Report of visit to DPRK April 2012
Our delegation consisted of 2 of us from the JISGE and ASSPUK. It was a great honour to visit the DPRK on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung, the eternal president of the DPRK, father of the Juche idea , founder of socialist Korea and a great outstanding leader of the international communist and revolutionary movement. Our time passed very quickly when we were in the DPRK, so much was packed into a short space of time. It is difficult to know what to include in the report ; the World Juche Conference, the celebrations of Sun's Day , the respected general Kim Jong Un and the true reality of Juche socialism. This report will serve as an interim report with an expanded version will be produced later.
Our delegation at times doubted whether we would ever make it to the DPRK, all sorts of things seemed to threaten our visit, family issues, problems getting the Chinese visa ( which was obtained after hard work and effort by the DPRK embassy here and the Air Koryo office in Beijing) and been told just as I was checking in at Heathrow that the surname and first name on my ticket had been reversed. However we got there in the end !
Our thanks is also due to our old friend Kim Song Il of the KPEIC Beijing bureau who kindly assisted us in Beijing.
Our trip had so many high points it is difficult to list them all or put them in order of priority.
We boarded our Air Koryo flight to Pyongyang on Monday 9th of April. We arrived in the afternoon. Pyongyang was covered in the beautiful April sunshine . We were met at the Airport by Professor Ri Mu Il , who heads the British studies section of Kim Il Sung university and is an expert on Britain. He was our guide for the visit. Professor Ri was a jolly and humourous man.
My first impression on visiting the DPRK again after 4 years ago was that the socialist system is solid and the red flag is literally flying high on the streets of Pyongyang. At some street corners we saw many red flags flying , elsewhere the flag of the Workers' Party was promeniently displayed. Juche Korea is probably the only country in the world to fly the red flag on the streets ,maybe only 1 or 2 other countries do so. Pyongyang does not have capitalist advertising . There are no branches of McDonalds, KFC or other American fast food chains (which cause litter) . There are now many stalls and kiosks selling food and drinks on the streets of Pyongyang but these are state and co-operative owned.
Looking around Pyongyang we could see how blatant the lies about the DPRK . We not only went around in a bus but walked through the streets and on one occasion got lost the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium, there was no sign of any starving people. Everyone was out enjoying their public holiday. People were well dressed. There is now a greater variety of clothing available, Trousers seem to be the favourite fashion for Korean women but the idiotic south Korean puppets had claimed that women are banned from wearing trousers in the DPRK and this was repeated by the Western imperialist media. Such stupid and infantile lies !
Undoutedly the advanced people centred socialist system , the creation of the the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung is his most enduring legacy and is the cradle of happiness for the Korean people. Professor Li when we were on our way from the airport to the city told us "most definitely " housing was free of charge. Huge new blocks of house apartments have been constructed in the Mansudae district. Later during our visit a Kim Il Sung university student Ms U Jong explained the advantages of Korean style socialism in a clear and straightforward manner. She said that on April 15th her family would receive duck meat (which is expensive in the UK at least £6.82 per kg), sweets, biscuits and beer all free of charge ! This would be unthinkable in the UK . This year the Queens jubilee will be celebrated but the government will not provide any free food or drink, I was also told that the families will move into the new apartments on April 15th and that the Korean characters on top of them.
Earlier in the visit we had witnessed the efforts of the government ,party and army to improve living standards when we visited the Taedong Fruit farm which is a state farm. This covers 1000 hectares of land, You can see fruit trees everywhere, It was built by the Korean Peoples Internal Security Forces, Computers are used extensively in the farm putting in advance of many British farms, The farm has its own fruit processing plant which is clean and modern, This gives its many advantages and lowers cost, No need to transport the fruit by road to a separate processing plant or pay for the costs of processing, Of course the carbon footprint is reduced as well. Visiting the farm I remembered the saying of US journalist Lincoln Steffens " I have seen the future and I know it works"
We attended the World Congress on the Juche Idea held in the People's Palace of Culture, There is an incredible amount of material concerning this so it will probably have to be the subject of a separate report, The congress was attended by Juche idea followers from all corners of the globe . In fact due to the various events being held Pyongyang was host to a very large number of people with every hotel room in the City being occupied so. It was a far cry from the propaganda of the Western media that the DPRK is "closed" and "isolated ". We were able to meet and have discussions with Juche Idea followers from Russia, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Malta and South Africa just to name a few .
Undoubtedly the highest point was the grand military parade on April 15 the Day of the Sun. This was simply amazing and awe inspiring to say the least. Respected general Kim Jong Un spoke. His voice was strong and authoritative. His speech was very good saying that there would be no deviation or concession . He said the Korean people must never again have to tighten their belts. At the end of the parade he waved to the crowd. Everyone cheered and jumped up and down. Respected Kim Jong Un looked very happy. He looks a like a friendly and open person. I personally felt moved when in his speech he thanked foreign supporters of the Korean revolution.
The military parade consisted of both troops and various kinds of armour and guns. The first columns were in the uniforms of the anti-Japanese guerrillas and Fatherland Liberation War. Columns also represented Kim Il Sung Military University and various military academies. Schools for the bereaved children of revolutionary martyrs were also represented. The Worker-Peasant Red Guard a civilian militia were also in the parade. The was a formidable array of tanks, armoured, guns, Ack-ack units and missiles. All made in the DPRK. The tanks bore the slogan "Let Us Wipe out the US imperialists the sworn enemy of the Korean people". Probably the DPRK is the only country in the world to have such a revolutionary slogan , elsewhere socialist countries have become mired in revisionist peaceful co-existence or have pursued "reform" and "opening up". Towards the end the new missile callled "Reunification " made its appearance on a 16 wheel lorry.
Our guide told us that the DPRK has now the capability to hit the Atlantic coast of the US.
Seeing the parade my own personal opinion is that south Korea would be quickly destroyed if they provoked a war with the DPRK.
Of course life in the DPRK is not just military parades and meetings. On the evening of April 15th we joined tens of thousands of Pyongyang citizens plus foreign guests to watch the big firework display on the Taedong river. Respected general Kim Jong Un was present here too and I was told later had been the planner of many of the firework displays in the DPRK. It was simply awe inspiring to see that Juche idea tower light up by fireworks.
The next evening we joined the soirée of the youth and students of Pyongyang. Comrade Pickford acquitted himself well in dancing on Kim Il Sung square.
We had numerous meetings whilst in the DPRK. We met with the International Institute of the Juche Idea and the Korean Association of Social Scientists. I met briefly with Kim Ki Nam secretary of the WPK . Also we met with the Korean Committee for Friendship with the British People and comrades from the Korean Publications Exchange Association. This report would not even be half complete if we did not mention our meeting with the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front of south Korea.
It was great to talk with them but the time was too short. They organised a wonderful lunch for us which included rainbow trout something that only rich people in my country eat.
All in all it was a trip of a lifetime. It was great to be there for the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung. We could see the invincible unity of the Korean people guided by great respected general Kim Jong Un ,following the footsteps of the Juche revolutionary. Our thanks to the Korean Association of Social Scientists and the organising committee, to our guide Professor Ri, to hardworking First secretary of the DPRK embassy in London, Korean comrades in Bejiing, to the students of Kim Il Sung university, Koryo Hotel staff and to all the working people of the DPRK for making it such a worthwhile and succesful trip.
ASSPUK
JISGE
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