THE SONGUN-BASED REVOLUTIONARY LINE IS A GREAT REVOLUTIONARY LINE OF OUR ERA AND AN EVER-VICTORIOUS BANNER OF OUR REVOLUTION

KIM JONG IL THE SONGUN-BASED REVOLUTIONARY LINE IS A GREAT REVOLUTIONARY LINE OF OUR ERA AND AN EVER-VICTORIOUS BANNER OF OUR REVOLUTION Talk to the Senior Officials of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea January 29, Juche 92 (2003) These days the Korean revolution, guided by the Party, has been making a victorious advance under the banner of Songun. Thanks to the Songun-based politics pursued by our Party, the revolutionary armed forces have been incomparably strengthened, the defence line of the homeland consolidated and a great change effected in the revolution and construction. By dint of Songun politics we have smashed the anti-DPRK, anti-socialist machinations of the imperialists step by step, defended the country and the revolution and exalted the dignity and prestige of socialist Korea in the eyes of the world. The Songun-based politics of our Party is a politics the invincibility of which has been verified through, severe historical ordeals, and an all-powerful sword for victory in the revolution. It is an invariable conviction and will of our Party to defend and carry forward by force of arms the sacred revolutionary cause which was pioneered and has won one victory after another by force of arms. The whole Party, the entire army and all the people must wage a resolute struggle under the banner of Songun and thus build a great, prosperous and powerful socialist nation, achieve national reunification and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche. Our Party’s Songun-based revolutionary leadership, Songun-based politics, is a revolutionary mode of leadership and socialist mode of politics that gives top priority to military affairs, and defends the country, the revolution and socialism and dynamically pushes ahead with overall socialist construction by dint of the revolutionary mettle and combat capabilities of the People’s Army. The underlying aspects of Songun politics are that military affairs are of paramount importance, that the army is the hardcore and main force of the revolution, and that the army must be strengthened in every way. The essential characteristic of Songun politics is that it safeguards the security of the country and defends the revolutionary gains by developing the People’s Army into invincible revolutionary armed forces, and that it builds up the driving force of the revolution and deals with all affairs of socialist construction in a revolutionary and militant way with the People’s Army as the hard core and main force. The idea and line of giving importance to force of arms and military affairs, advanced and consistently maintained by President Kim Il Sung, constitute the basis and starting point of our Party’s Songun politics. The struggle of the masses of the people for the cause of independence, the cause of socialism, is accompanied by confrontation of power with imperialism and all sorts of other counterrevolutionary forces. Therefore, military affairs emerge as a matter of key importance on which hangs victory or failure in the revolution and the rise or fall of a country or a nation. A country or a nation can emerge victorious in the revolution and defend the revolution, and carve out its destiny independently only when it has its own powerful revolutionary armed forces. It is the force of arms on which hinge the victory of the revolutionary cause, independence and sovereignty, and the prosperity of a country or a nation. This is the Juche-oriented principle of revolution and the law of revolution, elucidated by President Kim Il Sung and whose soundness has been verified by history. President Kim Il Sung organized an armed unit first in the early period of his revolutionary activities, achieved the historic cause of national liberation by force of arms, and founded the Party and the State afterwards. In each period and at each stage of the revolution after the liberation, he always paid primary attention to military affairs and constantly strengthened the revolutionary armed forces, and thus laid a solid military guarantee for the victorious advance of the revolution and construction. Our Party’s Songun politics is a powerful mode of politics of our era which was created by inheriting President Kim Il Sung’s idea and line of attaching importance to arms and military affairs in general, and by developing them in depth as required by the changing situation. By dint of Songun politics we have been defending the President’s great military thoughts and immortal exploits, further exalting them on a new and higher level, and opening a vista for the victory of the Juche revolutionary cause. The new era of Juche revolution is the Songun era and it is a new and higher stage of our revolution which is developing under the banner of Songun. The Songun revolutionary line, Songun politics, is a scientific revolutionary line and mode of statesmanship that most accurately reflect the demands of the times and the revolution. Our Party started pursuing Songun politics on the basis of its scientific analysis of the international circumstances of our revolution and of the rapidly changing situation. Entering the 1990s, socialism collapsed in the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European countries, giving rise to a great change in the world political structure and balance of forces. Although the imperialists’ mouthpieces and opportunists claimed that a new era of “detente and peace’’ had arrived following the “end of the Cold War,” the world can never exist in peace so long as imperialism remains rampant. By taking advantage of the collapse of the global socialist system, the reactionary imperialist forces