Comrade delegates to the celebrations of the 80th founding anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea,
Dear Pyongyang citizens and overseas compatriots,
Dear foreign friends celebrating this holiday with us,
Comrades,
Today, as we mark the 80th anniversary of our Party, we are celebrating this historic holiday with a grand meeting and looking back once again upon the sacred 80 years. This is an expression of a sublime and sincere tribute our generation pays to the great Party-founding generation who brought about an epochal change in shaping the destiny of our country and people.
In the midst of the struggle to truthfully carry forward and develop the original ideals and spirit of the Party, a dignified and powerful socialist state, faithful to the dreams and ideals of the people, has been built on this land; great miracles and changes have been made decade after decade and century after century to the admiration of the world. This is the history of modern Korea under the leadership of the Party, which spans 80 years.
First of all, availing myself of this meaningful opportunity, I express my warm gratitude to the delegates to the celebrations, who have come to this glorious place with proud fruits of their remarkable patriotic enthusiasm and strenuous labour struggle.
I extend sincere congratulations and encouragement to all the Party members, other people and service personnel of our army, who are sending best wishes to this meeting from all parts of the country.
My warm congratulations go to congratulatory groups of Koreans in Japan, the General Federation of Koreans in China and the International Social Federation of Koreans, and to the delegates of other overseas organizations visiting their homeland and, through you, to all the overseas compatriots.
Also present at today's meeting are the heads of party and government and figures of several countries and delegates from international democratic organizations who are on a visit to Pyongyang with feelings of support to our Party and warm friendship with the Korean people.
I welcome you, dear friends, who are celebrating our Party's holiday with us and deepening the feelings of friendship, and extend my heartfelt thanks to you.
Comrades and friends,
The 80th anniversary of the WPK is a glorious milestone thanks to the immortal achievements it has made over the long years for the country and the people and for the times and history.
The founding of our Party did not simply mean the birth of a political party in a country; it was a political event that signalled the emergence on the stage of history a new-type revolutionary party that would verify the righteousness of socialism and demonstrate its unique superiority and might.
From the days of building democracy, which coincided with its founding and the start of its leadership over the overall state and social life, to this day, the WPK has remained faithful to its responsibility and role as an engine of the revolution and guiding force of state administration and, in the course of this, has performed truly remarkable historic exploits.
By successfully leading the social transformation processes of several stages under the uplifted banner of the Juche idea, it has built on this land a genuine people's country with absolute prestige and national strength, a powerful country that comprehensively embodies the socialist ideas and ideals; it also has rendered a significant contribution to implementing the international cause for independence and justice.
The past 80 years were really complicated and arduous, yet worthwhile and glorious.
Those years witnessed a hard-fought war for repulsing the armed invasion by the allied imperialist forces and defending the land and dignity of the country, processes for building a country and creating a life again from scratch, and social revolutions that were accompanied by an acute class struggle and elimination of factions in the Party.
Following the establishment of the socialist system in our country, we found ourselves standing at the forefront of the most acute confrontation between the progressive and the reactionary and between socialism and imperialism. Given the geopolitical position of the country, our Party had to adopt a more resolute approach towards performing its mission of defending socialism; it had to give a strong impetus to implementing the cause of building the country's self-reliant defence capabilities. As the vicious schemes for isolating and stifling the country economically persisted from one century into the next, it had to cope with these schemes proactively and aggressively while pushing forward with the gigantic projects for socialist construction.
Particularly, amidst the worldwide political upheaval in the 1990s, it had to defend our ideology and social system, and entering the new century, in order to cope with the growing nuclear war threats by the US imperialists, it had to lead the people to make a new leap forward in socialist construction while simultaneously carrying on economic construction and build-up of the nuclear forces.
Historically, there has been no such country in the world as ours, which had to carry out so many tasks, both challenging and gigantic, for national defence and construction, even as it was facing constant and tenacious pressure, interference and threats of aggression by outside forces.
In fact, maintaining the political power and defending the social system was a miracle itself, but our Party has taken on all those important tasks; it has cleared an untrodden path for their implementation, writing a history of epochal transformations.
In every period and at every stage of the revolution and construction it has put forth scientific lines and policies to overcome manifold challenges and advanced along the unchangeable track of socialism. On this road, it has propelled the historic cause of building an independent and powerful state.
The significant events that have been recorded in history, as well as the amazing transformations that have been achieved by racing against time, testify to the scientific accuracy and vitality of our Party's revolutionary ideology and lines. As we can clearly see, they constitute a key factor in making substantial and rapid progress in the political, military, economic and cultural fields, particularly in external relations.
