Korea on the Mersey!

by New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity campaigners returned to the Casa Bar in the heart of Liverpool’s university district last week to hear a report from Dermot Hudson about what he saw in the DPR Korea when he was there in April.
Peter Hendy from the Liverpool NCP introduced the meeting saying that “imperialist aggression towards the DPRK continues to intensify with an escalation of lies and threats, A new propaganda offensive has been unleashed to justify US military aggression...for over six decades The DPRK has been subjected To US military intimidation, provocations, threats and extensive sanctions to politically isolate and destroy the DPRK economy. The US war-mongers want to destroy the DPRK”.
Dermot Hudson then demolished false reports about the DPRK and Ukraine saying that “It is also necessary to comment on the wild stories being floated in the mainstream media about the troops of the Korean People’s Army being in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the DPRK have officially confirmed the despatch of KPA soldiers to Ukraine. Indeed DPRK vice-foreign minister Kim Jong Gyu on the 25^th October described it as a “rumour”.
He also denounced the visit of the new British Foreign Secretary Lammy to south Korea and the hostile policy of the British government towards People’s Korea. Dermot Hudson explained that the British authorities are joining hands with the US imperialists and south Korean puppets to overthrow the socialist system of the DPRK and also detailed the threats to the DPRK from US imperialism and the ROK puppet regime.
As to tales of " human rights violations " , the DPRK actually has a fairly minimal police presence compared to many other countries . The police only direct traffic. The situation seemed quite normal. That is the reality of People’s Korea , an advanced socialist society with free housing, free health care and free education. We must redouble our efforts to defend People’s Korea with No Ifs or Buts!”

Defend People’s Korea!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined protesters outside the BBC HQ in London on Tuesday calling for an end to the demonising of the DPR Korea by the state-owned broadcasting service. A letter of protest from the Korean Friendship Association to the Director-General and Management board of the BBC was handed to a member of the BBC staff.
Dermot Hudson, the Chair of KFA, said “we are here today to protest against the BBC’s persistent demonisation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or People’s Korea. No country -apart from maybe Russia and the former Soviet Union – has been lied about more by the BBC than the DPRK. Recently, the BBC or British Brainwashing Corporation has tried to blame the DPRK over the conflict in Ukraine making false allegations and quoted unconfirmed rumours and misleading reports.
“The BBC is an official state broadcaster. It is not independent but run by the British government. It is closely linked to British imperialism and US imperialism…
“The BBC promotes the ideology of market totalitarianism and liberal fascism. The BBC is a tool of the ruling elite and the big monopoly corporations. What is disgusting is that not only does the BBC lie about People’s Korea but it expects us to pay for its lies in the form of the BBC licence fee which is £169 per year”.

Korean solidarity in Bulgaria

by New Worker correspondent

Dermot Hudson, the chair of the UK Korean Friendship Association attended the European Regional Seminar on the Juche Idea on the theme of “Sovereignty, Independence and New International Relations” that was held on the 8th September at the Moskva Park hotel in Sofia, the capital of the former People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria of course was once a socialist country but sadly most traces of socialism have been eliminated by the new regime. The effects of the restoration of capitalism, such as people begging and closed down shops could be seen. Whilst the Metro is very cheap and surprisingly taxi fares as well, some of the prices in the shops looked not that different to the UK.
It had been originally intended to hold the seminar the Finnish capital of Helsinki but the reactionary Finnish authorities (these days puppets of US and world imperialism) refused to allow the entry of a delegation from the Korean Association of Social Scientists. The seminar was moved to Sofia which had previously hosted a similar event in 2019. 
The seminar was organised by the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juche Idea and hosted by the Bulgarian Group for the Study of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.
The seminar was presided by Prof Matteo Carbonelli secretary general of the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juche Idea (ERSSJI)  who welcomed the participants.
The seminar heard a detailed report of work of the ERSSJI by secretary general Matteo Carbonelli. There was discussion on improving the work of disseminating the Juche idea with suggestions about using simple short videos and graphic propaganda as well using Telegram.
Later the seminar was addressed by Pak Chol Jun, the vice-president of the Korean Association of Social Scientists, who expressed his conviction that the seminar would contribute to the cause of strengthening the struggle for a new independent world. Many delegates from Europe and across the rest of the globe spoke during the conference which also heard online contributions from Ogami Kenichi , the secretary general of the Institute for the Study of the Juche Idea in Japan, noted Russian academic specialist Prof Alexander Voronstov and Keith Bennett, the vice-director general of the ERSSJI.

