Day of the Shining Star in London

by New Worker correspondent

Andy Brooks remembers Kim Jong Il

Comrades and friends met in London last weekend to celebrate the birthday of Democratic Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who died at his post on 17th December 2011.

Kim Jong Il steered the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) 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 democratic and anti-imperialist forces the world over.

Called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA), the meeting was opened by Dermot Hudson who spoke about Kim Jong Il’s outstanding contribution to the world communist movement. Shaun Pickford gave a detailed and in-depth presentation on Kim Jong Il’s contribution to Juche and Culture, which is national in form and socialist in content, and NCP leader Andy Brooks recalled fond memories of when he took part in the commemorations in the DPRK in February 2000.

Every year the Korean people mark Kim Jong Il’s birthday, which has long been known as the ‘Day of the Shining Star’ in the DPRK.

Kim Jong Il was born in the midst of the struggle against Japanese imperialism, in a Korean guerrilla camp on Mount Paektu, on 16th February 1942. His early days were those of hardship and struggle, which ended in victory in 1945 and the liberation of Pyongyang. Like millions of Koreans of his generation, Kim Jong Il dedicated his life to the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the socialist system that they were determined to build in order to create a better life for the Korean people.

Kim Jong Il went to university where he developed his ideas in the political, economic and cultural fields. Like all Korean students, he took his turn at manual labour with the people in the fields and on the construction sites.

Kim Jong Il developed the Juche idea, applying it to all spheres of economic construction and for the promotion of north–south dialogue for the independent peaceful reunification of Korea. His modesty, faithful service, tireless work, total loyalty to Kim Il Sung and the Korean revolution, and undoubted ability meant that when the WPK considered the question of the succession – and this was decided long before Kim Il Sung’s death – Kim Jong Il was the unchallenged candidate to be the successor to great leader Kim Il Sung.

When Kim Il Sung passed away, Kim Jong Il told the Korean people and the world that they could “expect no change from me” and under his leadership the WPK won further victories. Natural disasters were overcome. Imperialist diplomatic isolation was broken and the intrigues of US imperialism exposed.

Now Kim Jong Un is following in the footsteps of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to lead the DPRK into the 21st century. Democratic Korean citizens enjoy full employment, free education and medical care, virtually free housing and a vast array of consumer goods largely made in the DPRK itself. Democratic Korean scientists have mastered the secrets of the atom to guarantee the DPRK’s defence and energy needs, and Korean rockets now reach for the stars.