Pyongyang, February 16 (KCNA) — The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a speech at the inauguration ceremony of Saeppyol Street on Sunday.

The full text of his speech is as follows:

Present here today are the bereaved family members of the fallen soldiers and other combatants as well as the combatants of the regiment of the engineers, who have been dispatched to the overseas military operations.

We are also here together with the commanding officers of the Ministry of National Defence, officers and soldiers of the units at all levels of the Korean People’s Army, teaching staff and students of the revolutionary schools, and builders and Pyongyang citizens, who have been involved in the construction of Saeppyol Street.

Comrades,

The meaningful day has come when this street, to which the people across the country paid intense devotion and respect, has been completed to have its address in our capital city.

The new street has been built thanks to the ardent desire of our motherland that wishes that the precious lives of its excellent sons, who defended the most sacred things by sacrificing their most valuable things, will live forever. It is waiting for the moment when it will greet its honoured owners.

Thinking that my anxiousness would somewhat decrease if I brought this event even a day earlier, I have done my best and waited for this day to come. But now standing here, I rather feel sorry before feeling happy.

I once again extend the most ennobling respect to our proud martyrs, and, on behalf of the officers and soldiers of our army, Pyongyang citizens and all other people throughout the country, I offer consolation and thanks to all the bereaved family members of the fallen soldiers, the owners of this new street.

I also express deep thanks to the builders of the capital city, service personnel and officials and working people in the relevant sectors, who have wonderfully completed the street out of boundless respect for, and obligation to, our heroes.

Comrades,

Filled here is a solemn emotion that is quite different from what we felt whenever we saw the creations set up in various parts of the country.

The name Saeppyol Street has already been etched in all our hearts as a byword for the lives of the combatants, who sacrificed their all to their motherland so courageously to the last moments of their lives in the battlefields in a faraway alien land; this is something that others cannot perform throughout their life.

This is an emotive moment, when we record in the history of Pyongyang the most heroic era that embodies the strength of Korea, symbolizes the greatness of its people and has defended its sacred dignity and fame.

Saeppyol Street is a source of honour for our generation and a pride of Pyongyang and our state.

Dear bereaved family members of the martyrs,

With the construction of this street, the martyrs are now within hailing distance from the yards of their beloved families’ houses, and they can feel the warmth of their kith and kin, whom they missed so much in the faraway alien land.

This is where the martyrs could feel the breathing of their dear family members every moment of the day; I would be most pleased if you live happily here generation after generation, priding yourself on having such excellent sons, husbands and fathers.

The comrades-in-arms who fought bloody battles with the martyrs, the families that have placed their dear children and husbands at the posts of national defence and all other people in this country will feel happy about today’s inauguration; I believe that they sincerely hope the residents in the new street will lead a long and happy life here for the sake of the young martyrs.

Before their death, the heroic martyrs must have pictured in their mind’s eye their dear families living in the ever-prospering country; the Party and the government will take all necessary steps to ensure that these families lead a proud and worthwhile life while enjoying the preferential treatment by the state and the loving care of the whole society.

I hope that this street, a place where the ennobling souls rest and reverence from all over the country converges, will always brim over with joy and happiness.

I am sure that this is the way to repay those who passed away.

Comrades,

We have the national flag of our dignified Democratic People’s Republic of Korea hoisted on this street.

This is the flag which our combatants kept in their chests during bloody battles, and this is the one with which we covered the bodies of our admirable sons to bring them back to their motherland.

As the flag is shining its brilliance and fluttering in the wind, the martyrs’ ennobling soul and pulsating hearts will give impetus to the development of our capital city, beautiful and thriving Pyongyang, and add eternal honour to our great motherland.

The moment when we are cutting the ribbon for the inauguration of the new street will be recorded as a moment of everlasting glory to etch the martyrs’ names and images in history.

I pray for the immortality of our country’s admirable sons.

Thank you.