US out of Korea!

By New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity activists were outside the US embassy in London on Saturday to demand an end to the American occupation of south Korea. London comrades, including NCP leader Andy Brooks, joined in the protest called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) in solidarity with the DPR Korea and all the Korean people campaigning to end the imperialist partition of their country. 
US imperialism and its south Korean lackeys attempted to invade Democratic Korea on 25th June 1950. Millions died in the war that ended with an armistice in 1953. But Korea remains partitioned with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ringed by the nuclear arsenals of US imperialism and facing tens of thousands of American troops based in the south of the divided peninsula.
Every year the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War is marked by the start of the month of solidarity with the Korean people. In Britain, and throughout the rest of the world, Korean solidarity campaigners meet to demand an end to the American occupation of south Korea and the reunification of the country that has been divided since the end of the Korean War.
“We are here today picketing the US embassy because a few days ago, on Tuesday 25th June, it was the 74th anniversary of the provocation of the Korean War which is known as the Fatherland Liberation War in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Dermot Hudson, the Chairman of the KFA. 
“The war was not a war between Koreans but between a small country, the DPRK, and the American empire. Indeed it was a war against Korea, against the Korean people.
“The US imperialists, the ringleader of world imperialism and international reactionaries, provoked a war in Korea on the 25th June 1950 by instigating their south Korean puppets to attack the young DPR Korea. The US imperialists were hungry for profits and conquest. The US imperialists fought an unjust, aggressive war against the Korean people. The US imperialists launched a war of conquest against the DPRK , a war to destroy the Juche-based people's democratic system in the DPRK as well as to destroy socialism in Asia and the world.
“We are here to defend the right of the DPRK to exist, to defend its independence, it is time to take a real stand and defend People's Korea from the threat of US aggression. The US is quite openly threatening the DPRK with annihilation, with being "eliminated" from the face of the globe.
“All the time, the US, even as we stand here, the US imperialists are planning regime change in People’s Korea and to overthrow the socialist system”.

