Speech about 65th anniversary of the DPRK made at the Juche Idea Study Group meeting on September 14th 2013

Comrades and friends

the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a great event. It was great to see on the TV the magnificent parade of the Worker-Peasant Red Guard in Pyongyang on September the 9th . I felt disappointed not to have been in Pyongyang at the time to have seen it . The foundation of the DPRK is not only fervently and splendidly celebrated by the Korean people but by the world people . This is because of the unique role the DPRK plays as an independent socialist country.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea has shown itself to be the most durable socialist country having travelled the road of socialism and independence for more than six decades , flying high the flag of socialism when others threw it down and fell by the wayside of history. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea under the Juche -orientated and Songun- based revolutionary leadership became known throughout the world as the most independent country. As the great leader generalissimo Kim Jong Il remarked in his work “The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a Juche-Orientated Socialist State with Invincible Might ;

“Because we properly maintained the Juche character and preserved the national identity of the revolution and construction under the leadership of the great leader and the great Party, no form of intervention or pressure from the imperialist reactionaries could cut any ice with us, no modern revisionism or other ideological trend towards opportunism could make inroads into our country, and our people have been able to cherish a uniquely high level of national pride, self-confidence, consciousness of national independence and self-respect, and give fuller play to the spirit of socialist patriotism.
Our Republic, which has developed under the banner of the Juche idea, is demonstrating its pride in being a people-centered socialist country that fully embodies class and revolutionary principles, and at the same time, a socialist State, independent, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in defence, strong in the Juche character and national identity, and the genuine motherland of the whole nation. Our Juche-oriented socialist motherland has stood firm amid the worldwide great political cataclysms, and will win victory after victory by following the road of development, the road of Juche, as ever.”

Throughout its 65 long history the DPRK has always followed the line of independence. The DPRK was not a replica of another country nor was Korean-style socialism a gift of a great power . The DPRK always resolutely rejected any attempts by others to interfere in its affairs or to impose their will on the DPRK.

For example the DPRK did not join the “Council for Mutual Economic Assistance “. It always maintained an independent foreign policy . During the years when the international communist movement and socialist countries were split the DPRK argued for unity and not division. The DPRK refused to damp down the anti-imperialist struggle . As eternal chairman Kim Jong Il says

We have solved all the problems arising in the building and activities of the State and in the revolution and construction by our own efforts and in our own way on the principle of self-reliance, in accordance with our ideology and faith, our determination and will and the actual situation in our country, and in line with the interests of our revolution. By holding fast to the principle of Juche, the principle of independence, in all fields of politics, the economy, military affairs, culture and external relations, we have resolutely opposed great-power worship, dogmatism and all other ideas advocating dependence on outside forces, and categorically rejected any form of intervention and pressure by the imperialist reactionaries and other foreign forces.

We are also doing everything we choose and decide in conformity with our own ideology, demands and interests, regardless of the existing theories or formulas, and despite what others may say.

Our Party long ago put forward the slogan of “Let us live our own way!”; this is Juche, independence and self-reliance, and herein lie our dignity, pride and honor"

The slogan “Let us live our own way “ is a very powerful one and it really sums up the experience of the DPRK in a nutshell. The DPRK is unique amongst the socialist countries for maintaining national identity.

Dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un strongly emphasised that this line must be maintained , that the road of independence , Songun and socialism must be adhered to .In his talk to the Rodong Sinmun and Joson Immingun newspapers on the 25th of August this year (the Day of Songun) titled “"Let Us Add Eternal Brilliance to Comrade Kim Jong Il's Great Idea and Achievements of the Songun Revolution” he said that

“ We should follow to the end the road of Songun, the road of independence and the road of socialism that the great General traversed throughout his life, translate his instructions into brilliant realities and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche, the revolutionary cause of Songun, with credit.”

The DPRK which was founded on the 9th of September 1948 by the great leader President Kim Il Sung represented the aspirations and will of not just a small group of politicians or section of people but the entire Korean people The DPRK represented not just the people of north Korea but south Korea as well and was founded democratically by the will of the majority of the Korean people as a result of the April 1948 joint conference and the elections held subsequently.

In the northern half of Korea 99% of the electorate voted and in the south 77% voted. It is south Korea that is an illegitimate puppet regime imposed by the forces of US boots and guns. The US imperialists cooked up a puppet regime with the discredited figure Syngham Rhee at its head . Of course all real power resided with the US.

The new Peoples' Assembly had the following composition workers 20.9%, peasants 34.0% and office employees 26.7 % . Thus 70% of the members of the assembly were from the basic sections of society , the working masses. This was a big contrast to the bourgeois parliaments of the West.

The DPRK is the fruit of the Korean people's long struggle for independence led by the great leader President Kim Il Sung the legendary hero of the revolutionary armed struggle against Japan. As the great leader President Kim Il Sung said

“Through a long and arduous revolutionary struggle the genuine communists and patriots of Korea achieved the historic cause of national liberation and established the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in their freed country.”

The conditions for the foundation of the DPRK were not created through the peaceful parliamentary struggle or petitions but by a 20 year long armed struggle, the road of Songun.

The origins of the DPRK go right back to the years of ant-Japanese armed struggle when People's Revolutionary Government's were formed in the liberated areas of the guerrilla zones. The People's Revolutionary government was the prototype of people's power. The DPRK was the first state of people's democracy to be founded in the far east as the PRC came into being one year later. The DPRK blazed an untrodden trail. Under the wise leadership of the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung the DPRK fully completed the tasks of the anti-imperialist , anti- feudal democratic revolution in a short space of time and switched over to the socialist revolution proving the validity of the Juche-orientated theory on continuous revolution . The DPRK became know throughout the world as the model country of socialism.

The DPRK has consistently implemented people centred policies even under conditions of extreme blockade and sanctions. The DPRK has free health care, free education (including university level), old age pensions at the age of 60, the right to a job and many other benefits. President Kim Il Sung abolished taxation in March 1974 .

Visiting the DPRK in April and September 2012 my guides and other people I met pointed out the DPRK's generous social benefit policy for example houses allocated to people free of charge, which is something that we can only dream of. In September 2012 working people moved into good quality modern flats free of charge in Changjon street central Pyongyang which is only 5 minutes from the seat of DPRK government . In Westminster the centre of London the BBC reported in June 2013 that the average price of a flat is £1,080,978 and our friends the “Evening Standard” say that first time buyers need a deposit £64,000 to buy a flat in London. Indeed the DPRK's social benefits exceed those of the most ambitious social democratic governments of the capitalist world. President Kim Il Sung's credo was “The people are my god”

The DPRK's independent and self-reliant nature was demonstrated graphically on December 12 2012 when , in defiance of US imperialism ,world imperialism and big powers , the Kwangmysong 3-2 satellite was launched using 100% DPRK resources and technology . On the 12th of February 2013 the DPRK conducted its third nuclear test , again this was the product of the work of DPRK scientists using DPRK resources. Thus the DPRK is a powerful independent socialist power of Songun !

Today under the Songun revolutionary leadership of dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un , who follows in the footsteps of the great leaders generalissimo Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the DPRK is surging ahead on the crest of the Masikryong speed to greater prosperity.

LONG LIVE THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDATION OF THE DPRK!