Brilliant Commander Kim Jong Il: DPRK

-August 25 and the Meaning of the Day for the DPRK

 August 25, 1960 is the day when Chairman Kim Jong Il (1942-2011) commenced his leadership over the revolutionary armed forces of his country, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The DPRK celebrates this day as a meaningful one.

 By leading the Korean People’s Army for several decades since then,     Kim Jong Il safeguarded the security of the country and regional peace and turned the DPRK into a world-class military power.

 One of the important meanings of August 25 is that the day was a watershed in the effort to make the KPA an army loyal to the Workers’ Party of Korea and the leader. As is acknowledged by many military experts of the world, the spirits unique to the KPA including the thoroughgoing spirit of defending the country and the spirit of devotedly serving the people were formed and consolidated under the leadership of the WPK and Chairman Kim Jong Il.

 When he inspected Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105^th Tank Division of the KPA on August 25, 1960, he attached the greatest importance to making the KPA an army absolutely faithful to the leadership of the WPK.

After his inspection of the tank division, he directed special attention to consolidating the WPK organs and other political bodies in the KPA and intensifying the ideological education of the service personnel. In the course of this the WPK’s command system, Kim Jong Il’s command system, was thoroughly established in the KPA.

 Since the mid-1990s when the imperialists’ aggressive manoeuvres grew ever more undisguised and the country’s economic situation was difficult, Chairman Kim Jong Il firmly safeguarded socialism by placing the KPA in the vanguard. He continually visited KPA units, leading the service personnel to reliably defend the foremost posts of the country, and on the other hand, he dispatched them to major sites of economic construction so as to ensure that the KPA played a great role in laying a firm foundation for building the country into a socialist power.

 Another meaning of August 25 is that the day made it possible to remarkably consolidate the fighting efficiency of the KPA and the nation’s defence capability, to creditably defend the sovereignty and dignity of the country.

 Kim Jong Il energetically led the work for strengthening the fighting efficiency of the KPA with extraordinary strategic wisdom and outstanding art of command.

 The DPRK always emerged victorious whenever the US made provocative manoeuvres including the incident of Pueblo, a US armed spy ship, and the incident of EC-121, a US large espionage plane, in the 1960s. The country owed these victories to his wise leadership.

There is another example.

 In 1983 the US conducted the Team Spirit 83 joint military exercise which was planned to be climaxed with the landing of air-borne troops on an imaginary point in north Korea and gave wide publicity to the landing drill. Later the US, to its utter surprise, came to know that their dropping point was identical with the point Kim Jong Il had selected for the KPA to conduct an anti-air-borne troops drill.

Kim Jong Il directed great efforts to developing the national defence industry and thereby provided a guarantee that the KPA can win victory in confrontation with any enemy. With a noble sense of duty to defend the destiny of the country and people to the end, he channelled primary efforts into developing the national defence industry even in the period when the imperialists’ manoeuvres to isolate and stifle the DPRK went to extreme. Under his leadership the national defence industry of the DPRK developed into a modern and self-sufficient industry which can make necessary military equipment by its own efforts. In addition, the DPRK became a nuclear power. This ensured the strategic balance in the region and consolidated peace and security of the Korean peninsula.

 In those days the US media organs commented that if a war broke out, over 70 percent of the population of south Korea would be killed and the total amount of loss would be worth 21 020 440 million dollars. The world media unanimously voiced that the formidable war deterrent of the DPRK improved the situation and safeguarded peace on the Korean peninsula.

-August 25 after the Lapse of Six Decades

 August 25 is one of the public holidays in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Historic Declaration

 Kim Jong Il (1942-2011), chairman of the National Defence Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea inspected the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division of the Korean People’s Army on August 25, 1960. Noteworthy during his visit is the declaration he made: For a country to be strong, it should have a powerful army. I’m determined to develop our country into a military power no enemy would dare provoke.

 Since that day he began providing guidance over the overall military affairs of the country. He remained loyal to his declaration in his decades-long political career. He never overlooked any intervention by big powers, always paying primary attention to building up the country’s defence capabilities.

 The country’s economic situation was extremely difficult after the middle of the 1990s as the US-led imperialist allied forces’ attempt to stifle it reached extreme. With an eye to the distant future, Kim Jong Il took a series of steps to bolster up the country’s military strength.

 His outstanding achievement is that he developed his country into a nuclear state with a powerful war deterrent. Once a European politician said today’s world is divided into aristocrats equipped with nuclear weapons and serfs playing the role of footmen. As the DPRK possessed nuclear weapons, a breach was made in the world’s political landscape centred on nuclear powers, and the US, a self-acclaimed sole superpower in the world, which had ceaselessly threatened the DPRK with nuke, dared not mount a war against it.

60-odd Years after the Historic Declaration

  More than six decades have passed since Kim Jong Il made the historic declaration. Today the DPRK ranks with the military powers on its own terms. This is one of the greatest achievements made by the Korean people under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, who is carrying forward the cause of Kim Jong Il.

 Giving top priority to the buildup of military capabilities in ensuring the country’s sustained and peaceful development, he has made sure that powerful and sophisticated weapons are steadily developed so that the balance of power can be maintained on the Korean peninsula.

  Under his leadership the DPRK has developed intercontinental ballistic missiles and different kinds of strategic, cruise and hypersonic missiles, all with diverse ranges, plus 600mm-calibre super-large multiple rocket launcher, new-type main battle tank and vessels including a tactical nuclear attack submarine. Thus, it has possessed strong capabilities for self-defence, with which it can cope with any provocations by the hostile forces. Last November it successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite, the first of its kind in its history. As a result, it has now taken in its hands both the “eyes” to look over a very long distance and the strong “fist” to make a long-distance strike. Such formidable military strength of the country contributes to the steady maintenance of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula, a hottest spot in the world.

 The country’s defence scientists are making new achievements one after another in their efforts to upgrade their country’s defence capabilities. The attempts by the hostile forces to unleash another war have met frustration from their beginning, and this is precisely a great contribution to guaranteeing global peace.

  The DPRK has emerged as a powerful defender of regional and global peace and stability under the leadership of Kim Jong Un.