Korean solidarity in Berlin

by New Worker correspondent

British members of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) joined German solidarity workers to discuss the life-time achievements of Democratic Korean leader Kim Jong Il, in Berlin last week. Korean solidarity activists from Germany and the rest of Europe met at the Kom Treff Centre in Berlin last week for a hybrid seminar held under the auspices of the European Regional Committee For Friendship with the Korean People and the Korean Friendship Association of Germany.
The meeting was presided over by KFA UK Chairman, Dermot Hudson, and Jeremy Bierenger Chairman of KFA Germany. Dermot Hudson introduced the meeting stressing that the recent visit of Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to the DPR Korea proves that Democratic Korea is at the centre of world politics. 
A recorded version of the keynote address of Christer Lundgren, the chairman of the Sweden-Korea Friendship Association was played at the meeting. He said, in part, that the “ideological and organizational work during Kim Jong Il’s first years in the Central Committee explains why the party, despite great difficulties, has stuck to its ideology and its revolutionary position and maintained its firm base among the working class and the people”.
Dermot Hudson said that “today the Workers’ Party of Korea shines as a Party of Juche , a party of independence and militant anti-imperialism with its own guiding idea, the Juche idea and a party which is not just a mass party in terms of numbers but has members from all walks of life. Today under the guidance of respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, the successor to comrade Kim Jong Il, the Workers Party of Korea continues the work of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il”.
Jeremy Biergener, the Chairman of KFA Germany said in his contribution that “today, Marshal Kim Jong Un is continuing the policy of Comrade Kim Jong Il. Foreigners who visited Pyongyang recently noted that the city has changed a lot. Under the leadership of Marshal Kim Jong Un, new roads the size of small towns have been built, as well as new subways and buses for the convenience of the people of Pyongyang. A new greenhouse was also built in which 1.800 people work and which supplies the population of the socialist capital with high-quality vegetables free of charge”
Sara Russo, Organisation Secretary of KFA Germany pointed out that “I speak for everyone here that we all appreciate his ambition and his hard work in the WPK to proceed to build the WPK as the party of Juche”.
The speech of the Chairman of the Denmark -DPRK Association was read out by Mathias Fantoni who said that “Comrade Kim Jong Il was a pioneer in many ways. He began working tirelessly in the WPK at the very young age of 22. Beforehand, he had excelled in the party and the youth league, as a strong revolutionary with great insight in theory and practical knowledge”.
Alejandro Cao De Benos, who joined the meeting online from Spain, said that the visit of Russian President Putin to the DPRK was highly significant and said “let us honour our Great Leader Kim Jong Il by reaffirming our commitment to the principles he championed. Let us continue to build a strong, prosperous, and independent Korea, guided by the
Juche ideology and inspired by his enduring legacy. As we look to the future, we draw strength from his example, knowing that the path he laid out will lead us to greater heights.
His spirit lives on in our hearts and our actions, propelling us forward in our pursuit of a brighter, more prosperous future.”

Eyewitness Korea

 

Alan Bolon and Dermot Hudson

by New Worker correspondent

The DPR Korea is marching along the road to socialism. That was the message of Dermot Hudson who has recently returned from a visit to north Korea and that was the main theme of his talk at a Korean Friendship Association (KFA) meeting in the central London last weekend.
Andy Brooks and Michael Chant, the leaders of the NCP and the RCPB (ML), were in the audience that included other KFA members in London and a guest from KFA Poland. The meeting was also livestreamed on the internet which attracted participation throughout the world.
Dermot Hudson said that the people’s government is carrying out massive construction work in the capital, Pyongyang and that he saw the newly built Hwasong Street neighbourhood that is about the same size as a London borough or a small city. He said that the DPR Korea is carrying out massive housing construction not under ideal conditions but under the pressure of sanctions and military threats. But there are no homeless or beggars in the DPRK – unlike other Asian countries under the thumb of imperialism.
Dermot also spoke about his recent trip to Germany at the invitation of KFA Germany – taking part in a May Day march in Kassel, visiting the DPRK embassy in Berlin as well as the Volkskammer restaurant and the Ernst Thalmann Memorial Centre in Hamburg that reflects on Germany's communist history.
The meeting also heard Alan Bolon from the West of England branch of the KFA give a talk on the Juche Idea using a flip chart with diagrams to illustrate different aspects of the ideology that is the foundation of Korean-style socialism.

Return to the Land of Juche Korea!

