For Independence, Friendship and Peace

A decade has passed since Kim Jong Il, great leader of the Korean people and peerless veteran statesman, passed away in December 2011.

In his political career spanning over half a century, Kim Jong Il held high the banner of anti-imperialist independence and conducted energetic external activities for the victory in socialist cause, peace and stability of the world, and friendship and solidarity between the world people, thus rendering an immortal contribution to accomplishing the cause of global independence.

Following the end of the Cold War in the late 20th century, mankind hoped for a peaceful world, but the imperialist forces infringed upon the sovereignty and dignity of many countries across the world.

Above all, they resorted to every conceivable means and method to stamp out socialism ideologically and physically.

At this critical juncture, Kim Jong Il made public immortal works, such as The Historical Lesson in Building Socialism and the General Line of Our Party (January 3, 1992), Abuses of Socialism Are Intolerable (March 1, 1993), and Socialism Is a Science (November 1, 1994), which proved the validity, truthfulness and scientific accuracy of the idea of socialism.

When the Pyongyang Declaration, titled, Let Us Defend and Advance the Cause of Socialism, was adopted in April 1992, the world highly praised him as the saviour and defender of the socialist movement and the sun of the world revolution.

Kim Jong Il ensured that the DPRK developed friendly and cooperative relations with all the foreign countries that respected its sovereignty and were friendly to it.

He visited the People’s Republic of China on several occasions until 2011 to further consolidate and develop the DPRK-China friendship. His visits promoted mutual understanding and trust, friendship and cooperation between the two parties and the two countries and greatly encouraged their joint struggle to defend peace in Northeast Asia and the rest of the world.

He wisely led the effort to improve the DPRK-Russia relations in the interests of both sides and in favour of the implementation of the cause of global independence.

The Russian President’s visit to the DPRK in July 2000 wrote a new chapter in the history of the DPRK-Russia friendship, and the DPRK leader’s visits to the Russian Federation raised the bilateral friendly relations onto a new high.

Kim Jong Il conducted adroit diplomatic activities to foil the hard-line policy of the imperialist reactionaries, safeguard the sovereignty and dignity of the country and the nation, and establish independent and democratic international relations.

Under his leadership diplomatic offensives to smash the imperialists’ clamours about “suspicions of underground nuclear facilities” and “missile threat” were successfully waged, thus striking a heavy blow at their high-handed manoeuvres, sanctions and pressure. And the DPRK-Japan Pyongyang Declaration adopted in September 2002 was the brilliant achievement made in the DPRK’s diplomacy towards Japan to crush its machinations to follow the policy of the imperialist forces.

Kim Jong Il ensured that the DPRK developed the relations with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the Western countries.

He met the high-level delegation from the European Union that visited the DPRK in May 2001 and gave principled, logical and clear answers to the issues arising in promoting relations between the DPRK and the EU and other international affairs.

Foreign statesmen, including the President of the European Council, expressed their admiration for the DPRK leader, who, endowed with extraordinary wisdom and wide knowledge, gave clear-cut and detailed solutions to complicated international political affairs and conducted brisk external activities.

Even to this day the progressive peoples of the world highly praise Kim Jong Il as a defender of socialism, justice and peace, as he made the DPRK a bulwark in defending socialism and peace and led mankind along the road to independence.