intensified their offensive against the anti-imperialist independent forces; in particular, the US imperialists, who had emerged as the only superpower in the world, were more tenacious than ever in the pursuit of their policy of aggression and war, in an attempt to realize their ambition of world supremacy, wielding the power of authority and arbitrariness in the international arena and violently encroaching upon the sovereignty of other countries. The reactionary imperialist forces spearheaded their attack towards our Republic, which is advancing constantly under the banner of independence, the banner of socialism. The US imperialists and their followers pounced upon us in all directions, stepping up their moves for military aggression on an unprecedented scale to destroy our Republic by means of force on the one hand, and putting pressure to bear upon us in all spheres of politics, the economy, ideology, culture and diplomacy on the other to squeeze us dry. Due to their anti-DPRK isolate-and-stifle schemes, the Korean revolution came to face the severest trials and hardships of its history; we had to bear the full brunt of the offensive of the imperialist aggressive forces, in direct confrontation with the US imperialists. The showdown between us and imperialism is a confrontation of power; the anti-imperialist military front constituted the major front line, the first lifeline of our revolution, on which the destiny of the country, the nation and socialism would be decided. We had to strengthen and rely on the People’s Army by concentrating our efforts on military affairs. In this way we were able to save the destiny of the country and the nation, and lead the revolution and construction to victory. This is the reason why we say the army means the Party, the State and the people. Had we neglected military affairs and failed to strengthen the army, we might have perished already, far from conducting the revolution and construction. Our anti-imperialist, anti-US struggle is the grimmest war to defend the country and a war in defence of socialism. It was only the People’s Army, the revolutionary armed forces, that could perform its mission and role as the standard-bearer of Songun politics. The Songun politics of our Party embodies the high spirit of annihilating the enemy at all costs, and the unshakable conviction and will to emerge victorious, on the part of the People’s Army. It is entirely thanks to the heroic efforts of the entire army and the whole nation in single-hearted unity with the People’s Army as its core under the Party’s leadership that we could overcome the difficulties in the way of revolution and win great victories. The practical experience of our revolution has proved that Songun politics, which gives precedence to military affairs and regards the revolutionary armed forces as the pivot, is the most powerful mode of politics of our era and revolution. Songun politics makes it possible to defeat any enemy no matter how formidable, tide over any hardships and trials, and guarantee the victorious advance of the revolutionary cause. The Songun revolutionary line, Songun politics, is a strategic revolutionary line and mode of politics that must be adhered to constantly so long as imperialism exists on the earth and its aggressive machinations continue. The Songun politics of our Party is a unique socialist mode of politics that gives a new scientific clarification and solution to the issue of the main force of the revolution. On the basis of its deep analysis of the development of the times and the changed social and class relations, our Party put forward, for the first time in the history of the revolutionary movement, the idea of “precedence of the army over the working class,” giving prominence to the People’s Army as the core unit and main force of the revolution. The originality of Songun politics and its invincibility lie in the fact that it gives prominence to the People’s Army as the core unit and main force. The preceding revolutionary theories of Marxism viewed the working class as the main force of the revolution. Having analysed the social and class relations in the Western capitalist countries in the mid-19th century, Marx identified the working class as the most advanced and revolutionary class entrusted with the mission of liquidating the domination of capital and all sorts of exploitation, and building socialism and communism, and defined it as the leading class and, the main force of the revolution. This was the reflection of the reality of capitalist society in those times. Later, socialist revolutions emerged victorious in several countries of the world, and socialist construction got under way, with the working class as the main force. As a result, it had been recognized as an unbreakable revolutionary formula in carrying out the cause of socialism to conduct the revolutionary struggle and construction work with the working class as the core and the main force. However, Marx’s theories and formulas, which had been set forth one and a half centuries before, cannot accord with the present reality. The times have advanced further, witnessing a great change in social atmosphere, class relations and the status of the working class. With the development of capitalism, especially with the rapid development of science, and technology and the arrival of the IT age, the living basis of the working class has been changed and work is being done on a more technological and intellectual basis. The ranks of the working class have been intellectualized and the working masses engaged in technical, intellectual and mental labour are quickly outnumbering manual workers. Moreover, the development of capitalism consolidates the domination of monopoly capital and adds to the prevalence