Dermot Hudson with the head of KASS

By Dermot Hudson

I visited the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK ) from the 11th to the 18th April. I was the first British citizen to visit the DPRK for five years .The last time I was in the DPRK was in October 2019. For several years it was not possible to travel to the DPRK because the border was closed at the end of January 2020 as a countermeasure against Covid 19 . Only recently has the DPRK started allowing groups of visitors into the country. Some anti-Covid 19 measures were apparent when we arrived such as staff spraying sanitiser onto our hands when we arrived in the hotel.
I travelled to People’s Korea  to join in the celebrations of the 112th  anniversary of the birth of President Kim Il Sung and take part in the international seminar on the Juche Idea  on the theme of  Independence, Justice and The Future of Humanity organised by the Korean Association of Social Scientists (KASS) and the International Institute of the Juche Idea. The seminar attracted delegations from more than 20 countries including Brazil, Britain, Germany and Russia. Some countries like Russia and Brazil sent more than one delegation. The fact that so many delegations travelled to Pyongyang  proved that it is a lie that the DPRK is isolated or that there is no support for the DPRK outside the country. Indeed the Juche Idea is attracting interest from around the world .
Arriving at the Air Koryo, the DPRK’s national airline, check in counter at Beijing Airport on the morning of the 11th April I ran into many veteran supporters of People’s Korea such as Martin Lotscher of KFA Switzerland and Javed Ansari from Pakistan as well as newer friends of People’s Korea such as Lucas Rubio of Brazil.
In the course of our stay in the DPRK we visited the Mangyongdae School-children's Palace , the Kangdong Greenhouse Vegetable Farm , the Natural History Museum at Pyongyang Central Zoo, the Tower of the Juche Idea , the National Gift Exhibition House, the Monument on Mansu Hill as well as the national art gallery, a circus and the stamp museum. We went to a concert at the Moranbong Theatre as well as participating in an international friendship gathering . Some of the delegates attended an excellent dinner hosted by the DPRK Committee For Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.
I arrived at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport on the afternoon of the 11th April and was met by my guide O Su Jin of the Korean Association of Social Scientists . We travelled by coach to the Pyongyang Koryo Hotel .  Sometimes it seemed hard to believe that I was really back in the DPRK , it seemed like everything was in a dream. Everywhere we went we encountered friendly people . People on the streets waved at our convoy and the hotel staff were very friendly.
During the visit I witnessed that the situation in the DPRK is calm and stable .The DPRK had closed its borders for four years but survived ,a truly amazing feat when you consider that some countries would only last weeks or even days with their borders closed . However the DPRK is based firmly on self-reliance and the independent national economy .

