THE EMBASSY OF THE DEMOCRATIC
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA TO SWITZERLAND
Pourtalésstrasse 43 Tel: +41-31 951 6621
3074 Muri/Bern Switzerland Fax: +41-31 951 5704
E-mail: dprk.embassy@bluewin.ch
No. 72/22 August 29, 2022
1. Example Set by DPRK in War against Covid-19
2. Youth Day Conveys Noble Love
3. Trust in Young People
4. Learning How to Use the Abacus
Example Set by DPRK in War against Covid-19
On August 10 the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea suspended the operation of the self-instituted top-level emergency anti-epidemic system.
That day President Kim Jong Un of the State Affairs, in his speech at the National Meeting of Reviewing the Emergency Anti-Epidemic Work, declared that the Covid-19 that made inroads into the territory of the DPRK had been exterminated, and that victory had been achieved in the war for defending the life and health of its people.
World Records Seen through Figures
With the rapid increase of fever cases owing to the infiltration of the malignant virus, on May 12 the DPRK instituted a top-level emergency anti-epidemic system, taking the measure of locking up the entire country by region and by production, working and living unit. This measure was lifted 91 days later. The country, which had set the world record of being the virus-free zone for two years and three months, the longest period in the world, set another world record in containing the spread of the malignant virus and exterminating it.
In fact, the country had effectively controlled the spread of the virus well before the top-level emergency anti-epidemic system was lifted. As a result, from the fifth day since the top-level emergency anti-epidemic system was put in place, it reversed the nationwide spread of the disease to a containable, manageable and stable phase, and thus firmly stood a good chance of winning in the anti-epidemic war. The daily number of fever cases that recorded hundreds of thousands in the early days of the spread of the malignant virus decreased to less than 90 000 one month later; the number then continued to decrease, and since July 29 no suspect case was reported. In other words, it checked the spread of the virus within 80-odd days, and restored stability in its anti-epidemic work. This is another world record in containing the spread of Covid-19.
In view of the fact that the country had not vaccinated its population against the disease even once, it is really surprising that the death toll is 74, or 0.0016% of all fever cases.
During the period, more than 71 200 public health workers and over 1 148 000 hygiene activists were mobilized across the country every day for identifying and treating fever cases, while thousands of former public health workers volunteered for this effort. These are not small numbers in consideration of the fact that a system of doctors taking responsibility of the health of a certain number of households has been established and medical institutions and public health workers can be found in every corner of the country.
Contrasting Phenomena
To look back, different reactions appeared among the people throughout the world when Covid-19 began to spread. The rich people in the capitalist countries including the United States vied with one another for evacuation to islands in the oceans and uploaded the photos of their luxurious life on the Internet. Others bought goods in heaps, and even purchased weapons in anticipation of social chaos. Claiming “freedom,” some even did not wear masks and held meetings in violation of the anti-epidemic regulations like keeping social distancing. Such self-centred behaviours gave birth to indescribable sufferings and death of many people.
But in the socialist DPRK the entire population voluntarily observed the anti-epidemic rules and regulations in response to the measures taken by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and the government. Every one regarded it as compulsory to wear mask, wash and disinfect hands and keep social distancing, and helped and led one another forward.
When the top-level emergency anti-epidemic system was put in place, Kim Jong Un personally visited the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters and some pharmacies in Pyongyang and donated the medicines his family had prepared to the Headquarters Committee of the WPK, asking it to send them to the needy families. Following his example, officials of the Party organizations and government organs at different levels, ministries and central institutions, to say nothing of officials of the WPK Central Committee, worked with devotion for the safety of the people, donating money, daily necessities, food grains and medicines for the families that were in need of help.
Many ordinary people, too, donated money, daily necessities and food grains they had saved to the war veterans, honoured disabled ex-soldiers and those who were experiencing difficulties in living.
Virus-Free Zone
On August 12 people throughout the DPRK, except those in the border and frontline areas, showed up without wearing masks. What does it suggest?
First, the country has physically become a virus-free zone.
So far whenever their situation got better in terms of the spread of the malignant virus, many countries lowered the level of anti-epidemic measures.
The DPRK did not follow suit. Even when there was no other fever case, the country did not get relaxed. After closely watching the anti-epidemic situation for more than ten days to be absolutely sure about the security of its people, it uninstalled the top-level emergency anti-epidemic system and then allowed its people to go about without wearing masks.
It shows that there are no infections in the territory of the country.
Second, the country is confident that it is ready to cope with any public health crisis in the future.
The country had demanded that its people wear masks compulsorily even when the virus had not made inroads into its territory for the material and technical foundations of its public health sector were weak and the anti-epidemic system was inelastic.
