Korean solidarity in Finland

by New Worker correspondent

Dermot Hudson, the chair of the Korean Friendship Association UK, joined other friends of the DPR Korea for a seminar in Helsinki last week. To mark its 40th anniversary the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juche Idea (ERSSJI) organised the seminar in the  Finnish capital under the title  of “Independence, Peace and Social Development” in the building of the Finland -Russia society. Finland itself was one of the first non-socialist European countries to establish diplomatic relations with People’s Korea in the early 1970s. And Finland has a long tradition of friendship and solidarity with the DPRK as well as of studying the Juche idea and Korean-style socialism.
Presiding over the seminar were Prof Matteo Carbonelli, the director-general of the ERSSJI and Juha Kieski , the secretary-general of the ERSSJI and head of the Finnish Juche Idea Study Group.
A delegation from the DPRK embassy in Sweden took part in the discussion along with a delegation from the International Institute of the Juche Idea based in Japan. KFA Chair Dermot Hudson who also heads the British Group For the Study of the Juche Idea was there along with members of Finnish Juche Idea and DPRK friendship organisations. Participating online were people from Austria, Bulgaria,Denmark , Germany , Russia , Slovakia and the UK.
Dermot Hudson said that “the Juche idea needs to be studied deeply and disseminated more widely in Europe because it is extremely relevant to the needs of the European people and can make a great contribution to independence , peace and social development which are all vitally necessary for the peoples of Europe.
“At the moment Europe lacks independence . Many European countries are members of the US-controlled Nato and have US bases and troops . Many European countries are culturally enslaved by US imperialism for example the TV and cinema is dominated by poor quality American films and the streets are full of Yankee fast food chains . Economically  ,Europe is controlled by supra-national organisations like the European Union , the IMF , the World Bank , the WTO and the World Economic Forum . Many European countries lack economic independence as their economies are dominated by US multi-nationals”.

People’s Korea stands firm!

by New Worker correspondent

The Korean people are marching towards socialism and have achieved great miracles, thereby building a great future for the country and the people. That was the message of Dermot Hudson who joined millions of Koreans celebrating the 80 th anniversary of the foundation of the Workers Party of Korea during his trip to the land of Juche earlier in the month.
“Pyongyang was a blaze of light and colour at night. The imperialists are lying when they say that there is no electricity in the DPRK. Rather than ‘everyone starving’ we saw no homeless or beggars on the streets” the Chair of the UK Korean Friendship Association said. “People get free housing and food only costs 0.3 dollars per month. Just compare that to the UK. No comment”!
And this was echoed by all those who had come to hear Dermot Hudson talk about his recent visit to People’s Korea at the Kings Cross Neighbourhood Centre in London last weekend.
The official delegate of KFA Cambodia, together with NCP leader Andy Brooks and KFA activists from Staffordshire and the West Country, opened the general discussion which looked at the meaning of Korean-style socialism as well as the ‘digital colonialism’ of the imperialists and the brainwashing of the BBC and the rest of imperialist lie machine.
Dermot Hudson will be giving a report back to the new Ipswich New Worker Cell & Supporters group in February and it was decided to hold a picket of the BBC in London next month.

•  The KFA Cambodia official delegate with NCP leader Andy Brooks, Dermot Hudson and other campaigners at the meeting

Juche in Wrexham!

by New Worker correspondent

The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) participated in the Wrexham Socialist Bookfair, organised by Red Bookfairs, at the Ty Pawb Centre in Wrexham last weekend.
The KFA stall, run by KFA Chair Dermot Hudson, had on display the works People’s Korea leader Kim Jong Un as well as classics by great leader Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il and as well as literature from the DPRK and the KFA. Discussions were held with visitors to the stall. Leaflets were given out and literature was sold.
The KFA will be back in north Wales and will expand its work in north Wales and other areas of the UK even if some reactionaries do not like it! We will fly the flag of Juche high!