Koryo Hotel

  Despite the sanctions imposed by the US and its lackeys on the UN Security Council and the Covid pandemic the DPRK is carrying out massive construction work,  Chollima was a flying horse of legend in Korea and gave its name to the mass movement for increased productivity in the DPRK in the late 1950s. Now the DPRK it is going through another great Chollima upsurge.
A new neighbourhood called Hwasong Street has appeared in Pyongyang. On the day of our arrival our coach to the hotel passed through it and later in the visit we drove through Hwasong Street both during the day and at night . Hwasong Street looks very modern and of good quality .It would cost billions to build in a Western country but the DPRK gives homes to people free of charge . Whilst we were staying in the DPRK the second stage of Hwasong Street  was opened on the evening of the 16th April in the presence of Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of the DPRK. Also a new street is under construction in the Sopho district and was visible when we were going back to Pyongyang Airport on the 18th  April .
In fact, construction was going on all over Pyongyang . Opposite the Pyongyang Koryo Hotel there was a new block of flats under construction and several other blocks of flats under construction were visible in the near distance as well as in other parts of Pyongyang . I think that I can truly say  that although it was my 19th visit to the DPRK I had  never previously seen construction work on such a scale before. What is significant is that all this is being achieved without the so-called “aid” of imperialism or the south Korean puppets.
During the emergency situation that arose in the spring of 2022 when the south Korean puppets deliberately spread Covid 19 into the DPRK , the DPRK rejected “aid” from the south Korean puppet regime , the UN and the Americans. The Daily Worker, the newspaper of the Workers Party of Korea, later described the “aid” of imperialism as “poisoned candy”. The rapid development of People’s Korea by relying on its own resources and labour is destroying the myth that outside assistance, particularly from the Americans and other imperialists, is somehow essential for a country‘s development .
We visited the newly built Kangdong Greenhouse Vegetable Farm which was some 34 kilometres outside Pyongyang. It  had only gone into operation in March this year .It was opened on the 15th of March in the presence of the Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The farm had been built on the site of the former Mirim Airbase of the Korean People’s Army. One myth about People’s Korea created by the bourgeois media in the imperialist world is that resources are diverted away from civilians to the military but the construction of the Kangdong Greenhouse Vegetable Farm shows that in fact this is simply not true. The farm has an area of 100 square hectares with 8 types of greenhouses.
The farm has 1,800 workers. We were able to taste cucumbers produced by the farm . Significantly the Kangdong Greenhouse Vegetable Farm is not a co-operative farm but actually a state farm which means that it is owned by the whole people. The aim is to create a similar farm in each county or province of the DPRK. Vegetables from the farm were supplied free of charge to Pyongyang citizens. Also dwellings for the workers of the farm were given free of charge to the farm’s workers . It can be truly said that the DPRK is actually advancing towards the higher stage of socialism, communism . Probably the DPRK will be the first socialist country to reach the higher stage of communism.
In recent years a false narrative about the DPRK has been created by some sections of the mainstream media and by so-called “academic experts” on the DPRK who in reality know nothing at all about the DPRK. They say that the DPRK is adopting “market reforms” and abandoning Juche-based socialism – lies aimed at spreading disillusion and confusion amongst international supporters of People’s Korea .The fact that the DPRK is developing a network of state owned farms to supply vegetables to the population shows that the DPRK is actually strengthening the planned economy and system of state ownership.
Although there have been massive changes in the DPRK since the last time I visited, what remained unchanged was the DPRK ‘s consistent anti-imperialism and adherence to socialist principles. Red flags were flying on street corners and there were many revolutionary slogans in large Korean characters displayed across the capital. Postcards of anti-US posters could be found in the bookshop of the Pyongyang Koryo Hotel and the Korean Stamp Museum. A friend of mine who had been with me in the DPRK in 2017 and 2018 remarked that he had been worried about what he might find in the DPRK after an absence of six years but was quite relieved as well as positive when he saw that there had been no “reform” and “opening up” in the DPRK and there was a complete absence of Western influence .
Prices in the hotel shop were the same as in 2019.Needless to say there was no evidence to back the ludicrous claim on the rabidly anti-communist NK News  website about a “250 dollar banana" and my guide just laughed and said " ridiculous" when I told him the story .There were no homeless people and I saw no one begging. Housing is given to people free of charge. My guide told me that he had lived in Mirae Scientists Street with his parents but when he got married  he was given a new flat. The neighbourhoods were spotlessly clean with no litter. Unlike Western capitals there were no muggers, drug addicts, beggars, prostitutes on the streets. I was able to leave money in my hotel room and it was still there when I returned in the evening or afternoon.
As to tales of “human rights violations”, the DPRK actually has a fairly minimal police presence compared to many other countries. The police only direct traffic. The situation seemed quite normal, calm and peaceful.
I was able to make a speech at the seminar on the Juche Idea on the theme of “Independence , Justice and the future of Humanity “ ,which was held on the 15th of April .There were 10 speakers including DPRK social scientists as well as speakers from Russia , Mongolia,  Democratic Congo and the International Institute of the Juche Idea . In my speech I pointed out that “People’s Korea under the leadership of the  respected leader Marshal Kim Jong Un represents the future of humanity .Rapid advances such as the construction of new housing as well as the launch of the DPRK’s first ever military reconnaissance satellite are taking place one after the other . People’s Korea is a country without unemployment , without beggars and without drug addicts . It is a society free from the decadence of modern capitalism which is rotten to the core ”.
A follow up course was held on the 16th of April with lecturers from the Korean Association of Social Scientists. I was sad to leave the DPRK on the 18th of April but very glad that I went.
My thanks to the Korean Association of Social Scientists for the invitation and for their work in organising the visit, to my guide  O Su Jin, to the staff of the Pyongyang Koryo Hotel and to the DPRK Committee for Cultural Relations for the excellent dinner.
See you again Pyongyang!