Discord Lecture 03.10.2020
Good evening , in today’s lecture I am going to cover several different topics but all focussed on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea . Firstly , I will say something about the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the DPRK and the current situation in the DPRK . Secondly, I will talk about the human rights issue and the allegation of a so-called ‘caste system ‘ in People’s Korea.
In a week’s time on October 10th the DPRK will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of its ruling party , the Workers Party of Korea .
The Workers Party of Korea led by the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG on the 10th of October 1945 is the organiser and guide of the Korean people and the supreme general staff of the Korean revolution .It has led seven decades of successful socialist construction in People's Korea. It is rooted firmly in the revolutionary traditions of the Down With Imperialism Union and the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle.
The Korean people under the banner of the red flag of the WPK built an advanced socialist system. Korea was transformed from being once a colony into a powerful socialist country of Juche , a country that is independent, self- sufficient and self- reliant in defence. The DPRK became an invincible socialist military power.
The WPK is the mother party that takes care of people's lives. Free education and free health care were introduced, long ago, indeed the free health system was introduced in the flames of war in 1953. Korean people receive great social benefits such as free housing and taxation was abolished in 1974. Now under the leadership of dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN the WPK is pushing forward all manner of projects to improve living standards.Thus the DPRK is becoming a people's paradise the envy of the world people and the model that the world revolutionary people dream of .
The WPK under the guidance of the great leaders comrades KIM IL SUNG , KIM JONG IL and respected Marshal KIM JONG UN has united the people solidly around itself, achieved single-hearted and single-minded unity the like of which is not seen anywhere else in the world. The WPK has achieved total oneness of ideology , a unique feat in the international communist movement. The leader , party , army and people form an integral harmonious whole .No other country in the world knows such unity and amity . This is due to the outstanding leadership of the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG and his Juche-orientated theories on party building. This has splendidly been carried forward by the great leader comrade KIM JONG ILwho has built up the WPK as the party of the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG Now the dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN has ensured that the WPK is and will always be the party of the great leader President KIM IL SUNG and general KIM JONG IL.
The Workers' Party of Korea has staunchly fought against modern revisionism , opportunism , flunkeyism ,dogmatism and factionalism . It has upheld the red flag of socialism opposing the attempts of the modern revisionists, renegades and imperialists to stifle socialism. Under the leadership of dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN the WPK smashed the attempt of the counter-revolutionary factional clique in December 2013.
The WPK has always maintained revolutionary and class principles , holding high the red flag of socialism even when others threw it down. Under the banner of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism the WPK is not only the leading force of the Korean people but a shock brigade of the world revolution.
. The WPK under the leadership of dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN is guiding the people forward to smash the sanctions of the imperialists under the uplifted banner of self-reliance !
Today the DPRK is the probably the only country in the world that does not have Covid 19 . Reactionaries who scoff and sneer at People's Korea refuse to believe that People's Korea has no Covid 19 cases , of course there is more than a small amount of cynicism in their disbelief. However the World Health Organisation(WHO) confirms that there are no Covid 19 cases in the DPRK . The situation is normal , schools and universities are reopening in the DPRK . Shops are open and there are no shortages . Moreover the DPRK is racing ahead at Mallima speed with big construction projects such as the Pyongyang General Hospital .
What is the secret ? Well the DPRK took early measures against Covid 19 such as closing the border in January before even the WHO declared Covid 19 a pandemic . Other measures included extending school holidays , getting people to wear masks , rigorous disinfection of public areas , medical checkups for people , health education and quarantining foreigners within the borders of the DPRK. Respected Marshal KIM JONG UN , a true people's leader , convened a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on the 29th of February at which it was discussed " taking nationwide top-class anti-epidemic steps in a more thorough-going way and strictly putting them into practice in order to cope with the viral epidemic spreading rapidly around the world". and also "measures to deter the influx and spread of the infectious disease in a scientific, preemptive and lockdown way." . At the same time respected Marshal KIM JONG UN had officials guilty of bureaucratic behaviour .This contrasts with the incompetence of many leaders in the capitalist world who failed to take any decisive measures to stop the situation getting out of control .
Really Covid 19 is a consequence of globalisation , neoliberalism , capitalism and the incompetence of the rulers of capitalist countries . What shines through is the superiority of the Juche-based socialist system of People's Korea . The DPRK based on self-reliance has rejected globalisation and has built a self-reliant independent national economy. The socialist system of People's Korea is based on single-hearted unity ,it can mobilise resources to fight against epidemics in a way that class-divided ,conflict ridden capitalist societies cannot do so . The fact there are no Covid 19 cases in People's Korea is testimony to the superiority of Juche-based socialism.
The DPRK was hit by floods and typhoons in August and early September but new homes were built in flood affected areas such as Kangbuk-ri in Kumchon County, North Hwanghae Province . The new homes were built in double quick time by the soldiers of the Korean People's Army . A miracle in itself as the new homes have been built in just under a month an incredible speed that is possible only in People's Korea which is known as the country of Chollima ( Chollima being a legendary flying horse which gave its name to mass innovation movement in the DPRK in the late 1950s).
