During the Fatherland Liberation War (June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953), Kim Il Sung , then supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army, covered more than 20 000 kilometres on his inspection trips to the front.

This figure shows how many frontline units Kim Il Sung visited to open the path to the victory in the war by dint of his outstanding wisdom, singular strategy and tactics and unique warfare.

In August Juche 39 (1950), in the face of the sweeping advance of the KPA, the enemies were making desperate attempts to check the attack at any cost.

Seeing through the attempts with his far-sighted wisdom and scientific acumen, Kim Il Sung left for Kwangju, the southernmost area of the front, to take measures for a coast-defending unit and guide the work in the relevant area.

It was not until late on August 10 that he and his entourage approached Chungju. All of a sudden, a deep roar of enemy aircraft was heard.

He ordered his entourage to stop the cars and take shelter in the woods as quickly as possible.

After a moment, enemy aircraft swooped to drop bombs over the place where the cars had just stopped.

Shell fragments flew as close as where he sheltered.

When the coast was clear, aides asked him to refrain from setting out on such a dangerous travel.

He said that combatants at the front were waiting for them and that the day of victory would come earlier if they risked their lives to go to the front and inspire the field commanders and soldiers. Then he urged them to resume the trip to this end.

He went through such extremely risky moments until he got to Suanbo, where the front command was stationed. He guided an operational meeting there, and that night he left for Taejon and Jonju before arriving at the headquarters of the 26th coast-defending brigade in Kwangju City early on August 11.

No one imagined that he would visit the place where the enemy’s insidious moves were more serious.

Kim Il Sung told the field commanders much worried about his safety that he was there to take measures for strengthening coastal defence to cope with the future development of the front, and set forth detailed operational plans.

The enemies driven to a strip on the left bank of the Raktong River are making a last-ditch attempt to neutralize the attack by the KPA, bring their ranks back up and launch a large-scale offensive including coastal landing, he said, adding that it is needed to be fully poised to thwart the enemy attack at a single stroke.

Before leaving Kwangju, he expressed his will to defeat the US imperialist aggressors as early as possible and build the most powerful country in the world without fail, and said that was why he was always on risky inspection tours of the front and that was the road to victory.

Thus, thanks to his inspection trips to the front, the Juche-oriented military tactics could be worked out and the great victory brought earlier.

Yang Ryon Hui