idea is a genuine communist ideology which advocates man’s full independence and shows him the scientific way to realize his independence completely. It clearly elucidates the correct meth­ods for man to achieve national liberation, class liberation and his emancipation which are raised by our times. It is only when they are fully equipped with the Juche idea that people can acquire the ideological and mental qualities befitting the masters of socialist and communist society and can perform their responsibility and role as masters of the world and their own destiny.

We must develop education in the Juche idea so that all Party members and the other working people are fully equipped with the Juche revolutionary outlook on the world, have an unshakable belief in the validity and universality of the Juche idea and in the advan­tages of our socialism, the embodiment of the Juche idea, and fight to the end for the triumph of the socialist cause without vacillation whatever wind may blow.

Assimilating the whole society to the intelligentsia is an impor­tant strategic task for developing all the members of society into people of a communist type who have a high level of creative abili­ty, and for successfully speeding up the building of socialism and communism on the strength of science and technology.

Ever since we started building a new society we, having recog­nized our intellectuals as a major component of our revolutionary forces, have followed the correct intellectual policy of giving them revolutionary education and encouraging them to display all their creative enthusiasm and talents. In building socialism, we have worked hard to make the whole society intellectual while working for its revolutionary and working-class transformation.

The most important matter in making the whole society intellec­tual is to develop education.

By implementing the Juche idea we have established an excellent system of education by which all our people have access to educa­tion.

We must thoroughly implement the Theses on Socialist Educa­tion, improve the quality of public education and the training of cadres and bring the advantages of our socialist system of education into full play.

In the field of general education universal eleven-year compulsory education should be provided properly by improving the qualifications of teachers and the content and methods of education; in the field of higher education a larger number of well-qualified technicians and specialists should be produced by directing great efforts to the training of scientists and technicians.

“To study is the prime task of revolutionaries”: this is a slogan we have held high since the days of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle. The whole society must acquire the revolutionary habit of studying while working and of working while studying so that everyone continues to raise his ideological level and improve his cultural and technical qualifications.

The motive force in the building of socialism and communism is not individuals but the socio-political collective of comrades held together on the principle of collectivism. It is only when they are closely linked organizationally and ideologically around the Party that the popular masses can become the invincible motive force of the revolution and promote the building of socialism and commu­nism.

The main aspect of strengthening the motive force of the revolu­tion is to build up the Party’s strength and tighten the unbreakable ties between the Party and the masses. In keeping with the progress made in the building of socialism, we must strengthen still further the unity and cohesion of our Party based on the Juche idea and unite the masses more firmly behind the Party so that all the people share their destiny with the Party to the end in the struggle for the victory of the cause of socialism.

Stepping up socialist economic construction to capture the mate­rial fortress of communism is a very important task now facing our people.

It is only when the productive forces are developed quickly and the production of material wealth is increased through the accelera­tion of socialist economic construction that strong material and tech­nical foundations for socialism and communism can be laid, that the material and cultural standards of living of the people can be improved to meet the requirements of socialism and that the superi­ority of the socialist system can be displayed to the full.

The Government of the Republic must adhere to and fully imple­ment the line of making the national economy Juche-based, modern and scientific, the line which is the basic strategy of our Party in socialist economic construction.

The independent socialist national economy which we have built through self-reliance and hard work is mighty and it serves as a strong foundation for the happy socialist life of our people and for the independent development of our country.

We must, by ensuring a proper balance between the economic sectors and maintaining a steady and high rate of production in all sectors, give priority to the efforts to make the existing economic foundations prove their worth and we must, at the same time, work hard to attain the ambitious goals of the Third Seven-Year Plan.

We must quickly develop those economic sectors which must lead the other sectors, as required by the law of socialist economic development, and develop all the economic sectors in a balanced way.

In particular, we must concentrate investment on the mining and power industries and on transport to modernize these branches in every possible way and increase production and transport capaci­ties radically.

In order to ensure that our independent national economy makes a more effective contribution to the improvement of the people’s standard of living, we must make great efforts to develop light industry and agriculture.

