By Dermot Hudson
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| Dermot Hudson, Jose Blazquez and Alex Meads |
A Korean Friendship Association (KFA)
delegation consisting of Dermot Hudson, Alex Meads and Jose Blazquez visited
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) last month to take part in the
5th International Festival in Praise of the Great Persons born of Mt
Paektu. It was my 14th visit to the DPRK, the third for Alex and the first time
ever for Jose.
Our delegation
landed in Pyongyang on 11th August. We were greeted at the airport
by comrade Ham Sung Jin, who is secretary general of the Korean Committee for
Friendship with the British People.
The splendid 47
storey Yangkaddo Hotel, where we stayed, is on an island on the River Taedong
in Pyongyang. My room had a great view of the capital, including the Juche Idea
Tower. I could also see the Koryo Hotel in in which I had stayed many times.
Comrade Ham made a
short speech on the coach on the way to Pyongyang, saying that we had come at a
very difficult time, a time of very acute tension. Only days before we
travelled the increasingly deranged and idiotic buffoon who occupies the
position of US president talked of unleashing "fire and fury" against
People's Korea; this followed the imposition of severe sanctions by the United
Nations (UN) Security Council, a corrupt and venal body entirely controlled by
US imperialism and the big powers.
The Yankee
imperialists had been stunned by the Hwasong-14 ballistic missile tests in July
– the DPRK has emerged as a socialist nuclear power. In their death-throes the
US imperialists are resorting to desperate and reckless moves to try to prevent
the emergence of a nuclear DPRK and to stifle to socialist system of the
country. It is a fact that when the US and the south Korean puppet government
talk about the de-nuclearisation of the DPRK they really mean breaking up the
socialist system of the country. The US defence secretary even talks about the
"destruction of the people" of the DPRK.
The DPRK has not
taken these threats laying down. The Korean People's Army declared that they
would submit a plan for a missile strike on the US-occupied Pacific island of
Guam. On the 15th August, whilst we were staying in the DPRK, Korean leader Kim
Jong Un warned that if the US persisted in its foolhardy and reckless
provocations then the strike plan will be carried out.
The people in the
DPRK are not cowed or intimidated by the US imperialist threats, they are going
about their business quite normally and calmly. Indeed, when I attended the
dinner on the last night the idea of war seemed quite surreal and far off; the
Korean people, however, have a heightened anti-US, anti-imperialist spirit.
Two days before we
arrived there was a massive rally against the UN Security Council sanctions.
New anti-US posters have gone up in the streets of Pyongyang. We also saw
members of the Red Young Guards marching with red flags and placards that
called for smashing the 'secret warfare' and 'regime change' plans of the US
imperialists. This was a deeply inspiring sight because it showed the revolutionary
and militant nature of People's Korea guided by the great Juche idea. No other
country in the world is so strong in anti-imperialist spirit and revolutionary
ardour!
Holding the
Festival was in itself a blow against US imperialism. Some 300 delegates from
all over the globe had braved threats of war by US imperialism to come to the
land of Juche. In fact there were so many countries that it was hard to list
them all.
One imperialist
lie is that the DPRK is isolated but there were so many overseas delegates in
Pyongyang including a former Nepalese premier, and representatives of the World
Peace Council and the Organisation for Solidarity with Asian, African and Latin
American Peoples (OSPAAL).
The KFA was
represented by delegations from Britain, Spain, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia,
Switzerland, Thailand and Ireland. There was a great buzz meeting all sorts of
different people.
Undoubtedly the
high point of the trip was going up Mt Paektu, the sacred mountain of the
Korean revolution and spiritual birthplace of the great Korean nation. Although
I had visited the DPRK over 10 times I had never been to Mt Paektu. We
travelled to the far northeastern part of the DPRK by Air Koryo, my first time
on a DPRK domestic flight. Our plane landed at the charming Samjiyon airport.
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| Mt Paektu |
The scenery was
breathtaking, awe inspiring and like nothing I had seen before. What is
incredible is that we drove through thick forest for over an hour. This shows
that the DPRK takes care of the environment. The air in the area around Mt Paektu
and Samjiyon is even purer and cleaner than in Pyongyang. I would love to live
in this area, I know that I would feel very healthy and live long.
Samjiyon, in the
north of the DPRK, is very clean, neat and tidy,. Here people looked just as
well as in Pyongyang and had mobile phones. There was no sign of poverty or
destitution. Friendly people waved to us. We saw new buildings under
construction there.
We went first to
the Samjiyon Grand Monument. A truly remarkable place that shows the great
exploits of the great leader Kim Il Sung in leading the anti-Japanese armed
struggle to victory. I had seen pictures of this place in books but never
visited it before.
We were
accommodated in the Pegabong hotel where we were treated to an excellent open
air performance by the local school children.; the educational level of the
children here is the same as Pyongyang. I had heard some negative reports about
the Pegabong Hotel but it was warm, well run, and had hot water and electricity
all night.