of reactionary bourgeois ideology and culture, which greatly acts to control the class consciousness, awakening and revolutionary assimilation of the working class. The working class of the present times cannot be identified with the working class in the period of industrial capitalism or proletarian revolution, in the fight of either the situation of the times or the actual reality of the labour, social status and labour movement of the working class. The changed situation and the reality require a new ideology and theory, strategy and tactics with which to awaken and rally the broad sections of the masses who oppose the domination of monopoly capital and the aggression and war policy of imperialism, train hard-core elements among them and expand and strengthen the revolutionary forces. The limitations of Marxist revolutionary theories were also manifested in a socialist society where the working masses, including the working class, have become the masters of the State and society. The preceding theories based on the materialistic conception of history considered that the revolution is completed once the working class seizes power and establishes socialist relations of production. For this reason, they failed to make a correct clarification of the law-governed course of socialist construction subsequent to victory in revolution; in particular, they failed to raise the issue of remoulding man, the ideological revolution, in a socialist society. For the first time in history, President Kim Il Sung advanced the outstanding idea that the course of building socialism and communism is, in view of the class relations, the process of modelling the whole society on the working-class pattern and gave scientific explanations of the role of the working class, the development of class relations and the law governing the remoulding of man in a socialist society. Thanks to his original theory on building socialism and under his wise leadership, the working class and other working masses have been transformed into socialist workers in our country and they all work and live basing themselves on the collectivist principle under the socialist system. Our Party has firmly equipped the masses of the people with the Juche idea and upgraded the process of transforming the whole of society on the revolutionary and working-class patterns by giving definite precedence to the remoulding of man, the ideological work, in the socialist cause. Thus it has brought about a radical change in the socio-economic lives and politico-ideological traits of our people. The Korean people are revolutionary and boundlessly faithful to the Party and the revolution since they have been educated and trained in a revolutionary way in the embrace of the socialist motherland under the guidance of the Party and the leader. These days the masses of the people, who are solidly united behind the Party and the leader with one mind and will, constitute a powerful driving force of socialist construction in our society. Needless to say, class differences still remain between the working class and the cooperative farmers, and the revolutionary and working-class assimilation of intellectuals cannot be said to have been completed. The working class is as advanced a unit of our society as ever, and has a higher sense of class consciousness, collectivism and revolution than other working masses. Furthermore, it is still in charge of industry, the leading sector of the national economy; especially the workers in the key industries and munitions industry play a very important role in the revolution and construction. That is why our Party treasures the working class and always pays deep concern to further revolutionizing it and enhancing its role. Applying Songun politics, our Party has given prominence to the People’s Army over the working class, prompted by a new viewpoint and attitude towards the issue of the main force of the revolution and the role of a revolutionary army in the revolution and construction. The question of the main force of the revolution is one of the fundamental problems in strengthening the motive force of the revolution and in developing the revolutionary movement by enhancing its role. Which class, stratum or social collective becomes the main force of the revolution is decided by its position and role in the revolution and construction, its sense of revolution, organizational discipline, and combat capabilities. The question of the main force of the revolution cannot remain invariable in any era, society or revolution, nor is it a question that can be solved only on the basis of class relations. Hence, regarding the working class as the main force of the revolution anytime and anywhere is an expression of a dogmatic viewpoint toward the preceding theories and is not correct in principle either. Unfettered by any established theories or formulas, out Party strictly rejected any expression of dogmatic attitude to and revisionist distortion of the preceding theories, and strengthened the army and upgraded its role as required by the development of the situation and the revolution, thus leading the revolution and construction to victory. For our Party to give prominence to the People’s Army as the main force of the revolution is essential to the accomplishment of the revolutionary cause of Juche, in view of the position and role of the People’s Army in our revolution at present and in the light of its revolutionary mettle and combat efficiency. The People’s Army is the revolutionary ranks that defend the first lifeline of our revolution. It defends the Party and the revolution, the country and the people by force of arms and at the cost of life in direct confrontation with the strong imperialist enemy. On the bayonets of the People’s