The main task facing light industry is to modernize its factories further and operate them at full capacity so as to increase the production of consumer goods to the maximum. The officials in charge of light industry must adopt positive measures to ensure the supply of raw and other materials to light industry by making full use of every possibility, and those in charge of the chemical industry must act responsibly to ensure the production of vinalon and other kinds of chemical fiber, synthetic resin and elementary chemical goods.

The officials and working people in the field of light industry must develop an enthusiastic campaign to improve the quality of their products by displaying loyalty to their fellow people and a high sense of responsibility.

The agricultural sector must work hard to complete the tasks of the technical revolution set out in the socialist rural theses and thus give full play to the advantages of the socialist agricultural system in our country. A major potential for increasing agricultural production in our country is to make farming more intensive and raise per-unit-area yields. The agricultural sector should make effective use of our excellent irrigation facilities which were built through a nationwide effort, grow crops in a scientific way to meet the requirements of the Juche farming method, and thus bring about a new upsurge in agricultural production.

Many houses should be built in Pyongyang and other cities and in the rural communities, and a central heating system and gas supply should be introduced even in rural villages so as to provide our peo­ple with more modern amenities.

A consistent policy of the Government of the Republic is to develop its economic relations with foreign countries. We should expand and develop foreign trade by widely exploring sources of exportable goods in the various branches of our national economy and improving the quality of our exports, and we should step up eco­nomic and technical cooperation with many countries.

Promoting the technical revolution is a decisive guarantee of suc­cess in socialist economic construction.

It can be said that socialist economic construction is, in effect, a technical revolution. Without giving priority to the development of technology it will be impossible to free the working people from difficult and arduous labor, make effective use of the nation’s resources, further the independence of the national economy and develop the national economy quickly.

In order to accelerate the technical revolution, officials must have a correct attitude towards the technical revolution and strongly com­bat the practice of neglecting technical progress as a result of con­cerning oneself only with current production. All officials should adhere to the view that carrying out the technical revolution is vital to socialist economic construction and should deal with all economic activities at all times by attaching prime importance to technical development; they should also work hard for scientific and techno­logical progress in our country and for the technical innovation of the national economy.

We must quickly develop science and technology in our country as required by socialist construction and in line with the world trend in science and technology, and must modernize the national econo­my and put it on a scientific basis in every possible way by making great efforts to develop the machine, electronics and automation industries. All sectors of the national economy should bring about a continuous upsurge in production by conducting a dynamic mass technical innovation campaign, and ensure that the technical revolu­tion makes progress as a creative movement of the people them­selves.

For success in socialist economic construction guidance of the economy and enterprise management should be continually improved.

Our Party has set the principles of economic management that conform to the intrinsic requirements of socialist society and has established the Taean work system, a most scientific and reasonable system of economic management. The officials in charge of econom­ic affairs must fully support and implement the Juche-based princi­ples of economic management by displaying a noble revolutionary spirit with a firm belief in our Party’s policies. They must direct pro­duction and manage enterprises in a responsible manner as required by the Taean work system. In economic management planning work in particular should be improved and rigid discipline and order should be established so that all sectors and all units carry out national eco­nomic plans without fail. Economic officials should study Party poli­cy closely and acquire knowledge of economic management so as to improve their level of enterprise management steadily as required by objective economic laws and the developing situation.

The Government of the Republic is genuine people’s state power which serves the people. If the Government of the Republic is to fulfill its honorable mission as people’s state power, it must fully implement socialist democracy in state activity.

Socialist democracy in our country is politics of the people themselves which enables the people to hold the position of masters and fulfill their role as masters; it is the best of all democratic politics that makes it possible to combine the independence of individuals close­ly with that of the collective and to realize both satisfactorily.

In our country everyone exercises equal and independent rights as a gen­uine master of the state and society, and all the people develop their creative wisdom and talent helping and leading one another forward as comrades on the principle of “One for all and all for one”.

