Korea’s Shining Star

Andy Brooks at the embassy

By New Worker Correspondent

IN DEMOCRATIC Korea Kim Jong Il’s birthday has long been known as the Day of the Shining Star and throughout the world overseas Koreans, progressives and communists held their own events in honour of Kim Jong Il, who was born on 16^th February 1942 and died at his post on 17^th December 2011. In London a number of events were held over the past two weeks to commemorate the life and times of Kim Jong Il, culminating at a reception at the DPRK embassy last week.

New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks joined others in laying floral tributes in front of the portraits of the great leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the opening of the reception, which brought together communists, diplomats and many of those actively involved in solidarity with Democratic Korea in London and across the country.

Kim Jong Il’s entire life was devoted to serving the Korean people. Following Kim Il Sung’s footsteps, Kim Jong Il led the Workers Party of Korea into the 21^st century to build a strong and prosperous socialist republic. Kim Jong Il was a leading Marxist thinker who made an important contribution to the modern communist theory as well as an astute statesman who led the Korean people through thick and thin to overcome natural disasters, imperialist blockade and diplomatic isolation.

While ensuring the DPRK’s defence against the threats and provocations of US imperialism and its lackeys, Kim Jong Il worked tirelessly to ease tension on the Korean peninsula to pave the way towards the peaceful reunification of Korea.

Now the Korean people are racing ahead at a new fast speed of socialist construction, upholding the slogan put forward by the young leader, Kim Jong Un:  "Let us raise a fierce wind of making a fresh leap forward on all fronts of building a thriving country filled with confidence in victory!"

Down with oppression in south Korea!

Andy Brooks with other comrades at the picket

by New Worker correspondent

DESPITE sub-zero temperatures and a bit of snow Korean solidarity activists picketed the south Korean puppet embassy in London last week to denounce the suppression of a leading opposition party and the arrest of pro-reunification activists.

New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks joined comrades and friends from the Korean Friendship Association to protest at the banning of the Unified Progressive Party and demand the release of Ro Su Hui, the jailed veteran peace campaigner, and other south Korean political prisoners.

Dermot Hudson of the KFA opened the picket by condemning the repression of fascist puppet Park Geun Hye regime, which is dragging south Korea back to the era of the Yushin fascist dictatorship of her father Park Chung Hee. General Park came to power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled with an iron fist until he was assassinated by the head of his own intelligence service during a power struggle in 1979.

Dermot took the microphone to denounce the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party in south Korea, which is the third largest party in south Korea with elected representatives and a 100,000 members.

Picketers took turns in reading statements supporting the campaign while others gave out a new KFA info leaflet during the two-hour picket. One passer-by joined the KFA on the spot – showing activism and campaigning works.

 The picketers, fortified by hot soup, coffee and a little drop of Scotch, ended their protest at 5.30, vowing to return in the near future if the prisoners are not released.

The UK Korean Friendship Association (KFA) regularly organises solidarity meetings and protest pickets in London throughout the year. The KFA also works side by side with the Friends of Korea committee which also holds regular events in London.

The Shining Star of Korea

 by New Worker correspondent

Michael Chant speaking

FRIENDS of the Korean revolution marked the 73^rd anniversary of dear leader Kim Jong Il at the John Buckle Centre in London on Monday.

  Andy Brooks, the chair of the Friends of Korea committee that organised the meeting, welcomed everyone to the event to honour the memory of the Korean communist leader who died at his post in December 2011.

In his opening the New Communist Party leader said Kim Jong Il had made an immense contribution to the arts as well as the theory and practice of the world communist movement. This was followed by other tributes from Michael Chant of the RCPB (ML), Dermot Hudson of the Korean Friendship Association and  DPRK Ambassador Hyong Hak Bong

Kim Jong Il steered the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through the difficult times that followed the death of great leader Kim Il Sung in 1994.  He devoted his entire life to serving the Korean people in the cause of building a human-centred society, a cause that is espoused by the democratic and anti-imperialist forces the world over.

Following Kim Il Sung’s footsteps, Kim Jong Il led the Workers Party of Korea into the 21^st century to build a strong and prosperous democratic republic. Kim Jong Il was a leading Marxist thinker who made an important contribution to the modern communist theory as well as an astute statesman who led the Korean people through thick and thin to overcome natural disasters, the imperialist blockade and diplomatic isolation.

This was followed by a full-length DPRK film about the achievements of the Korean people under its new young leader, Kim Jong Un.

In Democratic Korea Kim Jong Il’s birthday has long been known as the Day of the Shining Star. This year it is being celebrated at a time when the Korean people are racing ahead at a new fast speed of socialist construction led by Kim Jong Un who is faithfully following the footsteps of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the helm of the Workers Party of Korea.

The Co-ordinating Committee of the Friends of Korea brings together all the major movements active in Korean friendship and solidarity work in Britain today. It is chaired by Andy Brooks and the secretary is Michael Chant. The committee organises meetings throughout the year, which are publicised by the supporting movements and on the Friends of Korea blog.

Dedicated to the Korean people

 

Dermot Hudson and Yu Kwang Song

By New Worker correspondent

NEW COMMUNIST Party leader Andy Brooks joined Juché supporters and Korean solidarity activists in paying tribute to the life-time achievements of dear leader Kim Jong Il at a solidarity meeting in London last weekend.

The meeting, at the Marchmont Centre in central London, was organised by the Juché Idea Study Group as part of a round of events in February to mark the birthday of Kim Jong Il who led Democratic Korea through the turbulent times that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.

Dermot Hudson opened the meeting, saying that Kim Jong Il was a true son of the people who was never apart from them and this was the theme that ran through all the contributions, which included a tribute from a member of the DPRK embassy in London.

Kim Jong Il said: “Reality is a fine school and the masses are teachers,” Dermot said pointing out that the whole raison d’etre of the Juché Idea is the people are the masters of everything and everything should be done for them.

            Andy Brooks spotlighted Kim Jong Il’s early work in the reborn Korean film industry and his efforts to raise the standards of proletarian culture in literature and the arts. Kim Jong Il also led the Workers Party of Korea’s efforts in developing the non-aligned movement and strengthening the international communist and workers’ movement.

Working side-by-side with great leader Kim Il Sung he then made significant contributions to the development of the Juché Idea. Kim Jong Il asserted that, in understanding the relationship between the Juché idea and Marxism-Leninism, the originality of the former should be viewed as fundamental in combination with its inheritance of the latter. 

            This was taken up by Shaun Pickford who spoke about the revolutionary activities of the new leader, Kim Jong Un, who is following the footsteps of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to face the challenges of the 21^st century.

Yu Kwang Song from the DPRK embassy said that Kim Jong Il is alive in the hearts and minds of the Korean people and the peoples of the world and the work started by the dear leader continues today. Comrade Yu denounced the slanders against the DPRK and the imperialists’ bogus “human rights” campaign against the DPRK and thanked the audience and all the friends of the Korean revolution in Britain for their efforts in setting the record straight.

The Korean comrade then took questions from the audience which developed into a wide ranging discussion which continued over refreshments until the session ended.