Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK, made public his work “On Preserving the Juche Character and National Character of the Revolution and Construction” on June 19, 1997.

The full text of his work is as follows:

There is now a sharp confrontation in the world between socialism and imperialism, and between the forces of independence and the forces of dominationism. In the complex international situation and relationship between forces, the people’s struggle against domination and subjugation and for independence is continuing. The imperialists and reactionaries are tenaciously manoeuvring to arrest the world progressive people’s drive towards independence and to obstruct their struggle for independence with a view to realizing their ambition for domination, but no force can ever turn back the main trend of our age which is heading for independence.

In order to thwart the dominationist machinations of the imperialists and reactionaries and give a strong impetus to the people’s cause of independence, the cause of socialism, we must maintain the Juche character of the revolutionary struggle and construction and sustain their national character. Preserving these qualities is imperative for the independent development of the country and nation and for success in realizing independence for the masses of the people. Past experience and lessons have proved that adherence to the Juche character and national character is the key to success in the revolution and construction and vital to national prosperity.

Under the wise leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and people have resolutely maintained the Juche character and national character in opposition to imperialism and dominationism throughout the entire period of the revolutionary struggle. As a result, they have achieved an independent development of the country and nation without any deviation and have won brilliant victory in the revolution and construction.

In the future, too, we shall firmly keep the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction and fight staunchly along the road of Juche.

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Adherence to the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction is a fundamental principle that must be maintained in accomplishing the people’s cause of independence, the cause of socialism.

Maintaining the Juche character of the revolution and construction means that the masses of the people shape the destiny of their country and nation and their own destiny independently and creatively by being the masters of their destiny. Sustaining the national character means preserving and developing the good qualities of the nation and embodying them in all spheres of social life.  

Maintaining the Juche character and sustaining the national character of the revolution and construction is a principled requirement for carrying out the socialist cause in keeping with its own nature of independence and past and present conditions. The socialist cause is the revolutionary cause of independence which is aimed at realizing independence for the masses of the people and advances and is accomplished by the struggle of the masses. A country and nation is a community of people as well as a basic unit in which they shape their destiny. The masses’ destiny is inseparably linked with the destiny of their country and nation. Since the masses of the people live and shape their destiny within a nation-state as a unit, the masses’ cause of independence, the socialist cause, is in no way separate from their country and nation, and it is impossible to realize the masses’ independence unless the independence of their country and nation is ensured. A man as a social being is a member of a social class and social stratum as well as a member of his nation. He has both the class character and national character. Since each nation has peculiar cultural traditions that have been formed and consolidated down through history, it is impossible to meet the masses’ desire for independence and their interests to the full if their national character is ignored. It is only when the socialist cause preserves the Juche character and national character that it can be a truly revolutionary cause that champions and realizes independence for the masses and ensures the independent development and prosperity of the nation.

Preserving the Juche character and national character is the common requirement and aspiration of all countries and all peoples. There exist no people who do not love and value their country and nation or like to see the dignity and soul of their nation trampled upon and ignored. In order to ensure that socialism strikes root deep in the people’s minds and advances with strong sympathy and support of the masses, it is necessary to maintain the Juche character and national character in carrying out the socialist cause so as to keep the dignity of the country and the soul of the nation.

Preserving the Juche character and national character and ensuring the independent development of the country and nation is an essential requirement for strengthening international unity and solidarity and contributing truly to the development of the world revolutionary movement. There are many countries and nations in the world, and each country and nation has its own characteristics, but all the countries and nations are equal and independent. International unity and solidarity are the relationships of mutual support and cooperation among the countries and nations which aspire after independence.

These relationships can develop as truly voluntary and durable ties only on the basis of ensuring the independent development of each country and nation and respecting each other’s independence. Unity and cooperation based on independence constitute a truly internationalist relationship among countries and nations. When the Juche character and national character are suppressed, and when the independence of countries and nations is trampled upon, inequality and discord occur among countries and nations, and unity and cooperation become impossible. The socialist cause is a national cause and also an international one, and the world socialist cause advances and is accomplished through the process of victory and development of the revolution in each country. Only when the people of each country carry out the revolution and construction in their country successfully as masters can the world socialist cause advance triumphantly.

Although preserving the Juche character and national character is a matter of fundamental significance in shaping the masses’ destiny, no correct solution was given to this problem by the previous working-class theory.

The previous theory, which clarified the law of the development of human history from the point of view of historical materialism, related the formation of nations to the emergence and development of capitalism and predicted that the nation itself would gradually disappear with the liquidation of the capitalist system and with progress in the building of socialism and communism in all countries. Under the circumstances in the past when the driving force of the revolution was not prepared in each country and nation and when the need to strengthen international solidarity among the working class in the struggle against capitalism and imperialism was the basic problem, that theory was unable to raise the question of sustaining the Juche character and national character of the socialist cause to be carried out. The previous theory’s argument that the working class has no motherland can be viewed as reflecting the requirement for strengthening international working-class unity and solidarity which were urgent for the socialist movement of the period as well as the need for overcoming opportunism which spread bourgeois nationalism in the working-class movement and the socialist movement.