For its imperishable exploits the WPK has earned the envious prestige of being a revolutionary party providing seasoned and sophisticated leadership, a steel-strong party that achieves one victory after another, and a genuine people's party that faithfully serves them.
All these exploits and this prestige are unthinkable apart from the precious successes which our Party has achieved in its building.
To ensure that the ranks of the Party and the revolution achieve ideological oneness and organizational unity--this was what our Party defined as a major key to advancing the revolutionary cause along the road of victory. Directing primary concern to this end was an important factor in enhancing the Party's ruling power and guaranteeing the purposefulness and consistency of its leadership activities.
After its founding, our Party had to provide a sure guarantee for achieving oneness in ideology and leadership. This was a crucial and pressing task facing it in preserving its revolutionary features in their original form and leading the gigantic social revolutions and the whole course of state building along the road of victory.
Not only in the initial period of nation building but also during the war and in the post-war years, our Party prioritized establishing the Juche orientation in ideology and equipping Party members and all the other people with the Party's guiding ideology and revolutionary lines. At the same time, it directed primary efforts to strengthening its grass-roots organizations, building up Party ranks as an elite force and improving the fighting efficiency and vitality of its organizations at all levels while intensifying the struggle against any slightest tendency towards separatism.
Whenever it was faced with important tasks in conducting the revolution and construction, and whenever it encountered obstacles in the way of their implementation, our Party directed closer concern to strengthening itself organizationally and ideologically. Unperturbed even in the face of political upheavals, it preserved its ideological purity and organizational integrity; by dint of its high efficiency and seasoned leadership, it led the effort for a revolutionary turn and upsurge in socialist construction.
A party's role as a traction engine propelling the revolution is to be performed through its practical and meticulous leadership.
In the course of solving the problems arising in the revolution and construction and overcoming difficulties, our Party has proactively explored and applied proper approaches and styles of work for making the most of the people's revolutionary zeal and creativity.
Many revolutionary methods of guidance and people-oriented styles of work developed by our Party have been effective in uniting the masses under a single banner, giving full play to their revolutionary and patriotic enthusiasm, and bringing about uninterrupted innovations and amazing miracles on the strength of collectivism and mass heroism while overcoming all sorts of obstacles.
Always aware of and guarding against the possible budding of authoritarianism and a number of other problems which are likely to separate the Party from the masses as its ruling years get longer and one generation is replaced by another, we have made sure that an absolute spirit of serving the people prevails across the Party. This is an important factor in our Party's winning the unchanging trust of the people and encouraging them to entrust by themselves their destiny to our socialist state as a whole.
Our Party has struggled under the uplifted banner of independence and socialism in any adversity; this has made an enormous historic contribution to implementing the common cause of mankind for justice and peace.
Our Party has cherished as part of its faith the validity of the socialist cause and the inevitability of its triumph and perfectly proved the scientific accuracy of its ideals both in theoretical and practical terms, thus offering a substantial contribution to building a powerful barrier against the allied imperialist forces' schemes against socialism and achieving solidarity and unity among the world's progressive forces.
Our Party and government are still coping with our adversaries' ferocious political and military moves of pressure by pursuing harder-line policies, holding fast to firm principles and employing brave, unflinching countermeasures. This is powerfully propelling the growth of the progressive camp against war and hegemony, and the international prestige of our Republic as a faithful member of the socialist forces and a bulwark for independence and justice is further increasing with each passing day.
Comrades and friends,
There is a key to the cause of a victorious party.
It, in a nutshell, is that the party has shared everything with a great people.
The history of working for the people, the history of relying on the strength of the people, is precisely the factor behind all victory and glory our Party has won.
The 80-year history of our Party can be most accurately represented only when it is based on the history of the people; the history of its energetic guidance and the imperishable achievements it has made can identify its secret fairly and squarely only when it is explained by the great, immortal aphorism of "Together with the people."
When it was founded, our Party raised its red flag etched with the ideals and will to build a genuine people's world, which marked a great start of the history it would share with the people and a demonstration of its tremendous power.
As it is etched with the image of the people, the flag of our Party has been felt not so light, since it has been laden not only with the Party's sense of responsibility for the destiny of the people but also with the infinite resourcefulness and creativity of the people who indicate the road of truth, inject invincible courage and propel the advance towards the future all the time.
There has been no mistake or error in our Party's lines over the past 80 years because they encapsulated the people's opinions and requirements; it has won victory after victory without any slight setback or stagnation because it has been powered by the people's wisdom and strength.
