As we approach the 8th anniversary of the demise of the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL we reflect more and more deeply on his great achievements which were indeed very vast as comrade
KIM JONG IL was truly a master of all trades ; ideology , philosophy, politics , economics , military affairs , literature , art and much more . During my recent visits to People’s Korea I have witnessed the DPRK overcoming the imperialist and UN sanctions by upholding the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance under the leadership of respected Marshal KIM JONG UN the great successor to the Chairman KIM JONG IL.
Self-reliance is very much associated with the leadership and ideas of comrade KIM JONG IL. Back in the 1970s , on the 25th of December 1978 comrade KIM JONG IL made a speech titled “Let Us Increase the Party’s Fighting Efficiency and Bring about a Fresh Turn in the Building of Socialism ” which put forward the strategic slogan “Let Us Live our own way !. He said that “It is only when one displays a great revolutionary spirit of self-reliance that one can have faith in one’s own strength, exploit the internal resources of one’s country to the maximum and conduct the revolution and construction with success. Experience shows that only when one gives full play to the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance can one surmount every manner of difficulty and ordeal.
Even though the anti-Japanese guerrillas received no assistance from a regular army or from a state in the past, they, by displaying to a high degree the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance, overcame manifold difficulties and hardships, defeated the brigandish Japanese imperialists and accomplished the noble cause of national liberation. In the period after the Korean War our party members and working people rehabilitated the devastated economy by our efforts and transformed our country into a powerful socialist industrial state in a short span of time.
The situation we are in today demands that we display to a high degree the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance. At present no country is willing to help another nor is any country in a position to help another, even should she want to”.
This eloquently shows that self-reliance is both an absolute necessity and at the same time the most correct way to build socialism . It also demonstrates the deep and unswerving commitment of comrade KIM JONG IL to self reliance .
In the 1990s the DPRK faced a very difficult situation when the world socialist market disappeared owing to the frustration of socialism in the USSR and elsewhere , moreover at the same time the imperialists tightened their sanctions and blockades against the DPRK and worse still the DPRK was hit by repeated natural disasters which wiped out huge amounts of crops . Some wanted the DPRK to become an aid dependency of imperialism or to “reform’ and “open up” but instead Chairman KIM JONG IL , the successor to the great leader comrade KIM IL SUNG who had passed away in 1994, raised high the banner of self-reliance . Comrade KIM JONG IL said in 1994 that “Leading economic officials in every sector and at every unit should,based on a clear understanding of the Party’s intention, fulfil the economic tasks assigned to them by displaying the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude” and that ” We should, by holding higher the banner of the Juche idea, adhere to the principle of independence, and at all times live our own way.”
This was a decisive rebuff to anyone who urged Juche Korea to abandon its principles and discard self -reliance . The DPRK under the leadership of comrade KIM JONG IL carried out huge construction projects such as the Anbyon Power station all by itself without any outside help. Comrade KIM JONG IL rallied the people to carry out socialist construction in the spirit of self-reliance . The DPRK press carried an number of articles urging greater self-reliance and rejecting ‘reform’ and ‘opening up’ . A national meeting of pace-setters in self-reliance was held in 1998 .
I remember visiting Mt Myohyang in 1996 and going for a walk with my guides by a river and coming across the words written in Korean characters ‘ by our own efforts ‘ chiseled into the side of a pathway .
Comrade KIM JONG IL went to Jagang province in the far northern part of the DPRK , there he kindled the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance saying that “ the people of Jagang province are giving full play to the spirit of self-reliance and fortitude , they are strong-willed and never seem to get pessimistic “. Comrade KIM JONG IL also visited the Chollima Steel Complex , the birthplace of the Chollima movement ( Chollima was a legendary flying horse of Korea which could cover a big distance in one day so the name was given to the mass innovation movement of workers in the DPRK) and other key industrial complexes and factories.
Comrade KIM JONG IL made sure that the production of Juche fibre(Vinalon) , Juche fertiliser and Juche steel were stepped up. He attended the rally for the re-opening of the February 8th Vinalon Complex in 2010 and gave on-the-spot guidance to the complex several times.
Today the self-reliant People’s Korea is the legacy of the great leader comrade KIM JONG IL and the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance is carried forward by dear respected Marshal KIM JONG UN,
Dr Dermot Hudson
Chairman Juche Idea Study Group of England .
President Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK
Official Delegate UK Korean Friendship Association
Chairman British Solidarity Committee for Peace and Reunification in Korea