In our times when the masses of the people carry out the revolution and construction actively on their own initiative with the nation-state as a unit and with their destiny firmly in their hands, the task of each country and nation for adhering to the Juche character and sustaining their national character has presented itself as an urgent requirement. However, the political parties in several countries which were building socialism in the past failed to evolve a new theory and a new policy in keeping with the new realities and find correct solutions to the problems arising in ensuring the independent development of countries and nations. Those parties regarded the national contingents carrying out the revolution and construction to meet their people’s desires and to suit their national characteristics and their countries’ specific situations within the world socialist movement as contradicting internationalism, and did not pay due attention to the matter of preserving independence of the countries and nations and sustaining the national characteristics. Because of this prejudice and incorrect policy, socialism in these countries failed to develop as a cause for these countries and nations and, in consequence, lost its national footholds and support. Socialism is a class cause and at the same time a cause for national development and prosperity. The process of the development and consummation of the socialist society must be the process of meeting the class demand and interests of the working masses and also the process of making the country rich and strong and bringing prosperity to the nation. Since the working class and the other working masses make up the overwhelming majority of any nation, the practice of ignoring the Juche character and national character will inevitably result in the failure to meet even the class demand of the working masses properly. Because the socialist cause failed to become the cause of genuine national independence in several countries, socialism suffered a gradual weakening of its class foundation and was unable to ward off frustration and collapse due to the anti-socialist manoeuvres of the imperialists and the renegades from the revolution.

In the countries where socialism collapsed, the dignity of the countries and nations was trampled upon, their peoples suffered disasters and even bloodshed was caused by the clashes between nations. Taking advantage of these events, the imperialists are making frantic efforts to cloud the image of socialism by attributing national calamities to socialism.

The imperialists’ allegation that socialism is inferior to capitalism in the development of nations is a shameless lie that black is white and white is black. It is not socialism but capitalism that blocks the road of national development. In the capitalist society where the nation is split into hostile classes and individuals’ interests are placed above public interests, national unity cannot be achieved, people cannot have the attitude as befits masters towards the development of the country and nation, nor can the social wealth be used properly for the common development of the nation. The exploiting class which owns all the means of production and wealth in the capitalist society is only interested in making money. The reactionary exploiting class does not hesitate to sell out the interests of their country and nation and harm other countries and nations for money-making. It is the immutable nature of imperialism to dominate and plunder other nations. Under capitalism there can be neither national equality nor free development of nations. The genuine prosperity of a country and nation can only be realized in the socialist society in which the entire nation has common interests and all the social wealth is used for the common development of the nation. Socialism ensures free development of nations and abolishes both class exploitation and all forms of social inequality.

Under the guidance of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and people have firmly and consistently maintained the Juche character and properly sustained the national character of the revolution and construction and thus advanced the Juche revolutionary cause victoriously.

The respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great thinker, theoretician and statesman who advanced the idea of preserving the Juche character and national character for the first time in history, translated it brilliantly into reality and gave successful leadership to the revolution and construction.

Preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character is the principled requirement of the revolution and construction elucidated by the Juche idea created by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung. The Juche idea, the man-centred outlook on the world, is a noble idea of loving the people as well as an idea of true love for the country and nation; it is a great revolutionary idea of our times which illuminates the road of advancing the cause of world independence forcefully. The Juche idea has clarified that the country and nation are the basic unit for shaping the destiny of the masses and that the masses of the people must firmly maintain the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction in order to shape their destiny independently. The Juche idea has scientifically proved that the process of nations’ development in carrying out the socialist cause is not a process of one nation being assimilated to another nation or being merged into another, but a process of each nation developing into a civilized and powerful nation and steadily expanding and advancing cooperation and ties among different nations on the principle of complete equality and voluntary will while leading their own lives and making history with freedom. On the basis of the elucidation of the independent nature of the socialist cause and the socio-historical conditions of its implementation, the Juche idea has defined the maintenance of the Juche character and national character as the fundamental principle that must be adhered to in the whole course of building socialism. The Juche idea has linked socialism and nations to the same destiny for the first time, and guaranteed the possibility for countries and nations to achieve lasting prosperity in step with the victorious advance of socialist construction. By introducing the Juche idea and advancing the theory of maintaining the Juche character and  national  character,  the  great   leader   Comrade   Kim Il Sung provided absolutely correct guidelines for leading the socialist cause as the genuine cause of independence for the masses, as the cause of countries and nations. This is an imperishable achievement he made in the history of human thought.

Our Party and our people, holding high the banner of the Juche idea, have smashed all kinds of machinations of the imperialists and opportunists in the struggle for the independence and sovereignty of the country and for socialism, resolutely defended and embodied Juche character and national character. In the course of this we have registered brilliant successes and accumulated valuable experiences.