Army hinge peace, socialism and worthwhile and happy life of our people. This is the noble mission and the heaviest yet most honourable revolutionary task of the People’s Army, for which neither the working class nor any other social group can substitute. The People’s Army is the most revolutionary, militant and powerful revolutionary group in our society. No group is equal to the People's Army in terms of the sense of revolution and organization and combat efficiency. Our People’s Army is unfailingly loyal to the Party and the revolution and very strong in ideology and faith, and it is the most organized combat unit. It defends the Party and the leader and carries out the Party’s policies at all costs, and fights to the death for the cause of the Party, the cause of socialism. The men and officers of the People’s Army, who defend the country and the revolution by force of arms in the van, love their country more dearly than anyone else, are eager to defend socialism and fight uncompromisingly against imperialism and the class enemy with intense hatred. The People’s Army is a revolutionary unit that brims over with revolutionary faith, iron will and militant spirit. It is stronger than any other collective in the sense of collectivism, organization, discipline and unity. The entire army is single-heartedly united behind its Supreme Commander, and moves as one under his command and directive; it arranges all of its soldiers’ routine life and activities as required by military rules and discipline. The collectivist principle and organization and discipline have become the lifeblood and requirements of the routine life of the People’s Army. The high sense of revolution and organization of the People’s Army is reflective of the characteristics of the armed unit and the mettle unique to the revolutionary army, and constitutes a basic factor of upgrading the combat efficiency of our army and improving its politico-ideological might. It is not that any army that takes part in the revolution or any socialist army acquires the traits and qualities befitting a revolutionary army and, moreover, can become the main force of the revolution. The working class or the army can become a revolutionary class or revolutionary armed forces and play an important role in the revolution only when it is awakened and organized under the leadership of a revolutionary party. Apart from the correct leadership of the party and the leader, it is impossible to train any hardcore unit of the revolution or to awaken and rally the broad sections of the masses around the revolutionary ranks. Our People’s Army has grown up into genuine revolutionary armed forces, an invincible army to perform its honourable mission and duty with credit as the hardcore unit and main force of the revolution, thanks to the leadership of President Kim Il Sung and the great Workers’ Party. President Kim Il Sung built our People’s Army into a prototype of a revolutionary army and laid eternal foundations for its development by thoroughly applying the principles and ways he had put forward for the building of Juche-type revolutionary armed forces. He built the People’s Army into an army of the Party and the leader, a genuine army of the people, and developed it as an armed unit of ideology and faith, possessed of all the politico-ideological traits required of a revolutionary army. Under his wise leadership an independent and modern munitions industry was created and so developed as to serve as the material and technical foundations for the modernization of the entire army. The imperishable exploit he performed for the building of the armed forces is the most valuable of his revolutionary achievements and it is now proving its worth as the solid foundation and priceless asset for our Party to further strengthen the People’s Army and pursue Songun politics. On the basis of his great achievements in army building, our Party gave prominence to the People’s Army as the standard-bearer and main force of Songun-based revolution, and directed all its efforts to upgrading it. Through the continuous field inspections of the units of the People’s Army, our Party always went deep among the servicepersons and took care of them with love and trust. It strengthened the army through revolutionary education and training by decisively intensifying Party political work within the army and unsparingly supplied everything necessary for the army. The Party took revolutionary measures to firmly equip the People’s Army with our own unique strategy and tactics, and radically improve its military and technical preparedness as required by the characteristics of modern warfare and tense situations. Our Party’s energetic guidance has given rise to a fresh turn in the politico-ideological traits and fighting spirit of the People’s Army, making its combat efficiency and might better than ever before. Being an army of the Party and the leader and an army of the Supreme Commander, in name and in reality, our People’s Army has grown up to be revolutionary ranks of loyalists full of the spirit of defending the leadership of the revolution at all costs, and the entire army from the Supreme Commander to the rank and file has formed a harmonious whole on the basis of revolutionary comradeship. The Party’s leadership over the army has its firm place within the People’s Army, a revolutionary and military spirit prevails in the entire army, and the good traits of unity between superiors and subordinates, between officers and rank and file and between commanding officers and political officers are manifesting themselves to the full within the army. The noble politico-ideological traits, revolutionary spirit and fighting mettle of the People’s Army are expressed in a concentrated way in the revolutionary