Honouring a great Korean revolutionary

Dermot Hudson and Theo Russell

By New Worker correspondent

Kim Il Sung was born on 15th April 1912 and his birthday has long been celebrated as the Day of the Sun in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and by everyone who stands by the DPRK. And on that day last week solidarity activists gathered at the Cock Tavern in London to recall the outstanding achievements of the leader of the Korean revolution.
    Speakers included Dermot Hudson, the chair of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) that organised the meeting and NCP national organiser, Theo Russell. The Democratic Korean embassy in London sent a tribute that was read out at the meeting and messages were received from Korean friendship groups in Germany, Poland and Switzerland.
    In his tribute Dermot Hudson praised the successful test firing of the Democratic Korean ballistic missile as a great victory for Juche and self-reliance – the Korean-style socialism pioneered by Kim Il Sung that is followed by his successors in the people’s republic today.
    Kim Il Sung was a great anti-imperialist revolutionary who turned the DPRK into a fortress of militant anti-imperialism and totally opposed the line of compromise with imperialism. His life from beginning to end was one of principled and constant struggle against imperialism and for independence’.
    Theo Russell praised the life of Kim Il Sung as that of a great revolutionary . He said that the achievements of the DPRK are great and are due to the Juche philosophy authored by the great leader of the Korean people who worked tirelessly throughout his life for the communist cause.
    Shaun Pickford, the head of Staffordshire KFA focused on the international dimension of the DPRK and the Juche Idea. The first Juche idea study group was formed in Mali , West Africa and since then many international seminars on the Juche Idea have followed.
    This was followed by a general discussion on Juche and life in the DPRK and ended with the traditional refreshments and informal chat amongst friends of Korea old and new.

Solidarity in Spain

 

by New Worker correspondent

Korean Friendship Association activists gathered in Spain last weekend for an international meeting of the KFA in sunny Barcelona, which is Spain's second largest city and the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. The meeting took place in a community centre, run by the Communist Party of the People of Spain (PCPE), in a working-class area of the city.
    The conference marked the 21st anniversary of the foundation of the KFA. The atmosphere of the meeting was militant and upbeat. There have been many provocations and attempts to shut down KFA over the years, such as denying the right of KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos to travel by confiscating his passport. Despite these vicious moves KFA has survived and is expanding rapidly, with over 17,000 members registered worldwide.
    The meeting was attended by activists, officials and KFA members from various parts of Spain, plus delegations from Germany and Britain.
    Dermot Hudson, the chair of the KFA UK, said: “Over the past two years both KFA and KFA UK have come under attack from hostile forces but we have survived! KFA is attacked because we tell the truth about People's Korea. We defend People's Korea with No ifs or buts, often 24/7. We defend People's Korea with enthusiasm, we are not half-hearted about it. That is why they hate us so much. Our enemies want to shut down KFA and silence the voice of truth defending People's Korea.”

Honouring Kim Jong Il

by New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity activists met online last Saturday to mark the 57th anniversary of the start of work of dear leader Kim Jong Il at the Central Committee of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK) in 1964, and also the 20th anniversary of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) UK.
    KFA members from all over Britain took part in the meeting, including the organisers of branches in Staffordshire, Scotland and the West of England. Observers from the Cambodian and Canadian KFAs also joined in the online conference.
    Congratulatory messages were received from KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Embassy in London, the DPRK Committee for Cultural Relations, the DPRK Committee for Friendship with Britain, the Pyongyang Mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front of south Korea, and KFA Singapore.
    The message from the Korean Committee for Friendship with Britain said: “This year is a very significant year which marks 20 years of history of KFA UK. For the past two decades, KFA UK has always been in the frontline of friendship and solidarity activities with DPRK and made great achievements. No words could match your efforts, we would just like to emphasise that we are grateful and appreciate your contributions highly.”
    KFA President Alejandro Cao De Benos stressed that: “KFA-UK is one of our most active branches in the world, from conferences to interviews, from pickets to the publication of People’s Korea Today, your pace and spirit is inspirational and unmatchable. Being a model, many newcomers will be assisted by KFA-UK for training and advice.”
    The DPRK London embassy said: “Our embassy highly appreciates that KFA of Britain has been struggling to strengthen the association and defend the rights and interest of working people since its foundation 20 years ago.”
    Dermot Hudson, the KFA-UK Chair, spoke about the 20th anniversary of the foundation of KFA-UK, stressing its role in taking “the struggle to defend People’s Korea to the streets and picketing the US embassy, south Korean puppet embassy, the BBC, Channel Four and the Ministry of Defence”, adding: “Of course it has never been easy, far from it. The establishment and the elite do not want to see the pro-active and energetic defence of the DPRK.”
    Speaking about the 57th anniversary of the start of work of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il at the Central Committee of the WPK, Hudson said that Kim Jong Il’s starting work at the WPK Central Committee was an event of immense importance. His leadership enabled the WPK to hold up the Juche idea authored by President Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people and the founder of the WPK, as its immutable guiding ideology and guiding ideal, the Juche idea.
    It was reported that KFA-UK has grown on Facebook despite obstructions from Facebook that saw the main site and others banned for certain periods. Despite the COVID‑19 pandemic KFA-UK has been very active, holding many online events.
    A new KFA-UK Constitution was endorsed without dissension. The meeting included a short presentation by Dermot Hudson on the subject of the Korean war – the imperialist invasion, led by the USA, which was started by the south Korean puppets on the orders of their American masters.
     After an online toast to the 20th anniversary of KFA-UK was drunk, a message to DPRK Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un was adopted.