Our Party and our people have regarded the adherence to the Juche character as the basic principle of the revolution and construction and always subordinated everything to the destiny of our revolution and our nation and found solutions to all problems by centring on this matter, thus pioneering an untrodden path of revolution and construction in an independent and creative way.

Rock-solidly united around the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, the Party and people categorically rejected and frustrated the great-power chauvinism which stood in the way of our revolution. This was of special importance in defending the interests and dignity of our nation and adhering to the Juche standpoint in the revolution and construction. In the past the great-power chauvinists slandered the maintenance of Juche by our Party and people in the revolution and construction as “nationalism” and “isolationism” and exerted pressure upon us. However, we fought them without compromise in order to save the destiny of the country, nation and socialism. Even when they were deprived of their country and had to fight the arduous revolutionary war in a foreign land against the Japanese, the Korean communists established Juche to the letter with an unshakeable standpoint and attitude that they were the masters of the Korean revolution. During the difficult years of postwar rehabilitation and socialist construction, they also resolutely rejected the pressure and arbitrariness of the great-power chauvinists who meddled in our internal affairs and forced an “integrated economy.” If the Korean communists had not maintained their own lines and conviction that the Korean revolutionaries should carry out the Korean revolution, they would have failed to liberate their country. If we had abandoned the policy of building an independent national economy and entered the “CMEA” unable to bear the pressure of the great-power chauvinists during socialist construction after the war, it would have been impossible for us to build the socialist state which is independent, self-sustenant and capable of self-reliant defence. While rejecting great-power chauvinism which put down the Juche character, our Party and people conducted a tireless, fierce struggle to overcome flunkeyism which flattered and yielded to the great power. We thus removed any room for great-power chauvinism to set foot, eradicated the idea of dependence on outside forces which was handed down through history and thoroughly established the standpoint and attitude as the masters of the revolution in our country.

The struggle of our Party and people to adhere to the Juche character was conducted as an integral part of the struggle to strengthen the unity and solidarity of the world socialist movement. Thoroughly rejecting all sorts of misguided tendencies of setting the Juche character against internationalism, we made energetic efforts to strengthen internationalist unity and solidarity in keeping with the nature of the socialist movement. Even though they were carrying out the unprecedentedly complex and arduous revolution, the Korean communists and people maintained the internationalist principle of actively supporting and encouraging the people of other countries in their cause for anti-imperialist independence and for socialism and fighting in unity with the class comrades-in-arms and the revolutionary people. When the difference in opinions and discord between the socialist countries aggravated to the point of split in the world socialist movement, our Party, with a firm, principled and independent stand, directed great efforts to ensuring mutual understanding and harmony among the socialist countries. Even though it was carrying out the revolution under difficult circumstances, our Party gave unstinted assistance and support to the other socialist countries which were fighting an anti-US war. Our Party and people made energetic and positive efforts to develop the relations of friendship and cooperation based on complete equality and mutual benefit not only with the socialist countries but also with all the countries which sought independence, thus making a great contribution to strengthening the internationalist solidarity among the progressive forces throughout the world.

The successes and experiences of our struggle to pioneer the road of revolution in an original way as the masters of our own destiny and to unfold a new history of unity and solidarity in the world socialist movement and the progressive movement based on independence clearly demonstrate that the maintenance of the Juche character constitutes an important guarantee for the victory of both our revolution and the world revolutionary movement and that it is an absolutely correct way to remain loyal not only to the national but also to the international duties.

Our Party has valued the national character, sustained our nation’s fine traditions in every possible way and materialized them in all spheres of the revolution and construction.

The national character which is formed through history may have the limitation of the period and class, but it is a mistake to regard the national character as the breeding ground of the idea of returning to the past and bourgeois nationalism. The national character embodies the spirit of national independence and the cultural traditions of a nation, which constitute a precious wealth of the country and nation and an important asset for the building of socialism.

Our Party has preserved and steadily developed the fine traits of our people who are resourceful and courageous, and who love justice and truth, value morality and resent injustice. These qualities have become an important factor in propelling socialist construction and in developing the country to be prosperous. Our Party’s policy of preserving and developing the national character has won active support from the people and displayed great vitality in deepening the people’s trust in the Party and planting socialism deep among them.

Our Party made the national character a major basis of national unity. It is the common psychology of the members of the nation to love their nation and value their national character. This feeling is of great importance in uniting and rallying the whole nation. From the early days of the revolutionary struggle, the true Korean communists attached great importance to the national character and worked hard to achieve the unity of the people from all walks of life on the basis of it. In the course of this, they succeeded in achieving unity with the nationalists as well. The imperialists and reactionaries are talking as if there were an impassable gulf between communism and nationalism in order to drive a wedge of hostility and discord within the nation, but communism and nationalism have the common desire and aspiration of love for one’s country and nation. It is impossible to achieve national unity if the positive aspect of nationalism is ignored and rejected because of its limitations. What is opposed to communism is not nationalism in general but bourgeois nationalism, national egoism and national chauvinism which subordinate the common interests of the nation to the interests of a handful of the exploiting class in the guise of nationalism. We realized unity and cooperation with the nationalists on our initiative by giving prominence to the community of loving the nation and valuing the national character and led them tirelessly to go on the road of patriotism so that they make great contribution to the struggle for national liberation and socialism while casting in their lots with the communists.