soldier spirit. The revolutionary soldier spirit, which was created and has been given full play within the People’s Army under the leadership of the Party, is the lofty revolutionary spirit of our army, characterized mainly by a spirit of defending the leader at the risk of one’s life, a spirit of carrying out tasks at all costs, and a heroic self-sacrificing spirit. It is a death-defying spirit with which the soldiers of the People’s Army fight for the Party and the leader, for the country and revolution at the cost of their youth and lives; it is a revolutionary spirit of sure victory, a spirit of confronting any enemy no matter how formidable head-on and breaking through any difficulties and trials. The revolutionary soldier spirit of the People’s Army is a noble revolutionary spirit symbolic and representative of the great Songun era. And it constitutes the most revolutionary and militant ideological and spiritual weapon, which makes it possible to create miracles and perform meritorious deeds in the course of the revolution and construction. In the Songun era the working class, too, can perform its class duty and mission only when it is equipped with the revolutionary soldier spirit, and all the other working people can maintain and add luster to their honour of being the masters of the State and society, their honour of being the socialist working masses, only when they learn from the revolutionary soldier spirit. When the entire army and all the people live and struggle with the revolutionary soldier spirit and fighting spirit, united single-heartedly behind the Party, there will be no enemy in the world strong enough to resist us and no fortress we cannot conquer. Since our People’s Army is the creator, personifier and pioneer of the revolutionary soldier spirit representative of the times and the most powerful combat unit that defends the first lifeline of our revolution, it is the standard-bearer, hardcore unit and the main force of the Songun revolution and, has been exalting the honour to a high degree. Songun politics, which gives prominence to the People’s Army as its main force, makes it possible to firmly maintain and apply to the letter the fundamental ideals and the basic principles of the revolution. Socialism is the fundamental ideal of our revolution to realize the independence of the masses of the people, and socialist society is a society which embodies the class demands and aspirations of the working class. Apart from the intrinsic desire and class principle of the working class, it is impossible to realize the independence of the masses of the people and complete the socialist cause. We are striving to build a great, prosperous and powerful socialist nation and reunify the country in the midst of a severe class struggle against the US imperialists and other enemies. The complex and grave situation of our revolution demands that the edge of class struggle be sharpened and the working-class principle, the revolutionary principle, be maintained more thoroughly in all spheres. Our Party has upheld the banner of Songun in the acute confrontation with imperialism. Our rifle is the rifle of class, the rifle of revolution, and it is the most powerful weapon for anti-imperialist class struggle. The revolutionary soldier spirit of the People’s Army is the highest expression of class consciousness and the revolutionary spirit of the working class. Today our Party is totally serious and uncompromising about its demand for adherence to the class principle, the revolutionary principle, in all spheres of the revolution and construction and for farther intensification of class education and revolutionary education among the soldiers and the people, as required by the Songun era. When our army and people are firmly equipped with a high level of class consciousness and the revolutionary soldier spirit in support of the Party’s Songun-based leadership, the socialist class position will be further cemented, and the socialist cause will be defended and, completed with victory under any circumstances. The Songun politics of our Party is the most powerful and dignified politics of independence which embodies the Juche idea. Independence is the life and soul of a social being, the masses of the people, a country and a nation. The man-centred Juche idea is an idea of independence, and all revolutionary struggles are ones for independence. The Juche idea correctly combines love for the masses of the people with that for the country and the nation, and the independence of the masses of the people with that of the country and the nation, and scientifically elucidates the ways for its realization. The politics that defends and realizes the independence of the masses of the people, the country and the nation on the basis of the fundamentals and principles of the Juche idea is the most revolutionary and scientific politics, and it also constitutes genuine politics of love for the country, the nation and the people. Our Songun politics that relies on the invincible revolutionary armed forces is a principled and righteous politics of anti-imperialist independence and politics of love for the country, the nation and the people, the politics which reliably defends and guarantees the independent demands and interests of the masses of the people, and the sovereignty and dignity of the country and the people from infringement by the imperialist reactionaries. As self-defensive revolutionary armed forces, our People’s Army is defending by force of arms the dignity of our Party and revolution, our ideology and system and our country and people, smashing the enemy’s war provocations and safeguarding the security and peace of the country. Thanks to Songun politics we are conducting the revolution and construction