Korean solidarity in Bulgaria

By New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity activists met last weekend to take part in a Juche seminar in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. Dermot Hudson from the Juché Idea Study Group joined other European delegates for a seminar on the theme of Independence, Sovereignty and International Co-Operation which was supported by the International Institute of the Juché Idea and the Korean Association of Social Scientists.

In the western world Juché is simply described as “self-reliance” but it is much more than that. Juché elevates the philosophical principles of Marxism-Leninism as well as its economic theories and focuses on the development of each individual worker, who can only be truly free as part of the collective will of the masses.

Juché reflects the thinking of Korean communist leader Kim Il Sung, who said that working people could only become genuinely emancipated if they stood on their own two feet. The great Korean leader, who led the Korean people to victory against Japan during the Second World War, developed Korean-style socialism and the Juché idea during his life-time.

Day of Action for Korea

outside the embassy

By New Worker correspondent

London communists took part in a Day of Action for Korea last weekend, which included a picket of the new American embassy in Nine Elms and a film show in the evening at the Marchmont Centre.

NCP London Organiser Theo Russell joined the afternoon protest outside the embassy that called for an end to US imperialism’s hostile policy towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and for the USA to finally end the Korean War and sign a peace treaty with the Democratic Korean government.

The picket was called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA). and NCP leader Andy Brooks called for even greater efforts in the year to come at the KFA AGM that took place later that evening.

London’s Day of the Sun

By New Worker correspondent

Andy Brooks speaking

Kim Il Sung was born on 15th April 1912 and his birthday has long been celebrated as the Day of the Sun by everyone who stands by the Democratic people’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Day of the Sun is the biggest public holiday of the year in Democratic Korea and last weekend solidarity activists gathered at a hall in central London to join the Korean masses in honouring the memory of the outstanding communist leader who lead the Korean people to victory to build the modern socialist republic we have today.

Friends of the Korean revolution returned to the Marchmont Centre in Bloomsbury to celebrate the birth of great leader Kim Il Sung, the man who founded the communist movement that liberated the country from Japanese colonialism, defeated the might of US-led imperialism in the Korean War and led the drive to build the modern, socialist republic that exists today in the north of the divided peninsula.

Kim Il Sung advanced and developed Marxist philosophy throughout his long and active life – a theme taken up by a number of speakers at the meeting called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA). The KFA Chair, Dermot Hudson, spoke about the Korean people’s heroic struggle against Japanese colonialism and US imperialism, and NCP leader Andy Brooks recalled meeting Kim Il Sung in 1990 and talked about the Korean communist leader’s immense contribution to the world communist movement throughout his long life.

A message from the DPRK embassy in London pointed out that memories of famous people often fade away with the passage of time – but this is not the case with President Kim Il Sung: “In the first half of the 20th century, when Korea was a colony of Japan, he waged a long, bloody struggle to win back its national sovereignty. After the country’s liberation on 15^th August 1945, he founded the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and developed it into a genuine people’s country and independent power.

“He was a world-renowned statesman who rendered both material and moral support to third-world countries in building new society and made a great contribution to the struggles for independence including the non-aligned movement.

`”He passed away on 8^th July 1994 but his history still continues. The Juche idea authored by him and his theories are still applied by the DPRK in its building and activities; his books are read by all the citizens. His life-long motto was affection for the people and the spirit of independence.”

Manchester KFA kicks off!

 

By New Worker correspondent

The Korean Friendship Association (KFA) returned to Manchester last week after a 10-year gap, with the aim of starting a new KFA branch for the Manchester area. The meeting was convened hurriedly in a local pub after the Quakers banned the friendship movement from their meeting room, to hear KFA Chair Dermot Hudson talk about his recent visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and open the discussion on local campaigning. It was resolved to hold quarterly meetings of the KFA on a regular basis in Greater Manchester to build friendship with the people of Democratic Korea.