It is the national character and love for the nation and the spirit of national independence which emanate from the national character that can be the foundations of great national unity and national reunification in our country where the nation is divided by foreign forces and different ideas and systems exist in the north and the south. Especially when the national character is trampled underfoot and obliterated in south Korea by foreign forces and the reactionaries, we may lose the foundations of the unity of the whole nation and national reunification and the nation may become heterogeneous and divided into different nations unless we hold high and sustain the national character in every way.

All our Party’s policies for national reunification, particularly the Ten-Point Programme of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation for the Reunification of the Country put forward by the great national father Comrade Kim Il Sung, are blended with the noble spirit of national independence and love for the nation which value and sustain the national character. By paying deep attention to sustaining and embodying the national character in leading the struggle for national reunification, our Party has created mature conditions for uniting the whole nation in the north, the south and abroad, and for realizing the coordinated development of the country and nation.

It is of special importance that we have stressed the Korean-nation-first principle in the struggle to preserve and embody the national character. Our Party has considered it to be a main link in the struggle for sustaining the national character to encourage the masses of the people, the masters of the revolution and construction, to take pride and self-confidence in the greatness of the Korean nation and brighten the soul and spirit of the nation, and laid great emphasis on this work. Our Party has brought about an all-round development and flowering of our people’s admirable national character, which has been shaped through history, created new fine national traits successfully in all fields of the revolution and construction and social life and, on this basis, advanced the Korean-nation-first principle and armed the people with this principle. The establishment of the Korean-nation-first principle has effected a new advance in the struggle to sustain the national character and raised its role beyond measure in carrying out the cause of socialism. As is evidenced in our people, young and old, men and women, throughout the country fondly singing Pyongyang Is Best, all our people are proud of being Koreans. With a high sense of self-respect and pride as the best nation living and working in the good socialist system under the care of the great leader, and under the leadership of the great Party, our people are exalting the national dignity and displaying national resourcefulness in the struggle for the prosperity and development of the country and the victory of socialism.

The experience of our Party and people in the struggle to sustain the national character shows that only when the party and the state of the working class value the national character and work hard to embody it in the revolution and construction can they unite the entire nation, advance triumphantly the cause of socialism by giving full play to their patriotic enthusiasm and realize the independent development and prosperity of the country and nation.

By giving wise leadership to the struggle of our Party and people for the preservation of the Juche character and national character, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung set a brilliant example of leading to victory the revolutionary cause of the masses under the banner of independence. History has recorded numerous patriots and patriotic struggles, but it has never known such a communist revolutionary as the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung who firmly safeguarded the Juche character and national character with faith in independence and a noble patriotic spirit, treading a thorny revolutionary path nor has it witnessed such a revolutionary cause of genuine national independence as the Juche revolutionary cause pioneered and led by Comrade Kim Il Sung.

The socialism of Juche is the brilliant fruition of the great idea and leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung who opened up an original way of carrying out the socialist cause, the masses’ cause of independence. Our socialism of Juche which has been built by ourselves in keeping with our desire and national characteristics is a people-centred socialism which has made the masses of the people the masters of everything and made everything serve them; it is the socialism of independence, self-sufficiency and self-reliant defence, which has strengthened the Juche character and fully displayed the national character; it is the socialism dedicated to love for the country and nation. Here lie its essential characteristics and its superiority. Because it has most effectively combined love for the people with love for the country and nation, the independence of the masses with the independence of the country and nation, socialism in our country is advancing along the road of victory with an invincible vitality and force and displaying ever greater attraction in carrying out the cause of independence for humanity.

By building Juche-oriented socialism which defends and realizes the independence of the masses of the people and guarantees the independent development and prosperity of the nation under the guidance of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, our Party and people have proved that adhering to the principle of national independence as well as the principle of the working class in the revolution and construction and keeping the Juche character and national character is the road to victory and glory. Great-power chauvinists and opportunists slandered our adherence to the Juche character and national character and our struggle for the revolution and construction on the principle of national independence as if these were contrary to socialism, but, in the long run, it is our Party and people that have defended and brightened socialism through to the end. Our socialism is vigorously advancing along its track in spite of worldwide political upheavals because our Party is consistently leading the revolution and construction from the standpoint of Juche. Although those who once posed themselves as “orthodox” socialists and internationalists discarded socialism and betrayed internationalism, our Party and people have been invariably and unfailingly faithful to internationalism under the banner of socialism and, while defending the impregnable fortress of socialism, are striving for  the reconstruction of the socialist movement and the cause of independence for humanity by pooling efforts with all the revolutionary parties and progressive people who cherish independence and socialism.