It achieved great victory in the anti-epidemic war on the strength of all-people resistance and all-people turnout, the unique superiority of its style of socialism and in this course gained rich experience. At present it is pushing forward with the work of strengthening the state anti-epidemic capability, including consolidating the material and technical foundations of the public health sector and establishing a well-regulated anti-epidemic system. That it has set up a higher anti-epidemic wall to prevent the infiltration of other malignant viruses and that it is confident that it can cope with any critical situation on its own–this is a dignified look of the DPRK, a virus-free zone, which has allowed its people not to wear masks.
August 28 is the Youth Day which the Korean youth significantly greet every year.
Enactment of the Youth Day is associated with the noble intention of Chairman Kim Jong Il who gave boundless love and prominence to young people.
One day in 1991, Chairman Kim Jong Il said that it is a good idea to enact the Youth Day to encourage our young people who are working well in the difficult and hard sectors of socialist construction, and proclaimed August 28 – a meaningful day when President Kim Il Sung founded the Young Communist League of Korea in 1927 – as the Youth Day and took measures to celebrate the day significantly every year.
On August 28, 2000, when Chairman Kim Jong Il was giving field guidance to Jagang Province in the midsummer heat, he said in a low voice that today is the Youth Day, so he was thinking about our young people even reading the document.
Then he said that our Party is giving great prominence to young people trusting and leading them, and that it would be good to call the power station newly-built in Hungju Dong in Kanggye City, Jagang Province as “Hungju Youth Power Station” since it is associated with the heroic feats of young people. He continued to say that it would be also good for educating young people to work a lot for the society and the people throughout the generations.
Chairman Kim Jong Il personally named the power station after the shiny name of the youth on the significant Youth Day. It was the manifestation of his novel love to record the feats of young people with golden letters in the history of the country and of his great trust in them to continuously perform feats in the socialist construction.
Whenever greeting the Youth Day personally enacted by Chairman Kim Jong Il, our young people fill their hearts with pride and self-confidence as the Korean youth while enjoying a significant and pleasant day with various sports games, amusements and dances.
So the president of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, who could not repress his envy of the promising and bright future of our young people, highly praised as follows:
The youth issue is one of the serious social issues in the world. But in Korea, this issue has been exceptionally solved with credit. The Korean youth movement has become the epitome of the world youth movement.
Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un is carrying forward the politics of Chairman Kim Jong Il of giving importance to young people. Our young people with the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un in high esteem will bring into full bloom their ambitions and ideals on their patriotic road of building a prosperous country.
Trust in Young People
In April Juche 104 (2015), the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a long and arduous journey to the construction site of the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station to meet the youth shock brigade members who were building the power station in the bad natural conditions at the foot of Mt Paektu in the northern part of the country.
Looking round the construction site, he said that the shock brigade members had taken much trouble to build the power station in the face of biting cold of the Paektu area, and praised their laudable deeds with parental affection.
Seeing the information materials and pencil drawings on a large visual propaganda board, which were created by them, he said with emotion that at the construction site of the power station he gained great strength from the ideological and mental qualities of the youth shock brigade members who actively support the Party and always advance straight forward following the Party, and that he felt as if he had won the world. And seeing green young trees raised by them, he highly valued their patriotism and made a promise to have a photo taken with all of them after the completion of the project.
In September that year, he visited it again and expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the youth shock brigade members and other builders completed the dam project of Power Station No. 1 in the period of 120-odd days. And he said with pride: The might of our young people is tremendous, indeed; there is nothing to fear and the Party’s ideas and decisions will be realized without fail when such excellent heroic young people remain as reserves, advancing group and wing of the Party.
In his historic speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station he said: Whenever our revolution faced trials and difficulties, those who buttressed my mind were the young people who volunteered to start their career at the construction site of this power station and won the diploma of the “youth university” after working with patriotic devotion in the Paektu area; when I think of the young people who have performed heroic feats in building it, I feel a soaring indomitable will to carry out the revolution for the sake of them, the future of the country.
In his speech at the military parade and public procession of the Pyongyang citizens held in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, he affirmed that by continuing to hold fast to the three-point strategy of attaching importance to the people, to the army and to young people as its foremost weapon, the Party would advance forward vigorously towards final victory and accomplish the Korean revolution.
As there is such warm love and trust, the Korean youth are growing stoutly as the successors to the Korean revolution as well as the masters of the times.
Learning How to Use the Abacus
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In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea learning how to use the abacus is quite popular among the children at kindergartens and primary schools. Frequent use of the abacus remarkably improves their memory, ability of fast reading, thinking and imaginative power.
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