Over the past 70-odd years the forces hostile towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have imposed unprecedentedly harsh pressure, blackmail, sanctions and blockade against it in the field of politics, the economy, military affairs and diplomacy.
Challenges facing the DPRK for the last ten years were particularly severe and demanding; other countries could not have survived them even a day. However, the challenges could not stop the country’s advance.
The secret about this is that the Korean people are thoroughly armed with the Juche idea which was created by President Kim Il Sung, founding father of the DPRK, and developed in depth by Comrade Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission.
The Juche idea is the idea that the masses are the masters of the revolution and construction and have the strength to propel the revolution and construction; in other words, man is the master of his own destiny and has the strength to shape his own destiny.
The DPRK defined the idea as its guiding principle and has applied it in its state building.
Today the Korean people are arming themselves more firmly with the Juche idea and invariably maintaining the principles of independence in politics, self-reliance in the economy and self-defence in national defence under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs.
The DPRK regards independence as its lifeblood.
It works out all lines and policies in conformity with the demands and interests of its own people and its actual conditions, not following the other countries and their instructions.
The launch of Kwangmyongsong 3-2 satellite on December 12, 2012 was absolutely just in that it complied with the international law on the use of outer space for peaceful purposes.
However, some countries denounced the launch as the launch of a long-range missile and imposed international sanctions against the DPRK in an attempt to prevent it from growing stronger.
The DPRK categorically denounced and rejected the sanctions and took resolute measures against the challenges of the hostile forces.
This brought home to the international community the steadfast independent lines of the DPRK that it would not step back even an inch in its effort to achieve the prosperity of the nation and defend the supreme interest of the nation no matter who said what.
The DPRK is a country equipped with strong national defence capability which no one dares to defy.
This was well proved through the military parade held in Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on April 25 this year in celebration of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army.
The columns of the troops and mechanized units marched in fine array across the square, fully demonstrating the appearance of the country’s armed forces which had developed into an invincible army, strong in terms of ideology, morality and military technology, while recording only victories and glory in its history by inheriting the traditions of anti-Japanese struggle.
What was worthy of particular note was the cutting-edge weapons which had been developed rapidly over the recent years.
As is well known, the long-range cruise missiles, tactical guided missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, hypersonic missile Hwasong-8, SLBM, and ICBM Hwasongpho-17 are weapons which have been successfully test-fired last year and this year.
It is nothing but a miracle that the DPRK has possessed, in a matter of a few years, all the absolute weapons which had been monopolized by the nuclear powers of the world and, with this as a springboard, developed ultramodern weapons of its own style.
It is not difficult to imagine that other state-of-the-art weapons will be developed at a faster rate.
The DPRK is a country in which the people-first principle is thoroughly embodied.
The people-first principle which the country regards as its political ideal and mode of politics is the principle of believing in the people as in heaven and making selfless, devoted efforts for the good of the people.
Even though it suffered from the extreme offensive by the hostile forces, successive natural disasters and global public health crisis over the recent years, it has never stopped the work of improving the living standards of the people.
Everything was in short supply, but it has built new streets including Ryomyong Street and Songhwa Street, bases for cultural and leisure activities including Munsu Water Park, Masikryong Ski Resort, and Yangdok Hot Spring Resort, and modern medical service bases including Ryugyong Dental Hospital and Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital.
This year alone tens of thousands of dwelling houses, service facilities and public buildings are to be constructed in the capital city and provinces including the Hwasong area in Pyongyang, Komdok area which is a leading mineral producing base of the country, and Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm area. It is reported that their construction will greatly contribute to the living standards of the people.
This is a clear demonstration of the validity and vitality of the line of building a self-sufficient national economy the country has maintained for several decades.
By applying the people-first principle, it is stabilizing its economy and consolidating the independent nature of the economy by its own efforts in the face of the sanctions and blockade by the hostile forces.
The international community needs to ponder its politics based on this principle once again.
The DPRK is thoroughly embodying the idea of independence, peace and friendship in its external relations.
Upholding this ideal, it is vigorously conducting external activities, positively contributing to the security of the Korean peninsula and northeast Asia as well as world peace. It is also strengthening unity and solidarity with the socialist countries and further developing the relations of friendship and cooperation with all the countries that are friendly to it on the principle of equality and mutual benefit.