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Stepping up socialist construction and realizing the reunification of the country and its prosperity by preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character is the unshakeable faith and will of our Party and people. We must thoroughly implement this line which was the lifelong desire of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and whose credibility and validity have been proved by history.

Loving one’s country and nation is a prerequisite for maintaining the Juche character and national character of the revolution and construction.

A revolutionary must boundlessly love and respect the country and nation. Without a country and nation, nobody can live and shape his destiny. As the destiny of an individual is inseparably connected with the destiny of the nation, our Party is exerting efforts to educate all members of society to have a correct view on the nation and producing such art and literary work as the multi-part feature film The Nation and Destiny expending much effort. The theme of The Nation and Destiny is that the destiny of the country and nation immediately means the destiny of individuals and that the existence of one depends on the survival of the other. Those who want to shape their own destiny truly must consider the country and nation as the base of their lives and as their home of happiness and love them ardently; they must find the worth and value of their lives in devoting their all for the independence and prosperity of the country and nation.

How people approach their own class and how they live as members of the class is an important question, but it is no less important how they live and fight as members of the nation. It is most important now for all Koreans to love the country and nation, lead a genuine life as members of the Korean nation and devote their all to the common aim of the nation, transcending the different systems created temporarily owing to national division, as well as different ideas and ideals, different political views and religions and different classes and strata. Those who share the blood and soul of the Korean nation must link their own destiny with the destiny of the country and nation and fight devoting body and soul for the independent reunification of the country and the prosperity of the nation, no matter which class and stratum they belong to, in what social system they exist and whether they live at home or abroad.

For the party in the position of revolutionary leadership to treasure the country and nation and bear the responsibility for their destiny is the fundamental condition for fulfilling its leadership mission. Defending and maintaining the independence of the country and nation is a prerequisite for realizing the independence of the masses. If a working-class party regards only the ideals and demands of the class as absolute and neglects national interests, it cannot fulfil the responsibility for the destiny of the country and nation, give a correct guidance to the patriotic struggle and realize the independence of the masses with credit. A party which leads the revolution and construction must think and act with the attitude of attaching importance to the country and nation and lead the masses of the people correctly to defend the interests of the country and nation resolutely and realize the development of the country and the prosperity of the nation.

Our Party and people are proud of having set a brilliant example of patriotism in the long-drawn-out revolutionary struggle for independence, sovereignty and socialism. The Korean communists were the most ardent patriots who had fought devoting their all to the liberation of the country and its independent development. The history of pioneering and advancing the Korean revolution shows the ceaseless sacred struggle of our people for the country and nation. Our people are proud of their patriotic traditions which are now being carried forward brilliantly under the leadership of our Party. By carrying forward the noble patriotic traditions, all our people must implement devotedly our Party’s idea and policy of defending the fundamental interests of the country and nation and making their country, their motherland, more prosperous.

Carrying out the revolution and construction in one’s own style on the principle of national independence is the fundamental requirement for preserving the Juche character and national character.

Dealing with the problems arising in shaping the destiny of one’s country and nation according to one’s own decision is the right to independence which nobody can infringe upon. The revolutionary parties and peoples must resolutely reject the intervention and pressure of the outside forces and resolve their own problems according to their own decisions and judgement to suit their demands and interests.

The failure to assert one’s own opinion and faith, when under the pressure of foreign forces, leads to subordination and national ruin. This is proved by the catastrophic fate of the countries and nations which followed the intentions of the imperialists and dominationists and lived consulting their pleasure. The more pressure the  imperialists and dominationists apply, the more firmly the revolutionary parties and peoples must assert their opinion and carry out the lines and policies they have adopted. If they yield to the pressure of the outside forces and vacillate or give up their aim in difficulty and thus abandon their faith and withdraw from the road they themselves have chosen, they cannot rise up again. No matter how grave difficulties and trials they may face, the revolutionary parties and peoples should never lose their faith in the validity of their cause and invariably follow the road to independence, the road they have chosen, fighting with an indomitable will.

In advancing the revolution and construction and developing society, it is always necessary to find out and rely on one’s own way and methods. It is not right for the masters responsible for the destiny of the nation to copy or blindly imitate others. It is natural to introduce what is good or developed among others’ things, but it is intolerable to imitate them mechanically or consider them to be basic. The parties and peoples that are building socialism should not tolerate the capitalist “Western style” in managing the state and social system and organizing social life, but instead they should apply their own style, which is revolutionary and national, in all spheres of state and social life including politics, the economy and culture.

