Kim Chang Gyong

Section Chief of KASS

Respected delegates,

Dear friends,

I would like to warmly welcome all of you who participate in the international seminar on “Independence, Sovereignty and Social Development”.

Today the DPRK people celebrate splendidly the 75th founding anniversary of the glorious DPRK.

75 years are not a long period in history of a country or a nation. However, dramatic changes were brought about in the comprehensive national power of our country and the destiny of our people during this period.

Independent, self-sufficient and self-defensive powerful country with practical strength that enables to guarantee eternal peace and happiness of the people and translates all their dreams and ideals into reality—this is a great picture of Juche Korea that is now greeting its 75th birthday.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said.

“The Juche character is the nature of socialism, and independence in politics, self-sufficiency in the economy and self-reliance in national defence are the road to achieving the eternal victory and prosperity of socialism of our style.”

75 years of our Republic are a brilliant history in which it has firmly enforced the independent politics.

Independent politics enables to safeguard national independence and sovereignty of one’s people and defend their interests by relying on their strength.

Independent politics is the first criterion and life and soul of an independent sovereign state. Every nation can secure sovereignty and freedom and achieve happiness and prosperity only when they realize an independent politics.

President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il regarded the independent politics as their firm political creed and led our people’s struggle to victory with the thoroughgoing independent politics during the whole period of leading the revolution.

The Korean revolution started and led by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il was carried out under the acute confrontation and struggle that decided whether independence or subjugation from the beginning. However, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il neither abandoned nor made any concession to the independent stand.

Thanks to the steadfast independent politics of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il who solved all problems thoroughly centring on the Korean revolution, arduous and complicated social reforms were successively carried out in accordance with aspiration of our people and concrete realities of our country, our Republic could exercise its right to speak and influence in the international arena and every step of imperialist blockade and stifling was frustrated.

In his first open address made at the military parade held in celebration of the centenary of the birth of Kim Il Sung, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un solemnly declared home and abroad his firm decision and steadfast will to advance along the road of independence, the road of socialism paved by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

It is a brilliant fruition of the independent politics that the Republic frustrates sanctions and pressure by the US and other hostile forces, defends its dignity and honour and makes comprehensive development of socialism.

Through the stirring events, the world witnesses clearly the essence and might of the independent politics of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un who is not moved by any stresses or storms.

75 years of our Republic are also a brilliant history in which it has consistently adhered to the line of building an independent national economy.

An independent national economy is an economy which is not subordinated to others but stands on its own feet, an economy which serves one’s own people and develops on the strength of one’s own resources and by the efforts of one’s own people.

Building an independent national economy arises as a vital issue for the countries which were lagged behind economically and technically owing to the imperialist colonial rule in the past. Of course, it is not easy for those countries to build an independent national economy. But if they don’t build an independent national economy because it takes them much labour, they cannot free themselves forever from the position of being lagged behind but live on by asking for others’ help all the time.

In order to build an independent national economy, it is necessary to maintain the principle of self-reliance in economic construction. Self-reliance is a revolutionary spirit and a principle of struggle to accomplish the revolution by one’s own efforts. Only by mobilizing strength of one’s people and one’s own natural resources and only by relying on one’s own funds and technology, is it possible to develop the economy positively at a high speed and overcome all difficulties to achieve prosperity of one’s country.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un elucidated at the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea that the main seed and theme of the new five-year plan for the national economic development are, as always, self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

Today our people push ahead the building of a powerful socialist country upholding the banner of self-reliance.

To develop an economy in a multifarious and comprehensive way arises as an important issue in building an independent national economy.

In the mid-1950s modern revisionists maneuvered to subordinate socialist countries economically while acting arbitrarily in the world socialist movement. Speaking ill of our Party’s basic line of socialist economic construction, they said that it was too early and not profitable for our country to produce modern machines and therefore, it would be advisable for it to produce only raw materials and import machines from them to use.

If it had done as said by the modern revisionists, our country could not have been free itself from the past position of being lagged behind and built an independent national economy but would have handed over only empty caves to the posterities.

