August 25 is a day which has a significant bearing on the history and development of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and on the destiny of its people.
On this day in 1960, Chairman Kim Jong Il (1942-2011) visited the Seoul Ryu Kyong Su Guards 105th Tank Division of the Korean People’s Army. Looking round the division, he referred to the character, mission and traditions of struggle of the KPA and to the tasks for further strengthening the KPA politically and ideologically, militarily and technically.
While having a lunch with officials accompanying him and commanding officers of the division on a flat rock in the vicinity of the division headquarters, he said to them: I intend to pay close attention to perfecting the combat preparations of the KPA. If a country is to remain strong, its army must be strong. It is my determination to make ours a military power which no enemy would dare to provoke.
Scores of years have passed since then, but the day is still etched in the DPRK’s history as a significant day, when a new turn was made in the country’s effort to achieve the cherished national desire and make itself a power.
Earlier, as it had been getting weaker and weaker under the long-drawn-out feudal rule, Korea had suffered from constant aggression and threat from foreign countries. Because of the feudal rulers who, given to worship of big powers, had not even bothered to build up the country’s might, the Korean nation ended up losing its sovereignty to the Japanese imperialists in the early 20th century and having to live as slaves for over 40 years. While suffering from bitter colonial slavery, the Korean people had come to cherish a desire of possessing powerful national might which would permit no one to look down on them.
By having led the country’s overall military affairs for scores of years since the historic day, Kim Jong Il put his solemn declaration that day into reality.
In his effort to turn the country into a military power, he directed primary attention to perfecting the political and ideological preparedness of the KPA. A rifle that is held by an army devoid of staunch ideology is even more useless than a stick–this was his theory on the might of ideology.
He ensured that a well-knit ideological education system was established across the KPA and led its political organs to train all the service personnel into persons with great spiritual strength who were ready to risk their lives in fighting for their country, their fellow people and their socialist system. On several occasions after the mid-1990s the world witnessed in wonder how strong the KPA soldiers were in loyalty to their leader and country and in the spirit of serving the people.
Kim Jong Il energetically led the effort to consolidate the country’s self-reliant defence capabilities, thus developing the KPA into an invincible army equipped with modern military hardware. He saw to it that the KPA possessed original tactics and art of war and conducted combat training in the atmosphere of a real battle so as to train all the service personnel to be versatile combatants well prepared militarily and technically. The KPA has won one victory after another in the fierce military confrontation with the United States over the past dozens of years. The fundamental factor for this is that Kim Jong Il consistently led the effort for building up formidable national might.
August 25 is also significant in that it was a day, which led the DPRK to hold fast to self-reliant defence as a keynote of policy and channel steady efforts into cementing its military strength, thereby laying a firm foundation for building a powerful socialist nation.
Even in the latter half of the 1990s, which was known as the most arduous period for the DPRK, Kim Jong Il invariably held up the banner of building up the military strength so as to safeguard the dignity of the country and nation and socialism. Thanks to his wise leadership, the country could possess a powerful war deterrent and defend the peace and security of the region.
Professing to be the “military police” of the world, the United States, the world’s largest nuclear-armed country, has, up until now, coerced other countries into serving its own selfish interests and sought military hegemony. It has also wilfully resorted to military intervention across the world.
But, as the DPRK possessed a formidable war deterrent under the leadership of Kim Jong Il, the United States had to reconsider its favourite option on the Korean peninsula. The DPRK’s possession of huge military might has served as a main factor enabling peaceful environment to be defended and maintained on the Korean peninsula which is the hottest spot in the world.
With the environment for independent and peaceful development created on the strength of tremendous military might, the country could further consolidate its self-sufficient economy and finally open up a wide avenue for building a powerful socialist nation.
Under the guidance of Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, who carries forward the ideas and leadership of Kim Jong Il, the country has raised its national might and prestige to the highest possible level and brought about epochal changes in all fields of state building. The military parade held on July 27 this year to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the Korean war was another occasion that provided a glimpse into what level the DPRK’s military might had been raised to.
As long as it celebrates August 25 as a significant day in its history, the DPRK is sure to continue to win victory after victory.