The countries which are experiencing social problems, economic difficulties and disasters because of national disputes must also find out a way to overcome them by their own efforts, not expecting anything from the “prescription” of the imperialists. The so-called “prescription” that the imperialists are propagating around the world is neither good for the development of other nations nor “ingenious plans” to activate the economy of other countries and ensure national reconciliation; this is a scheme to embellish themselves and gain their profit in this process. As reality shows, in the countries which accepted the imperialist “prescription,” social problems and economic difficulties have become more serious and national disputes become more chronic. The countries which are suffering social and economic difficulties and national disputes must reject the “prescription” of the imperialists which only worsens their conditions. They must break through the difficulties following their own prescription.

Our Party and people are proud of having chosen their own revolutionary road independently and having advanced the revolutionary cause, solving all the problems arising in the revolution and construction in their own way based on their independent views. Our style is derived from man-centred Juche philosophy and patriotism. Because we have not followed others’ opinion and prescription, but relied firmly on our own views and the revolutionary methods of our style, we have been able to build a powerful socialism of Juche and make it prosperous. In the future, too, we must live and carry out the revolution in our own way on the principle of national independence so as to firmly defend and develop socialism of our style and make the country and nation ever prosperous.

Our own force is the real guarantee for preserving and embodying the Juche character and national character.

The fundamental factor in preparing our own force is to build up the political force of our own. In order to preserve the Juche character and national character, it is necessary to prepare our own force in all spheres including the material and economic force, but what is most important is to build up a strong political force, the driving force of the revolution.

Unity means the strength of the driving force of the revolution.

In the struggle for the independence of the country and nation it is imperative to achieve

national unity based on the unanimous desire and common interests of the nation. At present, our urgent task is to achieve great national unity and build up our own force for national reunification. Only when a nationwide unity is realized can we crush the divisive forces at home and abroad and accomplish the cause of national reunification. All the compatriots in the north, the south and abroad must fight dynamically to realize the independent reunification of the country, the great national desire, rallied rock-solid under the banner of great national unity.

In the socialist society where class antagonism has been eliminated, the nation is the people

and vice versa and the centre of their unity is the party and the leader. National unity in the socialist society must be the unity of the whole society in ideology and purpose centring on the party and the leader. Our Party has equipped the entire people firmly with the Juche idea and turned the whole of society into one socio-political organism, whose members have been united firmly centring on the Party and the leader, thereby building up creditably the independent driving force of the revolution, the integral whole of the leader, the Party and the masses. The strength of the independent driving force relying on the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party and the masses is the fundamental guarantee for all our victories both in the struggle against imperialism and in socialist construction. By consolidating and developing this single-hearted unity and displaying its power to the full, we must safeguard the independence of the country and nation firmly from enemy encroachment and step up the revolution and construction vigorously. In addition to our own political force, the economic and military forces must be prepared. The parties and peoples that have not prepared their own economic and military forces cannot fulfil their responsibility and play their role satisfactorily as the independent driving force of the revolution and construction and preserve the Juche character and national character. The revolutionary parties and peoples should exert all their energy, enduring all hardships, to prepare their own economic and military forces that guarantee the independent development of the country.

    The role of science and technology in economic construction and defence buildup has increased beyond measure, and the scientific and technological competition is brisk on a worldwide scale. In this situation, without developed science and technology it would be impossible to build up strong economic and military forces. The parties and peoples that are building socialism should develop science and technology by their own efforts to suit the requirement of the revolution and the specific situation in their countries, maintaining thoroughly their own attitude. The work of expanding and developing scientific and technological exchanges with different countries and introducing advanced science and technology from other countries, too, must be based on their own reality. If they give full rein to the strength and intelligence of their people relying on the strength of the advantages of socialism, and mobilize all possibilities and potentials actively, they will be fully able to scale a high peak of scientific and technical development and ensure the independent development of the country by means of science and technology.

Our Party and people have regarded it as the fundamental requirement for building an independent sovereign state to prepare their own strong economic and military forces and laid powerful economic and military foundations that guarantee the independence of the country and the prosperity of the nation, by waging an indomitable struggle sparing a penny and tightening their belts from the first days of the building of a new society. Today we can firmly defend the fundamental interests of the revolution and the dignity of the country from the imperialists’ vicious manoeuvres against socialism and our Republic because we have built the powerful independent national economy and self-reliant defence power. By continuing a vigorous struggle to strengthen the force of the independent national economy and self-reliant defence power, we must further strengthen the material foundation of the independent state and social life and defend reliably the security of the country  and the happy lives of the people.

In preserving the Juche character and national character it is very important to enhance national pride and self-confidence among the people.

National pride and self-confidence are the manifestation of love for the nation and the spirit of national independence. The revolutionary parties should always step up ideological work to cultivate the spirit of national independence among the people so that they are proud of their country and nation and determined to defend and develop them. An ideological offensive for boosting the spirit of national independence should be undertaken especially by small and backward countries and the countries which have heavily suffered domination and intervention by big countries and in which flunkeyism and dogmatism remain deep-rooted.