fair and square in our own way and as suited to the reality of our country and the interests of our revolution, and according to our own ideology and faith, holding up the banner of independence in spite of such complicated and acute situation as today. It is because we have strong military power and an ever-victorious strategy and tactics that we are firmly maintaining the independent principles in politics, resolutely rejecting all manner of outside interference and pressure, and pushing ahead with all our endeavours boldly as we intend, unfettered by anything. Thanks to Songun politics, our independence remains firmly guaranteed and our socialist motherland is demonstrating its dignity and honour, authority and might as a fortress of independence. Our Party’s Songun politics is literally a politics for the people and a politics geared to defending and ensuring the independent rights and fundamental interests of the masses of the people. For this reason, the entire people support it absolutely and uphold it with loyalty. The unfurled banner of Songun upheld by our Party has become a great national banner inspiring the consciousness of national independence, self-respect and sense of national pride and honour among the fellow countrymen in the north, south and abroad, and opening up the road to the national reunification and prosperity. Our Party’s Songun idea, Songun politics, has proved its validity, superiority and great vitality, and is demonstrating them all the more with each passing day in the practice and reality of our revolution. First of all, the military position of our revolution has been fortified impregnably under the Party’s Songun-based leadership. The military might of the country constitutes the foremost rational power in the struggle for independence and socialism and against imperialism. If one defeats the enemy on the military front one will emerge victorious on all other fronts. Our People’s Army has grown up to be invincible revolutionary armed forces, and our socialist motherland has emerged as a military power in the international arena. We have won one victory after another in the fierce political and military showdown with the imperialists, and defended the country, the revolution and socialism from all manner of aggressive machinations of the enemy. The distinguished successes and achievements we have made in the military field are precisely the great victory of our Party’s Songun-based leadership, Songun politics, and clear manifestation of its validity and might. The military position of the revolution that has been cemented into an impregnable fortress, with the People’s Army as the core, thanks to our Party’s Songun-based leadership serves as a basic guarantee for the completion of the Juche revolutionary cause. Our revolutionary ranks have been united more solidly than ever and the single-hearted unity of our whole society has been further strengthened in the Songun era. Today the People’s Army and the people have forged a genuine comradely relationship whereby they share weal and woe on the road of Songun-based revolution under the leadership of the Party, and the whole society is brimming over with the beautiful trait of unity between the army and the people. The servicepersons are serving the people with devotion while the latter are taking loving care of the former as their own flesh and blood, assisting them with all sincerity, and devotedly learning from the revolutionary soldier spirit and fighting spirit of the People’s Army. As a result, both the servicepersons and the people share the same idea and fighting spirit. In the Songun era the People’s Army is playing a pivotal, vanguard role in all spheres of the revolution and construction, while the people are treasuring the former above all else, and displaying the trait of supporting and assisting the army, resulting in further solidity of comradely unity between the army and the people. As a result of our Party’s Songun-based leadership and politics of love for the soldiers and the people, the single-hearted unity of our society has been upgraded to a single-hearted unity of the whole Party, the whole army and the whole nation based on one ideology and faith, and comradely love and obligation. Furthermore, the politico-ideological might of our revolution has been further strengthened to an incomparable degree. The great viability of Songun politics has been confirmed in the process of socialist construction. As the main force of the revolution, the People’s Army stands in the van in all spheres of socialist construction and has been performing labour feats, setting a shining example. The officers and men of the People’s Army have erected numerous monumental edifices and modern factories through their heroic struggle in full support of the Party’s idea and policies, and made breakthroughs in the difficult yet important sectors of the national economy. They were the first to overcome manifold hardships and trials and created miracles and brought about innovations in all spheres, thus inspiring the working masses throughout the country to a revolutionary upsurge. Taking their cue from the revolutionary soldier spirit and the fighting spirit of the People’s Army, the working class and other working masses created the Kanggye spirit and kindled the torch of Ranam, bringing about a sweeping innovation in overall socialist construction. By dint of Songun politics relying on the People’s Army as the main force, we were able to endure the severest “Arduous March” and the forced march, open up a road towards building a great, prosperous and powerful socialist nation and push forward with the revolution and construction in a bold and positive way despite the difficult situation. Our experience shows that if all