As it has led the advance of history on the strength of the people's commitment and efforts, all projects, which our Party has planned for the revolution and construction, have turned into the affairs of the people themselves and reached successful completion.
Those who have brought about all the important events guaranteeing victory and success in our cause for all ages are all the people of this country, the great Korean people, including our heroic working class, agricultural workers and intellectuals.
Today our people are standing in front of the world as powerful beings who know no insurmountable difficulties and no unachievable cause.
The 80-year ruling history of our Party, which has been clearing an untrodden path in reflection of the desires, will and strength of the people and fulfilling the desire for a powerful country together with them, is etching a truth on the times and history once again.
A party that is among the people, not standing above them, a party that shares with them aspirations and ambitions, wisdom and strength, and sweets and bitters, can never disintegrate and does not lose vigour and vitality forever.
It always remains as iron truth that our Party cannot exist apart from the people and that the Party is great as the people are great.
I would like to offer thanks once again to our great people who have always injected strength and wisdom into our Party and devoted pure mind and diligent efforts with belief in victory as well as the Party, while pioneering the arduous and yet sacred socialist cause for as long as 80 years.
Comrades,
As I face the people at this significant moment, I strongly feel once again their boundless trust in and high expectations for our Party.
Thanks to such mind of the people who absolutely support and follow what the Party is determined to do while enduring all hardships, our Party has full confidence in all the work and firmly believes in victory.
When we strive for some more years in the same spirit as now, we can well change our life remarkably and get closer to the goals we aspire to.
Availing myself of this opportunity, I will always cherish love for the people and not neglect my obligation of requital. I affirm my commitment to working harder to live up to their trust.
I will surely turn this country into a more affluent and beautiful land and into the best socialist paradise in the world, with belief in the people supporting our Party and by always becoming one in mind and body with them.
Comrades,
The glorious 80-year history of our Party is encouraging us to wage a more gigantic and fulfilling struggle.
Let us advance with redoubled courage and confidence for the review of a great history which will be filled with greater glory and pride than the great 80 years which the Party and the people pioneered in one mind and body and glorified with victories, and for the final accomplishment of the socialist cause when the dreams and ideals of our people will be realized.
Concluding my speech, I offer my humble wishes for peace and well-being of our beloved people.
I extend my sincere wishes for cordial harmony and happiness to all the families in the country.
Long live the great Workers' Party of Korea and the great Korean people!
Dear Pyongyang citizens and overseas compatriots,
Dear foreign friends celebrating this holiday with us,
Comrades,
Today, as we mark the 80th anniversary of our Party, we are celebrating this historic holiday with a grand meeting and looking back once again upon the sacred 80 years. This is an expression of a sublime and sincere tribute our generation pays to the great Party-founding generation who brought about an epochal change in shaping the destiny of our country and people.
In the midst of the struggle to truthfully carry forward and develop the original ideals and spirit of the Party, a dignified and powerful socialist state, faithful to the dreams and ideals of the people, has been built on this land; great miracles and changes have been made decade after decade and century after century to the admiration of the world. This is the history of modern Korea under the leadership of the Party, which spans 80 years.
First of all, availing myself of this meaningful opportunity, I express my warm gratitude to the delegates to the celebrations, who have come to this glorious place with proud fruits of their remarkable patriotic enthusiasm and strenuous labour struggle.
I extend sincere congratulations and encouragement to all the Party members, other people and service personnel of our army, who are sending best wishes to this meeting from all parts of the country.
My warm congratulations go to congratulatory groups of Koreans in Japan, the General Federation of Koreans in China and the International Social Federation of Koreans, and to the delegates of other overseas organizations visiting their homeland and, through you, to all the overseas compatriots.
Also present at today's meeting are the heads of party and government and figures of several countries and delegates from international democratic organizations who are on a visit to Pyongyang with feelings of support to our Party and warm friendship with the Korean people.
I welcome you, dear friends, who are celebrating our Party's holiday with us and deepening the feelings of friendship, and extend my heartfelt thanks to you.
Comrades and friends,
The 80th anniversary of the WPK is a glorious milestone thanks to the immortal achievements it has made over the long years for the country and the people and for the times and history.
The founding of our Party did not simply mean the birth of a political party in a country; it was a political event that signalled the emergence on the stage of history a new-type revolutionary party that would verify the righteousness of socialism and demonstrate its unique superiority and might.
From the days of building democracy, which coincided with its founding and the start of its leadership over the overall state and social life, to this day, the WPK has remained faithful to its responsibility and role as an engine of the revolution and guiding force of state administration and, in the course of this, has performed truly remarkable historic exploits.