National pride and self-confidence are formed and displayed when the good qualities of one’s nation are understood. The good qualities of a nation which are formed socially and historically in the struggle to shape the destiny of the country and nation have nothing in common with racial characteristics, nor are these qualities acquired by any special nation. Every nation is blessed with its good qualities and has the aspiration and desire to preserve and promote them. Only when the revolutionary parties appreciate the fine traits of their nations and encourage them positively can they help the people to acquire national pride and self-confidence.

What is important in preserving and boosting the good qualities of the nation is to carry forward the national heritage correctly. Nihilism which ignores and abandons national inheritance is the main obstacle which impedes the flowering and development of the fine national traits. In order to preserve the good qualities of the nation, it is imperative to have an attitude of appreciating the national heritage and thoroughly reject and overcome nihilism which denies the nation’s fine traits. Restorationism which tries to preserve things of the past thoughtlessly on the excuse of appreciating the national heritage is also a harmful tendency preventing the good qualities of the nation from being preserved in a correct manner. If restorationism is tolerated, it would revive outdated and backward mentality, which reflects the requirement and interests of the exploiting class and goes against times, and create an obstacle in the way of preserving the fine national traits in conformity with the requirement of socialism. To preserve the fine national traits it is necessary to reject both the nihilistic attitude and the restorationist tendencies towards the national heritage and correctly combine the national stand with the class stand, the historical principle with the contemporary trend and thus discard what is outdated or incompatible with socialism and encourage and develop what is progressive and popular.

In addition to preserving the national heritage handed down through history with a correct view, new fine national traits must be cultivated continuously. It is only when new national traits are created based on the inherited good qualities of the nation that nation’s fine traits can bloom and develop further and their role become more essential in enhancing national pride and self-confidence. By stepping up the revolution and construction successfully, the parties which build socialism must create new national traits continuously in all spheres of politics, the economy, ideology, culture and morality and boost national pride and self-confidence among the people.

The good qualities of the nation are best cultivated and displayed while carrying out the revolutionary cause under the guidance of the great leader. These qualities can be attributed to the greatness of the leader; the pride and self-confidence in the nation’s excellence find concentrated expression in the pride and confidence in having the great leader.

Our people have become a great nation under the care of the respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and have acquired excellent national traits under his leadership. Today the people around the world call our nation in association with the name of the respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and praise the good qualities of our nation as the excellent traits of Kim Il Sung’s nation.

The core of the traits of Kim Il Sung’s nation consists of loyalty and dutifulness to their leader. Our people’s unlimited loyalty and dutifulness to the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung have become firmly established as their faith and will, as their conscience and morality, through life experience of shaping the destiny of the country and nation for many years in history. Loyalty and dutifulness to the leader are  the  highest  expression  of  the  good   qualities of Kim Il Sung’s nation and constitute the basis of all the other fine traits of his nation. The mental and moral excellence of our people–the strong sense of uniting behind the Party and the leader with a single mind and purpose, revolutionary faith in the socialism  of Juche, unlimited devotion to their country and the revolution, the revolutionary spirit of self-reliance and fortitude, revolutionary optimism, revolutionary morality and comradeship with which all the members of society help and lead one another forward–emanates from their loyalty and dutifulness to the great leader and finds clear expression through them. We must further consolidate and carry forward stoutly the excellent qualities of our people who are loyal and dutiful to the leader so that the people remain unfailingly loyal and dutiful to their leader and their Party generation after generation.

We must continue to step up education in the Korean-nation-first principle to encourage the people to brighten the greatness of the Korean nation further with a strong sense of national pride and self-confidence.

The struggle to preserve the Juche character and national character is the struggle against imperialism and dominationism.

Taking advantage of the trials which the masses’ cause of independence is undergoing, the imperialists are now working more blatantly than ever to obliterate the Juche character and traits of other countries and nations and realize their dominationist ambition. Without struggling against the dominationist machinations of the imperialists at present, it would be inconceivable to ensure the independent development of the countries and nations nor would it be possible to prevent people from falling to the lot of colonial slavery again.

The illusions about and fear of imperialism should be dispelled.

Aggression and plunder are the real nature of imperialism. No matter how the international situation may change, the dominationist ambition of the imperialists will not change. Nothing is more foolish and dangerous than pinning hopes on the imperialist “aid,” being unable to see through the aggressive and predatory nature of imperialism. The imperialist “aid” is a noose of plunder and subjugation aimed at robbing ten and even a hundred things for one thing that is given. The revolutionary parties and peoples must see clearly the miserable situation in the countries and nations which harboured illusions about imperialism, always hold on to the anti-imperialist, independent stand and wipe out even the slightest element of illusions about the imperialists.

The fear of imperialism is another expression of illusions about imperialism. Imperialism is by no means an object of fear; it is doomed as the refuse of history. If you are afraid of confrontation with imperialism and are willing to abandon the anti-imperialist struggle, you will never free yourselves from its domination and control. The revolutionary parties and peoples must see through the vulnerability of imperialism, courageously stand against the bluffing imperialists, and resolutely crush their reactionary offensive with revolutionary offensive.

