Juche lights the way!

Dermot Hudson and Andy Brooks

by New Worker correspondent

Andy Brooks joined other Korean solidarity campaigners in central London last weekend to mark the 113th  anniversary of the birth of the great Korean leader, Kim Il Sung and celebrate the triumph of the Korean revolution. At the Chadswell Centre the NCP leader joined Dermot Hudson and a university lecturer to open a discussion on the Juche Idea and Korean-style socialism.
Dermot Hudson, the Chair of the Korean Friendship Association that called the meeting, said "in today 's troubled world , one country stands out as a beacon , a true fortress of socialism and independence; the Democratic People's Republic of Korea or People's Korea”. Andy Brooks recalled the great achievements of President Kim Il Sung and his wisdom. He also said it was wrong to equate Juche with nationalism. He pointed out that it is a falsehood to say Juche is fascism, as some do in the bourgeois media. If this was true then the ruling class would adopt Juche instead of denouncing and demonising it. Finally a senior university lecturer from a British university gave a presentation on the theme of Independence, Creativity, Mastery: Juche as Ideology and Theory in Education.
There followed lively discussion on the three presentations. Questions included the issue of DPRK-US relations, visiting the DPRK and the current situation. The need to attract students to the KFA and Juche was stressed as well as working towards more public Korean friendship meetings in London and throughout the country.

Korea on the Mersey!

by New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity campaigners returned to the Casa Bar in the heart of Liverpool’s university district last week to hear a report from Dermot Hudson about what he saw in the DPR Korea when he was there in April.
Peter Hendy from the Liverpool NCP introduced the meeting saying that “imperialist aggression towards the DPRK continues to intensify with an escalation of lies and threats, A new propaganda offensive has been unleashed to justify US military aggression...for over six decades The DPRK has been subjected To US military intimidation, provocations, threats and extensive sanctions to politically isolate and destroy the DPRK economy. The US war-mongers want to destroy the DPRK”.
Dermot Hudson then demolished false reports about the DPRK and Ukraine saying that “It is also necessary to comment on the wild stories being floated in the mainstream media about the troops of the Korean People’s Army being in Ukraine. Neither Russia nor the DPRK have officially confirmed the despatch of KPA soldiers to Ukraine. Indeed DPRK vice-foreign minister Kim Jong Gyu on the 25^th October described it as a “rumour”.
He also denounced the visit of the new British Foreign Secretary Lammy to south Korea and the hostile policy of the British government towards People’s Korea. Dermot Hudson explained that the British authorities are joining hands with the US imperialists and south Korean puppets to overthrow the socialist system of the DPRK and also detailed the threats to the DPRK from US imperialism and the ROK puppet regime.
As to tales of " human rights violations " , the DPRK actually has a fairly minimal police presence compared to many other countries . The police only direct traffic. The situation seemed quite normal. That is the reality of People’s Korea , an advanced socialist society with free housing, free health care and free education. We must redouble our efforts to defend People’s Korea with No Ifs or Buts!”

Defend People’s Korea!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined protesters outside the BBC HQ in London on Tuesday calling for an end to the demonising of the DPR Korea by the state-owned broadcasting service. A letter of protest from the Korean Friendship Association to the Director-General and Management board of the BBC was handed to a member of the BBC staff.
Dermot Hudson, the Chair of KFA, said “we are here today to protest against the BBC’s persistent demonisation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) or People’s Korea. No country -apart from maybe Russia and the former Soviet Union – has been lied about more by the BBC than the DPRK. Recently, the BBC or British Brainwashing Corporation has tried to blame the DPRK over the conflict in Ukraine making false allegations and quoted unconfirmed rumours and misleading reports.
“The BBC is an official state broadcaster. It is not independent but run by the British government. It is closely linked to British imperialism and US imperialism…
“The BBC promotes the ideology of market totalitarianism and liberal fascism. The BBC is a tool of the ruling elite and the big monopoly corporations. What is disgusting is that not only does the BBC lie about People’s Korea but it expects us to pay for its lies in the form of the BBC licence fee which is £169 per year”.