On the morning of
Monday 14th August we woke up early and left the hotel by 6am to go
to Mt Paektu by bus. Mt Paetku is 2,700 metres above sea level.
The buses ascended
the steep road to the peak, we got out where it was no longer possible for the
bus to travel. You have to see Mt Paektu in reality not just read about it. The
scenery is simply breathtaking! I had been up mountains in Scotland but Mt
Paektu was really different to these. We could look down and see Lake Chon, a
volcanic lake that had clear blue water.
We held a rally on
the mountain with both speeches and poems; there were speakers from Guinea,
Pakistan and Peru. The meeting adopted the Paektusan declaration and we then
marched down the mountain with a banner.
The adoption of
the Mt Paektu declaration was highly significant. The spirit of Mt Paektu is
the spirit of independence, Juche and self-reliance that permeates the whole of
the DPRK. It is this spirit that is enabling the Korean people to smash the
American-led sanctions regime. It is worth adding here that we saw no effect of
sanctions on the DPRK – new buildings are rising and I could hear construction
work going on outside my hotel all night. The DPRK seems to become more
self-reliant each day, for example canned iced coffee is a popular drink in the
DPRK, previously this had been imported or produced under licence in the DPRK
but now the DPRK is producing its own cans of iced coffee.
We also visited
the Secret Camp on Mt Paektu that is the birthplace of the dear leader Kim Jong
Il and was the headquarters of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA). A
red flag was proudly flying from the log cabin that had been the guerilla HQ
during the struggle against Japanese colonialism.
The scenery here
is just as breathtaking as on Mt Paektu. We could see Jong Il Peak rising in
the distance with sheer incredible majesty. There were clear streams that were
refreshing to look at and it was tempting to drink their water.
On 15th
August a conference was held at the People's Palace of Culture, attended by
leading figures of the people’s government such as Kim Yong Nam, Kim Ki Man and
Ri Su Gyong. The chairwoman of the Korean Committee for Cultural Relations
presided over the gathering, with keynote speeches made by Peter Woods from
Australia and Madhav Kumar, a leading Nepalese communist and former prime
minister of Nepal.
On Wednesday our
delegation participated in the international Solidarity meeting with the Korean
People, which was presided over by a leading official of the World Peace
Council. A representative of OSPAAL addressed the meeting and I also spoke.
We were able to
witness first hand the pain of the division of Korea caused by brutish US
imperialism at Panmunjom, where the US admitted its defeat in Korea and signed
the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953. We also saw for ourselves material on
captured American and south Korean spies.
At Panmunjom we
saw the monument to the signature of President Kim Il Sung on the document for
national reunification. Had Kim Il Sung’s proposals for national reunification
been accepted by south Korea and US troops withdrawn, Korea would have been
reunified long ago.
We also travelled
to Mt Myohyang to see the International Friendship Exhibition. Travelling to
different parts of the DPRK by road we saw lush fields of crops. The
imperialists claim that the DPRK was affected by drought and that there would
even be massive famine. During our visit, however, it rained several times and
we were told that the effects of the drought had been overcome.
Another lie was
proved false during our visit. Wikipedia claims that the DPRK has a 10-year
term of compulsory military service – in reality it is usually 3 years, and
there is no conscription because everyone wants to join the Army to defend the
country. So there is no shortage of recruits and no need for conscription.
We also learned
another interesting fact. In the DPRK a mobile phone costs only the equivalent
of 24p for three months with 200 minutes of calls per month. This is incredible
when you compare it to the high costs of mobiles in Britain. Most people in the
DPRK have mobile phones. It is a true people’s paradise.
In Pyongyang our
delegation was able to enjoy an excellent performance by the Samjiyon band at
the majestic East Pyongyang Grand Theatre, and visited the splendid Manyondae
Children’s Palace and the Fatherland Liberation War Museum.
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| the streets of Pyongyang |
We paid our
respects to the great leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at the mausoleum in
the Kumsusan Palace and visited the birthplace of Kim Il Sung at
Mangyondae. Our delegation and the Swiss
delegation had an excellent meeting with our comrades in the Anti-Imperialist
National Democratic Front of south Korea (AINDF). The chief of the Pyongyang
Mission of the AINDF explained the struggle for reunification in south Korea
and demolished any illusions about the so-called 'liberal' government in the
occupied south of the country.
I also attended a
function organised by the Korean Association of Social Scientists (KASS) held
at Okryu restaurant. The food was excellent and the staff were very helpful.
The next day I had a separate meeting with KASS professor Kim Chang Gyong.
We took part in
many state functions and events, including a meeting with Kim Yong Nam, Chair
of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly. For me, most memorable was the
impromptu dinner and karaoke session organised by the Cultural Relations
Committee. I amazed myself by participating in the karaoke after a beautiful
waitress took my hand and led me on to the stage. I was greatly honoured to
receive the Order of Friendship Second Class and also to win a prize in the
International Literary contest.
Such a great
atmosphere it was sad to leave