The imperialists talk loudly about “democracy” claiming “free­dom” and “human rights”, but this is a mere deception. There cannot be equality between the privileged rich who have unlimited power and revel in luxury and glory and the masses who suffer from unemployment and poverty; it is impossible to talk about genuine freedom and human rights in imperialist countries where reactionary ideas, immorality and depravity are fostered and every manner of social evil is rampant. The imperialists are making people the slaves of money, mental cripples and political illiterates; every manner of corruption widespread in capitalist society is the product of the anti-popular, anti-democratic politics pursued by the imperialists. In the imperialist countries, where a handful of privileged sections monopolize state power and the means of production as well as all ideolog­ical and cultural means, there can be no genuine democracy which guarantees the popular masses the position and role of masters.

In order to champion and realize the independence of the popular masses it is necessary to completely foil the imperialists in the anti-socialist schemes they are conducting under the mask of “democra­cy” and the “defence of human rights”. A socialist government which serves the people must naturally protect the people from the infiltration of unsound ideas and culture, combat every practice detrimental to the interests of the people and the cause of socialism and resolutely champion the masses’ desire for independence and their common interests.

The Government of our Republic must fight uncompromisingly against the anti-popular, anti-socialist moves of the imperialists and the enemy of the people, and bring socialist democracy into full play in all fields of social life.

Socialist democracy is guaranteed by the socialist system. We must strengthen the socialist system still further and develop it con­tinually so as to give free rein to the independence and creativity of the people in all fields of politics, the economy and culture.

In consolidating the socialist system and in the practice of social­ist democracy it is important to perfect the legal system and ensure that socialist laws are strictly observed. On the basis of our success in socialist construction, we must enact and improve our laws and regulations until they are perfect so that socialist democracy is ensured more effectively. We must see that all the people observe state laws willingly, displaying to a high degree the law-abiding spirit.

In order to effect socialist democracy to the fullest extent and bring the advantages of our socialist system into full play, we must ensure the Party’s leadership and implement the revolutionary mass line.

Enhancing the leadership role of the Party and implementing the mass line make it possible to champion and meet the fundamental desires and interests of the people consistently in accordance with a correct strategy and tactics, and to promote the revolution and construction by eliminating bureaucracy and subjectivism and giving full play to the people’s creativity. Ensuring the Party’s leadership and implementing the revolutionary mass line are a fundamental prin­ciple to which we must adhere in the building of socialism and com­munism.

People’s government organs at all levels must conduct all their activities by wholeheartedly supporting the Party’s leadership and relying on its policies, and must continue to improve their work system and work methods by implementing the revolutionary mass line.

The Chongsanri spirit and Chongsanri method created by our Party are the most revolutionary and democratic principle of mass guidance and the most revolutionary and democratic work method, correctly combining the Party’s leadership with the revolutionary mass line.

The officials of government organs must always mix with the masses as required by the Chongsanri spirit and Chongsanri method and conduct intensive political work to unite the people closely behind the Party and implement the Party’s policies by enlisting the efforts and resourcefulness of the masses. They must have warm love for the people and the spirit of devoted service for them. They must be truly faithful workers and servants of the people and devote themselves totally for the people, sharing weal and woe with them.

Making continuous innovations and uninterrupted progress with­out being carried away by victory is the revolutionary spirit of our people, and they are proud of it. The goal of our struggle is clear and we have a correct line and methods for carrying the cause of social­ism to completion. All the people must display high revolutionary spirit and mass heroism and press ahead with the grand march to bring about a new turn in socialist construction.



3

Comrades,

Achieving the independent, peaceful reunification of the country is the most pressing task for the Government of the Republic and the entire Korean nation.

The history of our nation since the division of the country is a history of nationwide struggle to restore severed national ties and achieve the country’s reunification. In the course of this strenuous struggle a common reunification program for the nation has been laid down and the reunification movement has spread nationwide.