However , there is another understated miracle ; the new homes have been built without foreign assistance and aid . Yes that is right , the new homes were built by the Korean People's Army and Korean people not by a thieving multi-national corporation or by a useless imperialist NGO .
Respected Marshal KIM JONG UN had said at the 16th Meeting of Political Bureau of 7th Central Committee of WPK on the 18th of August this year that "The situation, in which the spread of the worldwide malignant virus has become worse, requires us not to allow any outside aid for the flood damage but shut the border tighter and carry out strict anti-epidemic work"
Some countries would have asked for foreign aid , assistance , loans and investments but People's Korea guided by Juche buckled down applying the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and spearheaded the recovery effort by itself .
Some do not understand Juche and self-reliance and think the DPRK needs to 'reform' and 'open up' . Some think that many countries cannot survive without the aid of the West but the recent events in People's Korea proves this is wrong .
Back in 1962 President KIM IL SUNG said "Having no faith in our own strength, these people think we cannot get along without aid from others. It is not true that we cannot live without aid. We can not only live as well as we wish even without aid, but also build socialism splendidly, and must certainly do so."
Now on the issue of human rights .During my interview with the unnamed journalist from the 'South West Londoner 'the old propaganda horse chestnut of 'human rights ' came up . Specifically the journalist asked about the so-called ' UN Commission of Inquiry ' report on the DPRK which is now six years ago .
Well years ago someone told me that human rights are a political football . You can score a goal in the game against an opposing political and economic system if you kick the ball marked 'human rights ' into the net and yes it is a bit like that . Human rights can be a weapon of regime change .
The UN Commission of Inquiry never visited the DPRK even once nor did it actually bother to interview a single DPRK citizen or give the DPRK the chance to answer the allegations . The Commission of Inquiry was a farce , it produced one of the most one sided and biased and partisan documents in the whole history of the United Nations . What it did show was the UN is a puppet , a marionette of the United States and other Western imperialist countries.
If you actually read the 'Commission of Inquiry ' report you find it is actually full of institutionalized anti-communism and anti-socialism .It is basically 'Juche-phobic 'if there is such a thing . The DPRK is actually condemned for being a socialist country .
Visiting the DPRK 18 times I have never seen giant 'forced labour camps' and 'concentration camps' that the imperialists allege exist in the DPRK ? I could not see such a thing in fact I didn't even see one barbed wire fence in the countryside nor large numbers of police or security personnel. It also should be mentioned that the DPRK countryside was free from crop failure, famine . There is also a good level of social equality in the DPRK countryside with no big houses , no big private landed estates (or latifundia ) , no rich farmers or landlords, a genuine peoples countryside , a socialist countryside with the red flag flying high.
The imperialists claim that there are hundreds of thousands of people held in camps in the DPRK , such camps would have to be massive and with a huge number of guards but I did not see such a thing in the DPRK countryside. Moreover the DPRK is very peaceful and calm; you rarely see emergency vehicles rushing through the busy streets. If it what the imperialists say about "human rights " and " forced labour camps " in the DPRK was true, then you would say police or security personnel on the streets arresting many people and putting them in lorries to go to "labour camps " or "concentrations camps " but I saw no such thing happen. I did not see heavily armed police on the streets that you sometimes encounter in London , either on the streets or at railway stations or at airports . Indeed I was able to go for a walk near the Mansudae Assembly Hall, the home of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly , the highest organ of legislative power in the DPRK and roughly equivalent to the parliament. Now in London the area around parliament is a restricted area where movement is controlled and armed police units patrol. However in Pyongyang I see no police or security personnel in the area surrounding the Mansudae Assembly hall. Of course the DPRK is a stable and harmonious unified society based on single hearted unity so there is no terrorism and no riots. In the DPRK there is unity between the armed forces and civilians so people do not fear or despise the armed forces.
In fact the DPRK has taken a number of measures to consolidate human rights protection such as establishing the DPRK Association for Human Rights Studies on August 27, 1992. In addition to provisions in the constitution on gender equality and the law on sexual equality of 1946, the Law of the DPRK on Protection of Women’s Rights was December 22, 2010 passed on December 22, 2010 and supplemented in 2011 . Legislation on children's rights and the rights of the disabled was also passed. Recently a general amnesty for those convicted of crimes against the country was announced effective from the 17th of September 2020.
Some people have raised the issue of the so-called ‘ Songbun’ system
The DPRK is a truly people-orientated society which not only has free education but free medical care and virtually free housing, There is no unemployment There is no big difference between high income and low income earners.Visiting the DPRK many times I was in fact struck by the high level of social equality. Back in the 1990s whilst studying at the Korean Juche Idea Academy I noticed academics playing snooker or billiards with drivers and waitresses . Something that would be impossible in the class-divided societies of the West !
