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Kim Jong Il

PYONGYANG – February 16 marks the 73^rd birthday of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s great leader, the late Kim Jong Il.

He was born on February 16 1942 and died on December 17, 2011.

The DPRK has since instituted his birth anniversary as the Day of the Shining Star in reflection of the unanimous desire of all party members and other people to hold him in high esteem as eternal general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

President Kim Jong Il turned the WPK into the party with a strong sense of organisation and discipline, the Korean People’s Army into the invincible armed forces and the DPRK into the power no one dares provoke.

He assumed the responsibility for the Korean revolution in the hardest period and resolutely smashed the imperialist allied forces’ moves to collapse the DPRK.

In 1960 when Chairman Kim Jong Il entered Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang, he wrote a song, titled, “O Korea, I Will Add Glory to Thee,” with a firm determination to be the master of Korea and lead it to a bright future, upholding President Kim Il Sung’s intention.

True to his faith and will, Kim Jong Il developed the Juche idea and the Songun idea created by the President, into the guiding ideologies of the country and the times and thoroughly implemented them, thus building the DPRK into an invincible socialist power.

Led by President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il, the DPRK was called “the country with shining sun and star.”

Kim Jong Un

In the closing years of the last century the DPRK had to suffer worst-ever trials owing to the collapse of socialism in many countries and the imperialist allied forces’ intensive anti-socialist offensives against it.

When it was faced with the sudden demise of President Kim Il Sung, there were rumours of possible changes in the DPRK’s policy-making going around in the international community.

At that time Kim Jong Il firmly declared, “Do not expect any change from me!” He said: I am a son of guerrillas. Whatever big obstacles may be in the course of our advance, we should fight fearlessly, inheriting the spirit of Korean revolutionaries who make headway against difficulties.

Then he administered at full throttle Songun politics based on the Songun idea authored by   Kim Il Sung.

Under his Songun-based leadership the DPRK emerged victorious in the grim war of defending socialism, thwarting every challenge of the imperialists by dint of powerful military capabilities. His wise leadership ushered in a new era of building a prosperous socialist nation, turning adversity into prosperity and misfortune into blessing.

In August 1998 Kwangmyongsong 1, the first artificial earth satellite of the DPRK, was shot into space, followed by Kwangmyongsong 2 in 2009 and Kwangmyongsong 3-2 in 2012.

Korean satellites which are all named Kwangmyongsong (Shining Star), the byname of Kim Jong Il, show that the Korean leader promoted the country to the status as high as space and exalted its dignity all across the world.

The Korean people have held Kim Jong Il in high esteem as the eternal National DefenceCommission Chairman and added brilliance to his exploits.

The fourth conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the fifth session of the 12th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK that were held in April 2012 decided on holding Kim Jong Il in high esteem as eternal General Secretary of the WPK and Chairman of the DPRK NDC.

Under the wise leadership of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, the Korean people stepped up their vigorous advance to implement the lifetime wishes of Kim Jong Ilin all fields and sectors, thereby bringing about gigantic changes.

It is an inflexible faith and unshakeable will of the Korean people to realise Kim Jong Il’s plans and instructions without fail.

At present valuable seeds of prosperity sown by the Chairman are coming to fruition in the DPRK.

The DPRK is now witnessing rapid progresses in the development of science and technology in the fierce flames of breaking through the cutting edge.

Many factories and enterprises in the metallurgical, machine-building and other economic sectors have been upgraded, while steady increase in production in light industry and agriculture bringing about remarkable improvements in the people’s living standards.

In the future, the world will see Kim Jong Un who will achieve one success after another in defending socialism and building a thriving country.

In a related development, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reports that the ruling party of the DPRK has decided to stage a grand military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding and the nation’s liberation.

The political bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party has passed a resolution on celebrations, reported the official KCNA news agency on Friday.

“We will hold in grand style a parade of the service personnel of the ground, naval, air and anti-aircraft and strategic forces of the Korean People’s Army and a procession of Pyongyang citizens in celebration of the Party’s 70th anniversary,” reads the resolution passed on Tuesday.

“We will hold fast to the party’s line of Songun (military-first) revolution so as to build up our national self-defense capability,” it says.

The DPRK will produce larger numbers of powerful military equipment that are “of high precision, light, unmanned and intelligent” to cope with modern warfare, it says.

The DPRK will make vigorous effort to achieve national reunification and develop foreign relations “in a multilateral and proactive way,” says the document.

On national economy, the resolution says “a major leap forward” will be made to accelerate economic development and defend socialism.

“We will open up a shortcut to building a knowledge-based economy … and bring about a radical turn in improving people’s standards of living by resolving the food problem of the people,” it says, adding that crop farming, livestock raising and fisheries are three thrusts to address the issue.

Party discipline is also stressed in the resolution. “We will strengthen the party and … establish stringent organizational discipline” so that the whole party can act as one under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, it says. – DPRK Embassy/Xinhua/HR