Korean solidarity in Bulgaria

by New Worker correspondent

Dermot Hudson, the chair of the UK Korean Friendship Association attended the European Regional Seminar on the Juche Idea on the theme of “Sovereignty, Independence and New International Relations” that was held on the 8th September at the Moskva Park hotel in Sofia, the capital of the former People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
Bulgaria of course was once a socialist country but sadly most traces of socialism have been eliminated by the new regime. The effects of the restoration of capitalism, such as people begging and closed down shops could be seen. Whilst the Metro is very cheap and surprisingly taxi fares as well, some of the prices in the shops looked not that different to the UK.
It had been originally intended to hold the seminar the Finnish capital of Helsinki but the reactionary Finnish authorities (these days puppets of US and world imperialism) refused to allow the entry of a delegation from the Korean Association of Social Scientists. The seminar was moved to Sofia which had previously hosted a similar event in 2019. 
The seminar was organised by the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juche Idea and hosted by the Bulgarian Group for the Study of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.
The seminar was presided by Prof Matteo Carbonelli secretary general of the European Regional Society for the Study of the Juche Idea (ERSSJI)  who welcomed the participants.
The seminar heard a detailed report of work of the ERSSJI by secretary general Matteo Carbonelli. There was discussion on improving the work of disseminating the Juche idea with suggestions about using simple short videos and graphic propaganda as well using Telegram.
Later the seminar was addressed by Pak Chol Jun, the vice-president of the Korean Association of Social Scientists, who expressed his conviction that the seminar would contribute to the cause of strengthening the struggle for a new independent world. Many delegates from Europe and across the rest of the globe spoke during the conference which also heard online contributions from Ogami Kenichi , the secretary general of the Institute for the Study of the Juche Idea in Japan, noted Russian academic specialist Prof Alexander Voronstov and Keith Bennett, the vice-director general of the ERSSJI.

US out of Korea!

By New Worker correspondent

Korean solidarity activists were outside the US embassy in London on Saturday to demand an end to the American occupation of south Korea. London comrades, including NCP leader Andy Brooks, joined in the protest called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) in solidarity with the DPR Korea and all the Korean people campaigning to end the imperialist partition of their country. 
US imperialism and its south Korean lackeys attempted to invade Democratic Korea on 25th June 1950. Millions died in the war that ended with an armistice in 1953. But Korea remains partitioned with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) ringed by the nuclear arsenals of US imperialism and facing tens of thousands of American troops based in the south of the divided peninsula.
Every year the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War is marked by the start of the month of solidarity with the Korean people. In Britain, and throughout the rest of the world, Korean solidarity campaigners meet to demand an end to the American occupation of south Korea and the reunification of the country that has been divided since the end of the Korean War.
“We are here today picketing the US embassy because a few days ago, on Tuesday 25th June, it was the 74th anniversary of the provocation of the Korean War which is known as the Fatherland Liberation War in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” said Dermot Hudson, the Chairman of the KFA. 
“The war was not a war between Koreans but between a small country, the DPRK, and the American empire. Indeed it was a war against Korea, against the Korean people.
“The US imperialists, the ringleader of world imperialism and international reactionaries, provoked a war in Korea on the 25th June 1950 by instigating their south Korean puppets to attack the young DPR Korea. The US imperialists were hungry for profits and conquest. The US imperialists fought an unjust, aggressive war against the Korean people. The US imperialists launched a war of conquest against the DPRK , a war to destroy the Juche-based people's democratic system in the DPRK as well as to destroy socialism in Asia and the world.
“We are here to defend the right of the DPRK to exist, to defend its independence, it is time to take a real stand and defend People's Korea from the threat of US aggression. The US is quite openly threatening the DPRK with annihilation, with being "eliminated" from the face of the globe.
“All the time, the US, even as we stand here, the US imperialists are planning regime change in People’s Korea and to overthrow the socialist system”.

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.