The three principles of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity agreed upon and made public at home and abroad jointly by the north and the south are a great reunification program which clearly shows the way to reunify the country by incorporating the resourcefulness and will of the whole nation. The proposal for founding the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo put forward by the Government of the Republic on the basis of these three principles is the most reasonable and realistic reunification proposal making it possible to reunify the country independently and peacefully, as well as impartially, without one side conquering the other or being conquered, in the circumstances in which different ideologies and systems exist in the north and the south. This propos­al envisages that our country, after reunification, will not become a satellite of any other country but develop into a neutral nation which will not join any political and military alliance or bloc. Therefore, it not only meets all Koreans’ desire for independence but also accords with the wishes of the peoples of the countries neighboring Korea and the peace-loving people throughout the world.

The Government of the Republic and all the Korean people must, under the banner of independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity, continue to wage a vigorous struggle to establish the DFRK and thus reunify the country.

Ending the tragedy of national division and reunifying the coun­try are the most pressing and vital desire of our nation as well as the challenge of the times posed by the historical trend towards independence.

Today the south Korean people, despite continued harsh suppres­sion, have come out in the noble struggle to achieve national sovereignty and reunification, holding high the banner of anti-US independence, anti-fascist democracy and national reunification. They are fighting bravely, unafraid to make any sacrifice. The unyielding, just struggle of the south Korean young people and students and other people there from all walks of life clearly demon­strates our nation’s high spirit of independence and its unbreakable will to reunify the country. This is arousing a strong, positive response from the progressive people of the world.

The obstructive maneuvers of those at home and abroad who try to keep the country divided are still continuing, but the reunification movement is gaining momentum on a nationwide scale with the passage of time.

For national reunification to be achieved as soon as possible in keeping with the pressing desire of the entire nation, correct solu­tions must be found to the following issues.

First, tension on the Korean peninsula must be eased and a peace­ful climate for the country’s reunification be created.

Easing tension and ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula are the foremost task for reunifying our country peacefully.

For the relaxation of tension and for durable peace, the north and south must adopt a nonaggression declaration guaranteeing that both sides refrain from invading the other, the DPRK and the United States must sign a peace agreement, the armed forces in the north and the south must be reduced drastically and nuclear weapons and foreign troops must be withdrawn from south Korea.

The Government of the Republic has maintained that the north and the south must reduce their armed forces by stages to less than 100,000 men respectively and that nuclear weapons and US troops must be withdrawn from south Korea .

Since we have proposed a sharp reduction in the armed forces of the north and south, from a sincere desire for a peaceful settlement of the question of Korea ’s reunification, and since the withdrawal of foreign troops is a world trend, there is no reason for the US armed forces to remain in south Korea . The withdrawal of US forces from south Korea will accord with the trend of the times towards peace and detente and also with the interests of the American people.

The earlier the US forces leave south Korea , the sooner Korea will be reunified. This will be welcomed by our people and the peace-loving people throughout the world. If the United States can­not withdraw all her troops from south Korea at once, she will be able to do so by stages.

Secondly, the barrier of division must be removed and free travel and a full-scale open-door policy effected between the north and the south.

Removing the barrier that divides the territory and the nation and ensuring free travel and a full-scale open-door policy between the north and south are the fundamental conditions for achieving nation­al reconciliation and unity and for reunifying the country. It is only when the barrier of division is pulled down and fellow countrymen can travel freely north and south, meet one another to share feelings of brotherly love and see with their own eyes the realities of the north and south that they can strengthen their will to reunify the beautiful land of three thousand ri which has been artificially divid­ed, to shape a bright future for the country and to commit themselves to the reunification movement with greater vigor.

We will warmly welcome the visit to the north of broad sections of people and social figures from different sections in south Korea and give a hearty welcome from our feelings of kinship to our fellow countrymen from the south, fully ensuring their personal safety.

We will also allow the people of the north to visit the south without any restraint and provide them with every convenience.

