A People-bound Train

Chairman Kim Jong Il was on an endless journey of field guidance for the good of his people, regarding the idea of “The people are my God” as his lifetime motto.

Saying that if he makes a stop in his stride even for a moment the advance of the country would get slow that much, he made a ceaseless guidance trip, an intense forced march transcending the physical limit.

In January Juche 87 (1998), he inspected Jagang Province in the northwestern part of the country. On his arrival in Kanggye City early in the morning by train, he looked round over ten small-and medium-sized power stations, factories, enterprises and villages until late at night. That night, officials asked him to refrain from overworking himself as he toured hundreds of kilometres of snow-covered road. Then, he said with a broad smile on his face that he was very happy and in high spirits, instead of getting tired, at the sight of people who were benefited from electrification.

On the road of guidance trip for the improvement of the people’s living standards, he visited many units in the daytime and greeted a new day on the moving train, working in a coach throughout the night.

Saying that his guerrilla-style forced march for the wellbeing of people would go on in the future, that he finds his pleasure and happiness in the people’s pleasure and happiness, and that he desires nothing when the people live well off in delight, he continued his guidance trips in December Juche 100 (2011), the last days of his life.

He visited several units of South Hamgyong Province, including the water supply settling pond of the February 8 Vinalon Complex, a branch factory of the Ryongsong Machine Complex, the Hamhung Knitwear Factory, the Hungnam Leather Shoes Factory, and the Hana Music Information Centre and the Kwangbok Area Supermarket in Pyongyang.

During his visit to the Kwangbok Area Supermarket, he said: Today is cold, but my heart gets warm to see the supermarket filled with commodities. I feel my greatest happiness when I have done something for the good of people. I find my happiness and pleasure in those of the people.

At night on December 16, he took measures related to the improvement of the people’s living and took a train for his field guidance trip. On December 17, he breathed his last on the moving train.

The total length of his guidance trips he made during the whole period of his revolutionary leadership amounts to over 669 844 km, the distance equal to 17 rounds of the earth.