We must smash up the vicious and cunning policy of the imperialists who seek to obliterate nations and the reactionary doctrines which try to justify this policy.

The imperialists’ reactionary policy of suppressing the Juche character of nations and obliterating national traits is now taking on a new form in the guise of gangster-like fuss about the trend towards a “monolithic” world. In the situation where each country and nation shape their destiny with their own ideas and systems, there can be no “monolithic” world which covers all spheres of politics, the economy and culture. With social development and ties and interchange among different nations becoming closer, common features increase in the lives of nations. However, this process always presupposes the independent and individualistic development of nations and takes place on the basis of such development. The imperialists have cooked up the trend of a “monolithic” world for the purpose of reducing the whole world to the Western-style “free world” and subjugating and assimilating all nations to themselves. All countries and nations must see clearly the danger of the imperialist policy of obliterating nations which is pursued in the name of the trend towards a “monolithic” world and must intensify the struggle to defeat the dominationist manoeuvres of the imperialists.

The imperialist moves to obliterate other nations and assimilate them are directed not only to foreign countries and nations but also to the minority nations and foreign residents in their own countries. The Japanese imperialists, who imposed immeasurable misfortune and suffering upon the Korean nation in the past by means of the most heinous colonial rule and the policy of obliterating our nation, are now making frantic efforts to suppress the national rights of the Koreans in Japan, and erase their national consciousness, and are working tenaciously to assimilate them to themselves. This is the most glaring example of the imperialist attempt. The parties and states, which are responsible for the destiny of their overseas compatriots, must keep a close eye on the cunning policy of national assimilation pursued by the imperialists and step up the struggle to expose and shatter it.

The “ethnological doctrine,” “cosmopolitanism” and other reactionary doctrines which have been declared bankrupt by history are now being adapted and changed into various forms and used as ideological instruments to paralyze people’s national consciousness and revolutionary spirit and justify the imperialist policy of obliterating nations. In order to keep the Juche character and national traits, we must thoroughly expose and shatter all sorts of reactionary ideological trends and lies aimed at hiding and justifying the dominationist nature of the imperialists.

The struggle against the dominationist manoeuvres of the imperialists should be linked with the struggle against the traitors to the nation. Without combating the traitors who sell out national interests in collusion with the imperialists against their own countries and nations, it would be impossible to defeat imperialism and dominationism or achieve the development of nations. This is clearly shown by the situation in the south of our country.

In south Korea where our national traits have been grossly trampled upon because of the flunkeyist, treacherous acts of the successive reactionary rulers, the soul of the nation and refined customs are now being totally erased by the clamour of the authorities for anti-national “internationalization” and “globalization.” Their clamour for these schemes means an unheard-of treachery to maintain their powers and comfort in return for the obliteration of everything that is national and for their total sell-out of the country and nation to foreign forces. Their humiliating open-door policy which is pursued in the name of “internationalization” and “globalization” allows the American, Japanese and Western fashions to flood all spheres of politics, the economy and culture. In consequence, in south Korea all areas of social life, ranging from the mode of politics and the language, written and spoken, to the way of life, are imitating the American, Japanese and Western fashions, the foreign forces lord it over, and the national traits and dignity are being wantonly violated and obliterated. In order to cut off the noose of domination and subjugation by the imperialists in south Korea and open up the road of independent development, we must sweep away the traitors who have sold out the country and nation to foreign forces and invited all sorts of national misfortune and miseries.

In order to oppose imperialism and dominationism and preserve the Juche character and national character, international unity and cooperation among the progressive people of the world must be strengthened. Only when the progressive people throughout the world support and encourage each other, closely cooperate and pool their efforts can each country achieve national independence, prosperity and development, and the cause of global independence be realized with success. The socialist countries, non-aligned and developing countries must, in solid unity under the banner of  independence, make dynamic efforts to democratize the international community, thus abolish the old international order of domination and subordination set up by the imperialists, and establish a new one which is based on sovereignty, equality, justice and impartiality. They must actively develop South-South cooperation on the principle of collective self-reliance so as to achieve prosperity all together.

Independence, peace and friendship are the ideals of our Party’s foreign policy which makes it possible to strengthen international solidarity and contribute to the cause of world independence. Our Party and people have always endeavoured to develop relationships and cooperation with all the people of the world on the principles of independence and equality, peace and friendship and mutual benefit and to establish just international relations and order between countries and nations. We must make dynamic struggle to strengthen unity and cooperation with the progressive people throughout the world and to democratize the international community. We will thus fulfil our international duty and historic mission in the struggle to defend the independence of all countries and nations and to make the world independent.

It is a consistent policy pursued by our Party, which is guided by the Juche idea, to value, preserve and materialize the Juche character and national character.

As it did in the past, our Party will invariably maintain the principle of Juche and national independence so as to bring further prosperity to our country, our motherland, which was won back and built by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, and to achieve the cause of national reunification and accomplish the socialist cause of Juche.