The south Korean authorities are now claiming that they wel­come free travel and a full-scale open-door policy, but they are pre­venting the south Korean people and social figures from different sections from visiting the north and are punishing as criminals those who have been to the north with the noble desire to reunify the coun­try. If the south Korean authorities really wish to help towards national reconciliation and the country’s reunification, they must begin by pulling down the concrete barrier they themselves have built, then abolish the evil laws which hinder contact and reunion for national reunification and take practical steps to effect free travel and a full-scale open-door policy.

Thirdly, the north and the south must develop their foreign rela­tions on the principle of creating an international climate favorable for the self-determined, peaceful reunification of the country.

The Korean question is a product of historical international rela­tions.

The division of Korea was caused by international relations and the delay in Korea ’s reunification is also due to continuing inter­ference and obstructive maneuvers by foreign forces. The way the north and the south develop their international relations and the stand and attitude adopted by the countries concerned towards the Korean question are important matters of principle in achieving Korea ’s reunification.

In their foreign relations the north and the south must always attach prime importance to the common interests of the nation and develop these relations so as to create a favorable international cli­mate for preventing the perpetuation of national division and hasten­ing national reunification. In the international arena the north and the south must avoid confrontation and competition which damage the nation’s dignity and which allow foreign forces to profit. They must team up with each other to defend common national interests and bring honor to the nation.

Those countries which are concerned about the Korean question must also feel their responsibility for the continuing tragedy of divi­sion in Korea and make a proper contribution to finding a solution to the Korean question. The United States, as the country which is directly responsible for the current situation in Korea, must play a positive role in realizing Korea’s reunification, and the other coun­tries concerned, too, must not follow the divisive policy of the Unit­ed States or be implicated in it, but maintain a principled attitude conducive to the reunification of Korea.

The fact that Japan , following the United States , is now obstruct­ing the reunification of Korea shows that she does not repent of the crimes she committed against our nation in the past and that she is repeating her past mistakes in her approach to the Korean question. We must sharpen our vigilance against the revival of Japanese militarism and against the wild scheme of the Japanese militarists to reinvade, having already imposed innumerable misfortunes and dis­asters on the Korean people and the peoples of many other Asian countries.

The UN, whose mission is to safeguard peace and justice, must help to settle the Korean question peacefully and impartially.

It should not allow itself to be used to delay the reunification of Korea . From a desire to put an end to national division and achieve reunifi­cation, the Government of the Republic has always maintained that Korea must enter the UN as a unified country. If the north and the south enter the UN separately, it will legitimize the division of Korea internationally and create a further obstacle to national reuni­fication.

If the north and the south are to join the UN before Korea ’s reunification is achieved, they must not hold two separate seats but enter it jointly as one member favoring reunification.

Fourthly, we must develop the dialogue for national reunifica­tion.

The only way to settle the question of national reunification peacefully and in accordance with the will of the whole nation is to develop this dialogue. Throughout the whole course of the dialogue held between the north and the south it has been evident that it can­not be successful through the efforts of only one side and that it is only when both sides make joint and sincere efforts that it will pro­duce good results.

The dialogue between the north and the south must be dialogue not for maintaining division, but for finding a practical solution to the reunification question. It must not be dialogue which reflects only the will of the authorities in power or any particular sections, but dia­logue of the whole nation providing a democratic representation of the will of all political parties, social organizations and people from all social strata. Both parties to the dialogue must approach it with a sincere attitude towards settling the reunification question by uniting and cooperating with each other. They must refrain from clouding the atmosphere of the dialogue or laying artificial obstacles to it.

The Government of the Republic will make every possible effort to see that the north-south dialogue, now in a state of suspension, is resumed and produces good results, and to expand and develop the dialogue for Korea ’s reunification in various forms.

Fifthly, a nationwide united front for the country’s reunification must be formed.

The cause of national reunification is the cause of the entire nation to realize its independence. The motive force of national reunification is the whole Korean nation. Every Korean, whether he or she lives in the north, in the south or abroad, and whether he or she is a worker, peasant, young person or student, statesman, busi­nessman, a man of culture or a religious man; all of them have the noble national duty to contribute all their energy and intelligence to the cause of national reunification as befitting masters of reunifica­tion.