By successfully leading the social transformation processes of several stages under the uplifted banner of the Juche idea, it has built on this land a genuine people's country with absolute prestige and national strength, a powerful country that comprehensively embodies the socialist ideas and ideals; it also has rendered a significant contribution to implementing the international cause for independence and justice.
The past 80 years were really complicated and arduous, yet worthwhile and glorious.
Those years witnessed a hard-fought war for repulsing the armed invasion by the allied imperialist forces and defending the land and dignity of the country, processes for building a country and creating a life again from scratch, and social revolutions that were accompanied by an acute class struggle and elimination of factions in the Party.
Following the establishment of the socialist system in our country, we found ourselves standing at the forefront of the most acute confrontation between the progressive and the reactionary and between socialism and imperialism. Given the geopolitical position of the country, our Party had to adopt a more resolute approach towards performing its mission of defending socialism; it had to give a strong impetus to implementing the cause of building the country's self-reliant defence capabilities. As the vicious schemes for isolating and stifling the country economically persisted from one century into the next, it had to cope with these schemes proactively and aggressively while pushing forward with the gigantic projects for socialist construction.
Particularly, amidst the worldwide political upheaval in the 1990s, it had to defend our ideology and social system, and entering the new century, in order to cope with the growing nuclear war threats by the US imperialists, it had to lead the people to make a new leap forward in socialist construction while simultaneously carrying on economic construction and build-up of the nuclear forces.
Historically, there has been no such country in the world as ours, which had to carry out so many tasks, both challenging and gigantic, for national defence and construction, even as it was facing constant and tenacious pressure, interference and threats of aggression by outside forces.
In fact, maintaining the political power and defending the social system was a miracle itself, but our Party has taken on all those important tasks; it has cleared an untrodden path for their implementation, writing a history of epochal transformations.
In every period and at every stage of the revolution and construction it has put forth scientific lines and policies to overcome manifold challenges and advanced along the unchangeable track of socialism. On this road, it has propelled the historic cause of building an independent and powerful state.
The significant events that have been recorded in history, as well as the amazing transformations that have been achieved by racing against time, testify to the scientific accuracy and vitality of our Party's revolutionary ideology and lines. As we can clearly see, they constitute a key factor in making substantial and rapid progress in the political, military, economic and cultural fields, particularly in external relations.
For its imperishable exploits the WPK has earned the envious prestige of being a revolutionary party providing seasoned and sophisticated leadership, a steel-strong party that achieves one victory after another, and a genuine people's party that faithfully serves them.
All these exploits and this prestige are unthinkable apart from the precious successes which our Party has achieved in its building.
To ensure that the ranks of the Party and the revolution achieve ideological oneness and organizational unity--this was what our Party defined as a major key to advancing the revolutionary cause along the road of victory. Directing primary concern to this end was an important factor in enhancing the Party's ruling power and guaranteeing the purposefulness and consistency of its leadership activities.
After its founding, our Party had to provide a sure guarantee for achieving oneness in ideology and leadership. This was a crucial and pressing task facing it in preserving its revolutionary features in their original form and leading the gigantic social revolutions and the whole course of state building along the road of victory.
Not only in the initial period of nation building but also during the war and in the post-war years, our Party prioritized establishing the Juche orientation in ideology and equipping Party members and all the other people with the Party's guiding ideology and revolutionary lines. At the same time, it directed primary efforts to strengthening its grass-roots organizations, building up Party ranks as an elite force and improving the fighting efficiency and vitality of its organizations at all levels while intensifying the struggle against any slightest tendency towards separatism.
Whenever it was faced with important tasks in conducting the revolution and construction, and whenever it encountered obstacles in the way of their implementation, our Party directed closer concern to strengthening itself organizationally and ideologically. Unperturbed even in the face of political upheavals, it preserved its ideological purity and organizational integrity; by dint of its high efficiency and seasoned leadership, it led the effort for a revolutionary turn and upsurge in socialist construction.
A party's role as a traction engine propelling the revolution is to be performed through its practical and meticulous leadership.
In the course of solving the problems arising in the revolution and construction and overcoming difficulties, our Party has proactively explored and applied proper approaches and styles of work for making the most of the people's revolutionary zeal and creativity.
Many revolutionary methods of guidance and people-oriented styles of work developed by our Party have been effective in uniting the masses under a single banner, giving full play to their revolutionary and patriotic enthusiasm, and bringing about uninterrupted innovations and amazing miracles on the strength of collectivism and mass heroism while overcoming all sorts of obstacles.
