A Red Salute to Kim Jong Il!

Andy Brooks talking about Juche

By New Worker correspondent

FRIENDS of Democratic Korea returned to the Marchmont Centre in central London last weekend to mark the 1^st anniversary of the passing of dear leader Kim Jong Il called by the Juché societies in Britain, electrified by the news that the DPRK had successfully put a satellite into Earth orbit.

 The achievement of Democratic Korea’s independent space programme was a fitting tribute to the memory of Kim Jong Il and the new leadership around his successor, Kim Jong Un. And that was a point stressed by all four speakers at the meeting on Saturday organised by the Juché Idea Study Group and the Association for the Study of Songun Politics.

 But first of all everyone stood to observe two minutes’ silence in memory of Kim Jong Il. A screening of Korea Changing Sorrow into Strength and Courage was followed by thoughtful contributions from Dermot Hudson and Shaun Pickford from the Juché society on the life of Kim Jong Il.

 Dr Hugh Goodacre, a lecturer at the University of London, opened discussion on the meaning of Juché that was taken up by New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks in his own contribution to the discussion. Brooks stressed the importance of independence and self-reliance in the philosophy of Kimilsungism and the Juché Idea.

 The general secretary of the NCP said that the DPRK and the Workers Party of Korea were under attack by right-wing and bogus “left-wing” revisionists as well as the bourgeois pundits who never even bothered to read what Kim Jong Il actually said. If they had they would see that Kim Jong Il had made an immense contribution to Marxist-Leninist theory and ideology.

 “In his 1982 work On the Juche Idea, Kim Jong Il brought together and systematised the Juché theory while his 1994 thesis Socialism is a Science affirmed that socialism would eventually become the economic system of the entire world because it is the only form of society in which people can be truly free,” Andy Brooks declared.

 All these points were triggers for a lively discussion amongst the activists and supporters of Korean-style socialism which could have continued well into the evening. But sadly time ran out leaving  just enough  to end  with the enthusiastic adoption by acclaim of a solidarity message to Kim Jong Un, the new leader of the Party and People of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Remembering Kim Jong Il

By New Worker correspondent

FRIENDS of Korea met in London last weekend to pay tribute to the memory of dear leader Kim Jong Il, the leader of the Workers’ Party of Korea who died on 17^th December 2011.

 Though a solemn occasion it was also a celebration of the achievements of Kim Jong Il and the people of Democratic Korea under his leadership. And this was vividly shown in the north Korean film screened at the meeting at the Marchmont Centre in Bloomsbury on Saturday.

 The film, a documentary covering the funeral of the Korean leader also showed how the Korean workers have turned their grief into action to carry on the work under their new leader Kim Jong Un.

 During the formal part of the meeting tributes were paid to Kim Jong Il’s work from Michael Chant of the RCPB (ML), Dermot Hudson of the Juché Idea Study Group and NCP leader Andy Brooks and a message was read out from John McLeod of the Socialist Labour Party, who unfortunately could not come in person.

  The meeting was organised by the Co-ordinating Committee of the Friends of Korea, which brings together all the major movements active in Korean friendship work in Britain today.  It is chaired by Andy Brooks and the secretary is Michael Chant.

 The committee consists of the New Communist Party of Britain, Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (ML), Socialist Labour Party, European Regional Society for the Study of the Juché Idea and the UK Korean Friendship Association.

 Meetings are open to all friends of the Korean revolution and the committee organises events throughout the year in London, which are listed by the supporting movements and on the Friends of Korea blog.

the meeting agreed unanimously to send the following message:

Co-ordinating Committee of Friends of Korea

c/o 170 Wandsworth Road, London SW8 2LA.

December 8, 2012 (Juche 101)

The Dear Respected Marshal Kim Jong Un,

First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea,

First Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission,

Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army

Dear Comrade Kim Jong Un

This meeting convened by the Committee in Britain to Commemorate the Passing of Kim Jong Il sends its deepest respects to you personally and through you to the Workers’ Party of Korea and the entire Korean people on the occasion of the first anniversary of the passing away of Comrade Kim Jong Il on December 17, 2011.

We express the sentiment of progressive opinion to stand as one in friendship and solidarity with the Korean people. Above all, we take it as our duty to defend the right of the Korean people to follow their own chosen nation-building path, free from outside interference. This is a course from which no hostile force can divert the Korean people and its leadership, and which contributes to the aspirations of peace-loving people everywhere for a new world free from imperialism, domination, subjugation, aggression and war.

The common cause of the people is that of the defence of independence and sovereignty of peoples and nations, and our common conviction is that humanity will achieve a world where the people are the masters of their own destiny. This is what Comrade Kim Jong Il devoted his entire life to until his last breath, and we have the utmost confidence that this is the path of leadership that you yourself have unswervingly taken up. The legacy of Comrades Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung in bringing into being a world without war and where the people face a bright future will forever remain undimmed.

May we wish you on this occasion good health and long life, and assure you that we stand shoulder to shoulder with you in building a new world of peace, independence and socialism.

Michael Chant (Secretary)

On behalf of The Participating Organisations of Friends of Korea

Democratic Korea successfully launches a satellite into space!