The success of the cause of national reunification depends on how the fellow countrymen in the north, in the south and abroad, people from all strata of society, unite and fight. All Koreans must unite on the principle of placing the common interests of the nation above all else, irrespective of their class, ideology, political views and religion.

No class and no social section should place their own interests above national interests or set the struggle for social and class interests against the struggle for national reunification.

All the groups and organizations which are fighting for national reunification must cooperate and unite with one another and form a nationwide united front comprising all political parties, social and other organizations and public figures from different strata in the north, the south and abroad.

The patriotic efforts and distinguished service rendered by the people from all walks of life in the noble cause of national reunifica­tion will be appreciated highly in the future by the reunified father­land; after reunification the entire Korean nation should follow at all times the common cause of striving to build a new, prosperous country.

It is a historical inevitability that a nation which has been divided artificially by outside forces will be reunified. All the fellow countrymen in the north, in the south and abroad must unite closely and fight dynamically, full of hope and conviction, and make the 1990s the historic decade of national reunification.



4

Comrades,

At present a sharp confrontation and struggle between socialism and imperialism and between progress and reaction are continuing in the international arena.

Owing to the cunning and shameless acts of the imperialists to realize their wild dream for world supremacy, successive unexpected and complicated events are taking place in many parts of the world, and the people’s socialist cause is facing a grave challenge. This is arousing great anxiety among the progressive people throughout the world who value justice and the future of mankind and aspire to independence.

While adhering to power politics, the imperialists are now resort­ing to what they call the “peaceful transition” strategy to undermine socialism. They are attempting to turn the socialist countries back to capitalism by paralyzing the people’s revolutionary consciousness through ideological and cultural infiltration, bribing them economi­cally with “aid” as a bait, and brewing socio-political disturbances by instigating anti-socialist elements.

The imperialists are cheering as they clamor about the “crisis of socialism”, but this is ridiculous. It is imperialism and none other that is now suffering from an incurable malady. The imperialists themselves are falling into an irretrievable crisis. Imperialism, whose days are numbered, cannot decide the people’s destiny, nor can it reverse the tide of history.

The imperialists, the reactionaries of history, seek to maintain the outmoded society in which exploitation and oppression of man by man prevail, whereas the popular masses, the motive force of histo­ry, desire to build a new society free from exploitation and oppres­sion, a society in which everybody leads an independent and creative life as the master of the state and society and as the master of his own destiny.

The advance along the road of socialism is the main trend of historical progress. Socialism is the only road for mankind to take.

Socialism, which was made a reality for the first time by the Great October Socialist Revolution and has made a victorious advance since then, has eliminated the age-long, outmoded societies and become both the motive force of history creating new people-orientated societies and the banner of man’s emancipation, a banner that inspires the world’s people in their struggle for independence.

Since the way to socialism is an untrodden path, socialism may encounter unexpected obstacles in its progress and suffer temporary setbacks. Also, the way of building socialism has to be improved steadily in accordance with the changing and developing situation.

When shortcomings have been revealed in the building of social­ism, they must be corrected without hesitation by drawing appropri­ate lessons from them. It is a recognized fact that criticism and self-criticism are the motive power for the development of socialist society.

The point is how to overcome the obstacles that lie in the way of the advance and how to continue with the socialist cause. Socialism, which is based on collectivism, is a society that develops on princi­ples that are fundamentally different from those of capitalism, which is based on individualism. It is incomparably superior to capitalism.

If one abandons socialist principles and tries to find solutions to problems in capitalist methods when facing difficulties in the course of building socialism, one will be unable to overcome the obstacles and, worse still, will neutralize the inherent advantages of socialism, find oneself in confusion and lose even the revolutionary achieve­ments made by shedding one’s blood.