The great leader President KIM IL SUNG , the founder and eternal President of the DPRK , had always argued strongly against any form of elitism or privileges , he wrote in his autobiographical reminiscences "With the Century " of the deep experiences of the anti-Japanese armed struggle and it relationship to the present DPRK saying that :
We made it an iron rule for all the commanders, irrespective of rank, to share with the rank and file food from the same pot at all times, in all places and in all circumstances. Everyone shared food from the same pot: this constituted the inviolable discipline and ethics of the People’s Revolutionary Army.
As everyone shared the same food, clothing and bedding, the commanders authorized to take care of the men, were frequently given less to eat, dressed more poorly and had worse bedding than the men.
Today we also oppose the “small pot”. Although this happened long ago, at one time many restaurants in the capital and provinces kept a separate room to serve cadres with special food. Although the central authorities warned them many times to refrain from maintaining a separate room, the people working in public service persisted in keeping a “small pot”. In the end such individuals, who were being disloyal to the people, assumed the air of being special.
Some officials, guided by their subordinates to a separate room or reception room for distinguished guests, considered it natural and wanted to receive special treatment.
We do not support the “small pot”, as this will engender all kinds of “evil spirits”. The “small pot” will only produce capitalist ideas. If we were to retain such a “small pot”, relations between the Party and the masses would be impaired and the people might forsake their belief in socialism. The strength of our socialism has to do mainly with the fact that our Party has not become bureaucratic and we do not allow the “small pot”
Dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN has also castigated bureaucracy and stressed that a strong people-orientated policy should be followed at all times. He stated at the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party of Korea that "The entire Party will conduct its building and activities only as instructed by the great President and General, and make selfless, devoted efforts for the benefit of the people by thoroughly applying the people-first principle to its overall work, thereby enhancing its fighting efficiency in every way possible.
The genuine feature of the Workers' Party of Korea will be expressed in the appearance of the country that is transformed under its leadership and in the looks of the people who always smile happily".
In fact it is quite inconceivable that the DPRK would entertain the idea of a caste system. The DPRK emerged from the struggle against feudalism and landlordism , it is the proud fruit of the people's revolution against feudalism and imperialism . When President KIM IL SUNG founded the Association For the Restoration of the Fatherland in May 1936 , number 7 of the " Ten Point Programme of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland " was " To abolish the caste system which divides the ryangban (nobles) and the common people, and other inequalities; to ensure equality based on humanity irrespective of sex, nationality or religion; to improve the social position of women and respect their personalities" .
So it is very clear the abolition of the caste system was a key demand of the Korean revolutionaries . After liberation in 1945 the anti-imperialist , anti-feudal democratic revolution was carried out which mashed feudalism ,landlordism and any kind of caste system. So where does the theory of 'elites ' and 'castes ' in the DPRK come from ? There is the so-called "Songbun "(not Songun) , a construct of reactionary anti-communist bourgeois academics such as Andrei Lankov. Lankov teaches at Kookmin University in south Korea and is basically a paid DPRK basher Needless to say the word 'Songbun' does not appear in any DPRK publication nor do the works of great President KIM IL SUNG , Chairman KIM JONG IL and respected Marshal KIM JONG UN . The term is quite meaningless to people in the DPRK .
Some have attempted to argue that the DPRK operates a secret caste system so the word "Songbun " is never openly used. This is plainly nonsensical as a secret caste system could never work . In the capitalist societies , freemasonry (which is actually a form of a hidden caste system ) which is supposedly secret is common knowledge.
Allegedly ,society in the DPRK is divided along lines of political loyalty. However if one studies the works of the leaders of the DPRK , one will find warnings against viewing people's ideology as being immutable and discriminating against those people with complex backgrounds . Indeed chairman KIM JONG IL said "We must rally the broad masses of the people around the Party. Therefore, the Party officials must always mix with the people and shower the Party's trust and love upon them. They should frequently meet those with complicated pasts, to say nothing of the basic sections of the masses of the people. Mingling with them at work, they should heal their sores, treating them kindly and winning them over in a broad-minded manner, so that they come to open their hearts. This is precisely the process of bringing the Party's trust and love home to them, a process of the Party winning them over. It is only when the Party showers its trust and love upon the people that they will remain loyal and sincere to it. "Let's build a new society with trust and love," this is my invariable motto."
Splitting people in the DPRK into categories according to political and ideological loyalty is something that would go against the concept of single-hearted unity which is a fundamental cornerstone of the DPRK .
So basically the so-called "Songbun " theory or idea of elites and an a caste system in the DPRK is yet another example of new wave anti-communist , anti-socialist propaganda with no basis in reality whatsoever . Those who are behind it such as Lankov and other reactionary bourgeois academics are in fact those who have high salaries and easy jobs in capitalist countries
The human rights propaganda against People's Korea is part and parcel of the demonisation of the country and a lever for regime change
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