the officials and the working people uphold the Party’s Songun-based leadership and work as the People’s Army does, it is possible to conquer the fortress of cutting-edge science and technology, build an economic power, establish an assiduous manner in the management of livelihood and a noble way of cultural and emotional life throughout society, and provide our people with affluent lives in a short period of time. Our Party’s Songun politics has registered a turning-point in the cause of national reunification, furthered the international solidarity with our revolution and radically expanded the external relations of the country. Songun politics, which is imbued with the principle of national independence and the spirit of love for the country and the people, our policies for national reunification based on it and our positive efforts gave rise to the historic Pyongyang summit, followed by the adoption of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration, and the further development of inter-Korean relations of reconciliation and cooperation in several sectors. The trend of struggle against the US and other foreign forces and for independent national reunification is mounting to a crescendo on an unprecedented scale in south Korea. Songun politics, which opposes imperialist aggression and war policies and defends the independence of the country and the nation, is winning broad support among public circles and the progressive peoples of the world. It gives a blow to the aggressive forces of imperialism and encouragement to the anti-imperialist independent forces in the international arena, stimulating the cause of making the whole world independent. Upholding the banner of Songun under the leadership of the great Party, our army and people have traversed a glorious road of victory, pushing their way through raging storms and creating miracles in history. The Songun-based revolutionary line of our Party is a great revolutionary line of our era and an ever-victorious banner of our revolution. In the Songun-based revolution lie the building of a great, prosperous and powerful nation, national reunification and the victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche. Now that the situation is very complicated and tense at home and abroad, we must hold the banner of Songun higher. The whole Party, the entire army and all the people must advance more resolutely towards a new great victory of our revolution in support of the Party’s Songun-based leadership. First of all, great efforts should be directed continually at strengthening the People’s Army. The might of Songun politics is precisely the might of the People’s Army; its superiority and might can be given full play only when the People’s Army is soundly prepared politically and ideologically, militarily and technically. The Party’s leadership is the lifeblood of the People’s Army. Our People’s Army should be strengthened as the first defender of the Party, as the revolutionary armed unit that fights to the death in support of the Party’s idea and leadership, so that it can inherit and add luster to its glorious history and tradition as the army of the Party and the leader. The more complex and tenser the situation is, the more efforts should be made to intensify politico-ideological education and military training within the People’s Army so that all the servicepersons trust and follow only our Party under any circumstances and conditions, heighten their revolutionary vigilance and maintain their preparedness. The People’s Army should be fully ready to mercilessly annihilate the imperialist aggressors whenever and wherever they attack. The politico-ideological and military positions of our .revolution must be fortified rock-solid by firming up single-hearted unity of the army and the people. There is nothing to fear or impossible to do when the army and the people fight with single-hearted unity under the Party’s leadership. The tradition of army-people unity-both treasuring and loving each other and sharing weal and woe-should be given farther play in the Songun era. It is important to establish a sound habit, of attaching importance to military affairs throughout society. The work of consolidating the defence capabilities of the country is an undertaking shared by the entire Party, the whole country and all the people. Our officials and working masses must organize and conduct all work on the principle of giving precedence to military affairs, and make energetic efforts to build up the military might of the country, in addition, the paramilitary forces must be strengthened and the whole country turned into a solid fortress. It is imperative to expedite overall economic construction while giving precedence to the defence industry, as required by the Songun era, so as to support the Party’s Songun politics both materially and technologically, and radically improve the people’s living standards in a short period of time. All the officials and working people must cherish the validity and invincibility of the Party’s Songun idea, Songun politics, as their unshakable faith, work and live as required by it at all times and strive to make the whole society overflow with such revolutionary mettle and militant spirit as can be found only in the People’s Army. Our People’s Army and people have burnished the new era of the Juche revolution as a great Songun era under the leadership of the Party. We will victoriously advance the revolutionary cause of Juche and bring it to completion under the banner of Songun. All the officials, Party members and other working people must become ardent followers of the Songun idea and staunch defenders and implementers of Songun politics, and loyally uphold our Party’s Songun-based revolutionary leadership.