After all, it was a fatal issue of weighty importance that decides whether self-reliance or dependence, independence or subordination.

That is why our Republic resolutely frustrated the modern revisionists’ maneuvers and firmly held fast to the basic line of socialist economic construction of giving priority to the development of heavy industry and developing light industry and agriculture simultaneously. As a result, our Republic could continue the road of its development even when the Soviet Union and the East European socialist countries collapsed.

It is impossible to think about an independent national economy without the economy that relies on its own raw materials and fuel. Fully mobilizing and utilizing its own natural resources, our country has developed the industry into the one which relies on its own raw materials and fuel from the outset.

Monumental edifices were erected at a surprising speed every year and numerous grand constructions unfolded on a wide scale in our country in recent years. This is a clear proof of big potentials of our independent national economy.

No force can change the road along which our country advances with self-reliance or stifle its economy. Development prospect of our country is very bright as it has the independent national economy.

The road of building an independent national economy—this is only the most correct road which enables to achieve prosperity free from all economic domination and subordination.

75 years of our Republic are also a brilliant history in which it has built the self-reliant national defence capabilities and strengthened them.

Self-reliance in national defence means to defend one’s country with one’s own strength. In other words, it means to build up powerful national defence capabilities that are able to defend oneself and solve all problems arising in defence building and military activities independently with one’s own efforts.

Carving out the people’s destiny is an acute struggle which is accompanied by confrontation of strength with imperialists. The imperialists’ nature to stifle other countries and nations and dominate the world gets more naked today.

Today when the logic of power is predominant, one cannot but shed tears if one is weak. It is a serious lesson drawn from history and reality that one is destined to be in a miserable fate if one has no strength and capability to defend oneself.

During the whole historical period from its founding up to now, our Republic has made positive efforts to firmly maintain the principle of self-reliance in national defence and build up military capabilities of the country.

Strengthening the army is the main in building up self-defence capabilities.

Our Party put forward the Juche-oriented idea of building the army and brilliantly realized it, thus strengthening and developing the Korean People’s Army into invincible revolutionary armed forces that defend the cause of the Party, the cause of socialism. As a result, the KPA has grown into a-match-for-a-hundred revolutionary armed forces that are fully prepared politically and ideologically, militarily and technically and into a true people’s revolutionary armed forces that defend their freedom and happiness.

Establishing the all-people and nationwide defence system is of an important significance in building up self-defence capabilities.

Kim Il Sung put forward a militant slogan Rifle in one hand and hammer or sickle in the other! at the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 4th Party Central Committee in December 1962. The slogan clearly symbolizes arming the entire people in our country.

Thanks to our Party’s policy of fortifying the whole country, fronts and coasts and all other regions and areas of our county are fortified in keeping with demand of a modern warfare and their topographical conditions.

Defence industry is a material guarantee for self-defence capabilities. Our Party regarded it as an important issue related to rise and fall of the country and nation to put development of the national defence industry on an independent and modern basis and put big stress on it.

The country, which was forced to suffer from a fate of colonial slavery as it had not even matchlocks enough when aggressors invaded it with guns and warships, now demonstrates its dignity as a bulwark of independence and justice and an invincible fortress of socialism as it has the self-defence capabilities based on a powerful defence industry.

Military parades held on February 8, 2023 in celebration of the 75th founding anniversary of the KPA and on July 27, 2023 in celebration of the 70th anniversary of victory in the Fatherland Liberation War fully demonstrated the strength of the most powerful revolutionary armed forces that can completely control and frustrate the outrageous oppression of imperialism.

Our style of socialism advances with victory and the future of the Korean nation is rosy and bright as it is guaranteed by its self-defence capabilities.

It is the truth proved by the 75-year history of our Republic that, if it is led by a great leader, a country can be a world power brilliant with independence, self-sufficiency and self-defence though it is small in population and territory and was lagged behind in the past.

Our Republic advances under the banner of independence, self-sufficiency and self-defence with the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un in high esteem. The world will witness how our Republic will realize the independent ideal and happiness of the people in the near future.