Socialism can only be built on socialist principles and by socialist methods. All the problems arising in the building of socialism must always be solved on the basis of socialist theories, on the principle of bringing the advantages of socialism into play, and by giving rein to the inexhaustible creativity of the popular masses, the motive force of the revolution. When the situation is complex and the reac­tionary offensive is being stepped up, the revolutionary people must hold fast to revolutionary principles and advance, holding higher the banner of socialism.

Independence, peace and friendship are the basic ideals of the foreign policy of our Republic, and these are of universal signifi­cance in developing international relations to make independence prevail across the whole world. The Government of the Republic will, in the future, too, consistently follow its foreign policy of inde­pendence, peace and friendship.

Independence is the lifeblood of an independent and sovereign state and the basis of all international relations. Every country is an equal member of the international community and has equal sovereignty.

In the world there are large and small countries but there can be no senior or junior ones. Therefore, all countries must be ensured complete equality based on independence in international relations.

The Government of the Republic will firmly adhere to an independent stand, will formulate its foreign policy in the interests of our people and in the common interests of the progressive people throughout the world and will invariably follow an independent for­eign policy however complicated the situation. We are opposed to every manner of aggression and foreign interference, reject imperial­ism, colonialism and racism and give strong support to the peoples of all countries in their struggle for their sovereignty and for national and class liberation.

Opposing war and safeguarding peace are the common desire of mankind. The people can succeed in building a new, independent and prosperous society only when a climate of peace is guaranteed.

In order to prevent war and safeguard peace, disarmament must be realized, nuclear weapons be completely abolished, and troops and military bases of aggression in foreign countries be withdrawn.

The peace-loving people throughout the world must sharpen their vigilance against the imperialists’ moves to disarm the socialist countries and to hold supremacy over them under the cloak of “disarmament” and “detente”. They must not tolerate the imperialists’ armed intervention and military aggression against other countries.

Peace must be won through a principled struggle against the imperialists’ moves for an arms buildup and against their war policy, and not by begging them for it or by unilateral concessions.

The Government of the Republic will work hard to frustrate the imperialist policy of aggression and war and to make the Korean peninsula a nuclear-free, peace zone, and will give strong support and encouragement to the anti-war, anti-nuclear peace movement of the people in many lands.

The struggle for independence prevailing throughout the world is the common cause of the world’s people, and the motive force of this struggle is the world’s people who advocate independence. It is only when friendship and solidarity among the people throughout the world are strengthened that the obstructive maneuvers of the imperialists can be frustrated, global independence be promoted suc­cessfully and the independent development of each nation be guar­anteed.

The progressive people throughout the world, who advocate independence, must counter the imperialist maneuvers for division and alienation with a strategy of unity. “Let the world’s people advocating independence unite!” is the international slogan of our times.

The Government of the Republic will strengthen its unity and solidarity with the socialist countries on socialist principles and in the spirit of comradely cooperation and will strive to consolidate the unity and cohesion of the Non-aligned Movement and to develop the relations of friendship and cooperation between our country and the non-aligned and developing nations. We will develop South-South cooperation in all fields of politics, the economy and culture on the principle of collective self-reliance. The Government of the Repub­lic will also establish friendly relations with the capitalist countries which respect our sovereignty and will develop economic and cul­tural exchanges on the principles of equality and mutual respect

Mankind’s cause of independence, the cause of socialism, will surely emerge victorious by overcoming the obstacles and difficul­ties that lie in the way of its advance. The wicked reactionary moves to check historical progress have not begun only recently. The progress of human history has always passed through fierce strug­gles against reactionaries, but their maneuvers against the trend of the times have always failed. Victory and glory will certainly await the people who are struggling with confidence in the cause of justice and with an unshakable conviction in a bright future, full of opti­mism.

Our people are entrusted with an honorable mission by the times and history to pave the road of independence, the road of socialism, successfully under the banner of the Juche idea.

Let all of us fight resolutely, closely united around our Party and the Government of the Republic, to accelerate the complete victory of socialism and to hasten the independent, peaceful reunification of the country.