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.