From Korea rises a great red sun,
The great red sun is Kim Il Sung
Its rays spread on all oppressed peoples,
Keeping them alive are Kim Il Sung's thoughts
The big red sun is not for Korea alone
Neither are its rays for Koreans alone,
It is a red beacon for the oppressed
In Africa , Latin America and Asia
The sparks that kindled the Korean revolution,
Now set the oppressed areas ablaze ,
Now it fills the oppressed world,
His thoughts radiate through
(By a Nigerian political activist -quoted in Volume Three of KIM IL SUNG Biography p 616).
When I first got interested in the DPRK and Juche in the mid 1980s I read ‘Korean Review ‘(1974 ) which referred to President KIM IL SUNG as ‘one of the outstanding leaders of the international communist and working class movement ‘. I also read the works of President KIM IL SUNG . Later , I got a day pass for the library of the University of Southampton which was not too far from where I lived . I read the wonderful Baik Bong biography of President KIM IL SUNG which was in the library. This is a truly amazing and inspirational book , full of rich material . Chapter Six is titled ‘ Outstanding Leader of the World Revolution ‘ . As we approach the 110th anniversary of the birth of President KIM IL SUNG , let us recall his great achievements as a world revolutionary leader .This is something overlooked by leftists in imperialist countries .
The great leader President KIM IL SUNG always paid attention to the question of the world revolution from an early age . When he founded the Down-With Imperialism Union on the 17th of October 1926 President KIM IL SUNG clearly defined as one of its tasks that it should carry out the world revolution and build socialism and communism throughout the world . Speaking to the foundation meeting of the Down -With- Imperialism Union he pointed out that .
"Irreconcilable contradictions exist between the imperialists and people in the colonies and these contradictions are sharpening with the passage of time. Because these contradictions are antagonistic they cannot be settled by any kind of 'compromise ' and will only be solved when imperialism is overthrown"
This not only trenchantly exposed the contradictions of imperialism but showed the correct road of struggle for the people of colonial and dependent countries.
President KIM IL SUNG formed the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army in 1932 (renamed Korean People’s Revolutionary Army in 1934 ) that fought arms in hand for independence against Japanese imperialism. However , it did not fight just for the independence of Korea but it was a proletarian internationalist army which contributed to the world revolution . It fought in defence of the Soviet Union , the first workers and peasants state , in the battles of Lake Khasan in 1938 and Khalkhin-Gol in 1939 . It also defended the Mongolian People’s Republic. Later after liberation in August 1945 President KIM IL SUNG sent the best fighters and cadres of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army to help the Chinese Communist Party and People's Liberation Army(PLA) liberate China from the bureaucratic and reactionary rule of the KMT.At the same time he allowed the PLA to use People’s Korea as a rear base . It is said that one of the five stars in the flag of the People’s Republic of China represents the sacrifice of Korean people.
Whilst leading the work of building socialism in the DPRK President KIM IL SUNG paid great attention to the world revolution . The international communist movement and socialist camp experienced severe trials and difficulties owing to the emergence of modern revisionism from the late 1950s onward, comrade KIM IL SUNG opposed both modern revisionism and Left opportunism and argued for unity.
In works such as "Let Us Intensify the anti-US, anti -imperialist struggle" , "The Great Anti-Imperialist Revolutionary Cause of the Asian , African and Latin American peoples is invincible " and many other works. He put forward the line of struggle against US imperialism and turning the spearhead against US imperialism .He argued strongly against the line of compromise with US imperialism which was being peddled enthusiastically by the modern revisionists who tried to impose it on the international communist movement . He pointed out that " It is wrong to try to avoid the struggle against imperialism under the pretext that independence and revolution are important, but that peace is still more precious. Is it not true that the line of seeking unprincipled compromise with imperialism only tends to encourage its aggressive actions and increase the danger of war? Peace secured by slavish submission is not peace. Genuine peace cannot be achieved unless a struggle is waged against those who break the peace, unless the slave’s peace is rejected and the oppressors’ rule overthrown. We are opposed to the line of compromise with imperialism. At the same time, we cannot tolerate the practice of only denouncing imperialism but, in actual fact, being afraid to fight it. This is a line of compromise in an inverted form. Both have nothing to do with a genuine anti-imperialist struggle and only help the imperialist policy of aggression and war "
Furthermore he put forward an excellent strategy for world revolution saying that "
"We small nations must unite and counter US imperialism’s strategy of swallowing us up one by one, by each one of us chopping off its head and limbs. This is the strategy small countries must employ to defeat US imperialism."
In the 1960s and 1970s President KIM IL SUNG ensured that the DPRK punched well above its weight , giving support to many liberation movements and newly independent states .During the Caribbean Crisis of 1962 the DPRK stood by Cuba where the revisionists and big power chauvinists abandoned it. DPRK diplomats and students in Cuba armed themselves ready to fight side by side with the Cuban people. President KIM IL SUNG called for international volunteers to be sent to Vietnam and sent the best pilot of the air force of the Korean People's Army to Vietnam as well as tunnelling experts plus material assistance as well. During the 1973 October War between the United Arab Republic and the Israeli Zionists , a squadron of KPA pilots was sent to assist the Arab people in their fight against Zionist aggression.President KIM IL SUNG also supported the Grenadian revolution . He had DPRK construction experts sent to Grenada and the DPRK gave a generous amount of military aid to the People's Revolutionary Government of Grenada , in fact in per capita terms the DPRK gave more aid to Grenada than the USSR did.
President KIM IL SUNG was a great friend of the third world who sent agricultural technicians and engineers to many third world countries such as Madagascar , Tanzania , Togo, Central Africa, Benin ,Guinea, Egypt , Rwanda , Burkina Faso, Ghana and the Seychelles . Agricultural institutes bearing the name of KIM IL SUNG were established in Guinea and Tanzania . This was genuine aid as opposed to the fake aid of the imperialists which aims only to corrupt and enslave newly independent countries.
When socialism was frustrated in the former USSR and other European socialist countries owing to modern revisionism , President KIM IL SUNG held high the red banner of socialism , he made sure that People’s Korea continued along the socialist road and rallied the world revolutionary forces to defend and advance socialism by the adoption of the Pyongyang Declaration .
To conclude, President KIM IL SUNG was a great leader of the world revolution .
Dr Dermot Hudson .
Chairman British Group for the Study of the Juche Idea .
Chairman Korean Friendship of the UK
Official Delegate of the Korean Friendship for the UK
President British Solidarity Committee for Peace and Reunification on the Korean Peninsula .
Hon secretary general International Central Committee for Songun Study
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