Always aware of and guarding against the possible budding of authoritarianism and a number of other problems which are likely to separate the Party from the masses as its ruling years get longer and one generation is replaced by another, we have made sure that an absolute spirit of serving the people prevails across the Party. This is an important factor in our Party's winning the unchanging trust of the people and encouraging them to entrust by themselves their destiny to our socialist state as a whole.
Our Party has struggled under the uplifted banner of independence and socialism in any adversity; this has made an enormous historic contribution to implementing the common cause of mankind for justice and peace.
Our Party has cherished as part of its faith the validity of the socialist cause and the inevitability of its triumph and perfectly proved the scientific accuracy of its ideals both in theoretical and practical terms, thus offering a substantial contribution to building a powerful barrier against the allied imperialist forces' schemes against socialism and achieving solidarity and unity among the world's progressive forces.
Our Party and government are still coping with our adversaries' ferocious political and military moves of pressure by pursuing harder-line policies, holding fast to firm principles and employing brave, unflinching countermeasures. This is powerfully propelling the growth of the progressive camp against war and hegemony, and the international prestige of our Republic as a faithful member of the socialist forces and a bulwark for independence and justice is further increasing with each passing day.
Comrades and friends,
There is a key to the cause of a victorious party.
It, in a nutshell, is that the party has shared everything with a great people.
The history of working for the people, the history of relying on the strength of the people, is precisely the factor behind all victory and glory our Party has won.
The 80-year history of our Party can be most accurately represented only when it is based on the history of the people; the history of its energetic guidance and the imperishable achievements it has made can identify its secret fairly and squarely only when it is explained by the great, immortal aphorism of "Together with the people."
When it was founded, our Party raised its red flag etched with the ideals and will to build a genuine people's world, which marked a great start of the history it would share with the people and a demonstration of its tremendous power.
As it is etched with the image of the people, the flag of our Party has been felt not so light, since it has been laden not only with the Party's sense of responsibility for the destiny of the people but also with the infinite resourcefulness and creativity of the people who indicate the road of truth, inject invincible courage and propel the advance towards the future all the time.
There has been no mistake or error in our Party's lines over the past 80 years because they encapsulated the people's opinions and requirements; it has won victory after victory without any slight setback or stagnation because it has been powered by the people's wisdom and strength.
As it has led the advance of history on the strength of the people's commitment and efforts, all projects, which our Party has planned for the revolution and construction, have turned into the affairs of the people themselves and reached successful completion.
Those who have brought about all the important events guaranteeing victory and success in our cause for all ages are all the people of this country, the great Korean people, including our heroic working class, agricultural workers and intellectuals.
Today our people are standing in front of the world as powerful beings who know no insurmountable difficulties and no unachievable cause.
The 80-year ruling history of our Party, which has been clearing an untrodden path in reflection of the desires, will and strength of the people and fulfilling the desire for a powerful country together with them, is etching a truth on the times and history once again.
A party that is among the people, not standing above them, a party that shares with them aspirations and ambitions, wisdom and strength, and sweets and bitters, can never disintegrate and does not lose vigour and vitality forever.
It always remains as iron truth that our Party cannot exist apart from the people and that the Party is great as the people are great.
I would like to offer thanks once again to our great people who have always injected strength and wisdom into our Party and devoted pure mind and diligent efforts with belief in victory as well as the Party, while pioneering the arduous and yet sacred socialist cause for as long as 80 years.
Comrades,
As I face the people at this significant moment, I strongly feel once again their boundless trust in and high expectations for our Party.
Thanks to such mind of the people who absolutely support and follow what the Party is determined to do while enduring all hardships, our Party has full confidence in all the work and firmly believes in victory.
When we strive for some more years in the same spirit as now, we can well change our life remarkably and get closer to the goals we aspire to.
Availing myself of this opportunity, I will always cherish love for the people and not neglect my obligation of requital. I affirm my commitment to working harder to live up to their trust.
I will surely turn this country into a more affluent and beautiful land and into the best socialist paradise in the world, with belief in the people supporting our Party and by always becoming one in mind and body with them.
Comrades,
The glorious 80-year history of our Party is encouraging us to wage a more gigantic and fulfilling struggle.
Let us advance with redoubled courage and confidence for the review of a great history which will be filled with greater glory and pride than the great 80 years which the Party and the people pioneered in one mind and body and glorified with victories, and for the final accomplishment of the socialist cause when the dreams and ideals of our people will be realized.
Concluding my speech, I offer my humble wishes for peace and well-being of our beloved people.
I extend my sincere wishes for cordial harmony and happiness to all the families in the country.
Long live the great Workers' Party of Korea and the great Korean people!