Significance of Self-reliance TodayTakao Kamakura,Emeritus professor, Saidama UniversityIn the 21st century, abnormal weather phenomena occur on a global scale with the spread of COVID-19 and crisis of food production is caused due to drought and abnormal weather.However, even under such situations, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea holds a powerful weapon of self-reliance and vigorously advances towards the overall development of socialist construction.The DPRK could realize and push ahead everything with self-reliance because it applied the Juche idea. Entire people in the DPRK regard the Juche idea as a norm of their activities, their idea. This is the truthfulness of the Juche idea.1. Truthfulness of the Juche idea(1) Anti-epidemic system on the basis of popularization of the Juche ideaTo deal with the explosive COVID-19 that started spreading since November 2019, the DPRK has taken measures from the early period. It has been making efforts to prevent infection completely.① In the report on the work of the Central Committee made at the Eighth Congress of the WPK, General Secretary Kim Jong Un said that a well-regulated working system and foundations were built in the hygienic and anti-epidemic sector through the preemptive and powerful emergency epidemic prevention efforts to check inroads of the worldwide pandemic. The General Secretary also said that it was necessary to rebuild preventive and curative organs and pharmaceutical plants.② In the policy speech made at the Fifth Session of the Fourteenth Supreme People’s Assembly (September 29, 2021), General Secretary Kim Jong Un emphasized the thorough-going implementation of our state-first principle, the people-first principle and put forward a task of further strengthening epidemic prevention measures which is the work of biggest importance that the DPRK government should make perfectly. The General Secretary referred to the important issues arising in steadily preserving the public epidemic prevention atmosphere and the people’s voluntary unity of action by making it their own vital requirements and habit to abide by the epidemic prevention regulations and order, in putting the country’s epidemic prevention foundations on a scientific basis and in ensuring the popular character thoroughly in the emergency epidemic prevention work.③ In the commemorative lecture held (October 10, 2021) on the occasion of the 76th founding anniversary of the WPK, General Secretary Kim Jong Un told senior officials of the Party to further consolidate the ideological work. The General Secretary said that idea is the most powerful and unique weapon for the Korean revolution and that the whole Party and society should be modeled after the revolutionary idea of the Party Central Committee.④ The news noted that the emergency anti-epidemic sectors of every level vigorously conducts the work of thoroughly maintaining unity of action among the people in order to cope with the worsening situation of the world health crisis caused by the rapid spread of O-variant of the COVID-19.(2) Building of the economy and society with self-relianceSelf-reliance is the DPRK’s consistent main strategy for the state independence and the national economic development.The report on the work of the Central Committee made at the Eighth Congress of the WPK held in January 2021 said that successes achieved in the five-year struggle since the Seventh Party Congress (2016) were that a positive offensive was made to pave a new avenue for socialist construction not only by maintaining Everything for the people and everything by relying on them!, the people-first principle, but by holding fast to self-reliance as a lifeline of self-dependence and self-development and as a powerful engine for development and breaking through manifold difficulties. The report also reviewed that self-reliance strategy of the Party was developed into an offensive strategy to turn despicable sanctions by the hostile forces into a golden opportunity for strengthening our self-development capability and internal motive force and into a political line to be constantly adhered to in socialist construction.Stressing the need to decisively switch to aspiring after and encouraging fresh innovation, bold creation and steady advance, the report made it clear that the general orientation of the five-year plan for new economic development is to lay solid foundations for reenergizing the national economy and improving the people’s standard of living.The report noted that the new five-year plan reflects the demands for perfecting the self-supporting structure of the national economy, lowering the proportion of dependence on imports and stabilizing the people’s living by taking the practical possibilities into consideration, that the main seed and theme of the plan are, as always, self-reliance and self-sufficiency… and that self-reliance during the period of the new long-term plan should develop into nationwide, planned and scientific self-reliance. The report raised the problems to be solved in the major economic sectors.Self-reliance is the DPRK’s fundamental measure that enables it to absolutely prevent COVID-19 spreading over the world and to stabilize and improve the people’s standard of living. This measure is put into practice by purposeful and conscious action of the entire people, which demonstrates the truthfulness of the Juche idea.(3) Juche idea, the absolute truth centred on man① Understanding of man’s social essenceThe Juche idea clarifies that man is a social being with independence, creativity and consciousness.I can say that the Juche idea clarified scientifically the essential characteristics of man, a social being, for the first time in history.② Resolute leadership of the PartyThe Korean revolution has been made by the resolute leadership of the WPK.The WPK regards The People Are God as its noble ideal. It constantly goes among the people to find out their demand and translates it into reality. As a people’s party, it makes the people’s demand its practical policy. Thanks to the policy, the people keep the Juche idea as their own for themselves. It results in practical establishment of One for All and All for One!, that is, the rock-firm unity of the whole society based on the Juche idea. The resolute leadership of the Party and leader is based on absolute confidence in the Juche idea. The DPRK substantially achieves firm unity of the leader, the Party and the popular masses.2. Significance of self-reliance at present (gist)Today self-reliance is important for each country in overcoming the explosive infection of the malignant virus that ceaselessly threatens the world.I’d like to emphasize once again that it is necessary for workers and people in each country to act with a correct understanding of self-reliance and to prevent the explosive infection and global warming on the strength of international solidarity in order to establish peace and ensure security of life.