Prof. Edmond Jouve,

Bearer of Order Légion d’Honneur

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea greets its 75th founding anniversary.

Looking back on the last 70-odd years of the Republic, we can see how great exploits President Kim Il Sung performed for the future of socialist Korea today.

President Kim Il Sung is the founder of the Party, the state and the army of the DPRK. President Kim Il Sung started the revolutionary struggle and put forward a line to liberate the country by the Korean people themselves when the country was occupied by Japanese imperialism. Thanks to his leadership, the Korean people united into one and waged an armed struggle of over 10 years to put an end to the Japanese imperialists’ rule, and at last liberated the country in August, 1945.

President Kim Il Sung also founded the Workers’ Party of Korea, the guide of the DPRK. He already made preparations for founding a party in the period when he waged a revolutionary struggle against the Japanese imperialists. Prior to declaring the founding of the party central committee, he always emphasized the need to lay foundations for the party to be founded in the future and expand and strengthen it.

The WPK was founded in October, 1945, that is less than two months after liberation. Since then, the WPK has successfully played a role of the organizer and guide of all victories for the DPRK people under the leadership of President Kim Il Sung.

After the country was liberated, President Kim Il Sung illuminated the road of Korean-style democracy which was different from those of the Soviet Union and the US. He enforced in succession the democratic reforms such as the agrarian reform, thus laying solid foundations for the nation building.

Under the leadership of President Kim Il Sung, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the first people’s democratic country in the Orient, was founded at last in September, 1948.

President Kim Il Sung founded the Korean People’s Army.

The young DPRK repelled armed attack of the imperialist allied forces under his wise leadership in the early 1950s, thus having a great influence on many countries in the world who were struggling for national independence.

President Kim Il Sung clarified the road to be covered permanently in developing the state.

The Juche idea is a political idea associated with President Kim Il Sung’s whole life. He chose a road to socialism, completely free from the Soviet control when the East and the West were divided into two camps and the world was driven into acute political and military confrontations. He adhered to a principled stand with the Juche idea as a guideline and held fast to the line of independence consistently.

Under his leadership, the DPRK led the cause of global independence, thus rendering great services to adding luster to the 20th century as the era of independence.

Independence in politics, self-sufficiency in the economy and self-reliance in national defence are the main ideas that decide the DPRK’s mode of development.

President Kim Il Sung opposed to join the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA), unlike other socialist countries, but chose a road of building an independent national economy.

When the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in the Eastern Europe collapsed one after another, the DPRK, upholding the banner of socialism, advanced invariably along the road it had chosen. It is totally ascribed to the line of independence put forward by President Kim Il Sung.

It is also President Kim Il Sung’s exploit that solid foundations were laid for the people’s well-being by establishing a people-centered socialist system. He regarded the people as masters and made everything serve them.

Under the leadership of President Kim Il Sung, the state provided the people with food, clothing and housing totally at its expense and enforced the free medical care system and free compulsory education system.

President Kim Il Sung also saw that the state constantly strengthened the socialist policies for the people. He abolished the tax system for the first time in the world.

President Kim Il Sung realized the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party and the people, thus giving eternal vitality to the people-centered socialism.

The DPRK still advances to consummate the cause of human emancipation, the socialist cause even under intricate international circumstances and situations.

President Kim Il Sung is the eternal leader of the era of independence.

He clarified the strategy for the cause of global independence and ways for its end. He said that the main target in this struggle was world imperialism and, in order to overthrow imperialism, all the anti-imperialist forces struggling for independence and social progress should be united firmly into one.

Let the world’s people advocating independence unite!, the slogan put forward by President Kim Il Sung, was a banner that gave a fresh leap forward to the struggle for the cause of global independence in the latter half of the 20th century.

The great exploit performed by President Kim Il Sung for the cause of global independence was successfully carried forward by Chairman Kim Jong Il, and now is further enriched by Kim Jong Un, President of the DPRK State Affairs.

Chairman Kim Jong Il put forward famous slogans Let us meet the requirements of Juche in ideology, technology and culture! and Let us live our own way!, and led the Korean revolution to the road of independence.

The victorious history of the DPRK which has always advanced upholding the banner of independence is continued under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, another outstanding leader.

Successive achievements made by the DPRK startle the world, and this is a precious product of the independent and revolutionary line and the victory of the WPK.

In the future, too, the DPRK will be more brilliant forever as a fortress of independence, an invincible power as it is led by Kim Jong Un who demonstrates to the world the dignity and might of Juche Korea holding aloft the banner of independence.

President Kim Il Sung is immortal in the hearts of mankind along with the era of independence.