The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was founded on 9 September, 1948. During these 71 years, it has been turned from a backward colonial agrarian country into a dignified, powerful socialist country, drawing great attention of the international community. Its features can be seen from various angles.
A Country of Independence
The DPRK is recognized as a ‘country of independence’ and a ‘country of principle’ in the world political circles. It neither dances to the tune of others nor yields to any power and outside forces in the international arena, but says what it has to say. It also conducts state building and activities independently and in conformity with its actual conditions.
In the closing years of the previous century when socialist systems in the east European countries collapsed one after another and confidence in socialism was on the wane across the world, the DPRK, maintaining its principles, followed the road of socialism without vacillation.
The country’s politics of independence owes much to President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) who founded the country. Leading the country for a long time, he had been praised as a world veteran statesman representing the 20th century, a renowned state leader.
The smaller a country is, the stronger it should be in the sense of national pride, and if a country is servile to any big power, the nation would go to ruin–this was his motto.
The Korean people are upholding Kim Il Sung as their eternal leader, who laid down a lasting foundation for an independent, powerful country and brought about the wellbeing of modern Korea.
A Country of Unity
The high level of unity of all the people is the most remarkable feature that distinguishes the DPRK from other countries. The whole society and all the people are firmly united around their leader; this is the main source of the country’s strength.
Thanks to the solid unity of the leader, the Party and the masses, the country has developed into a powerful socialist country, braving all manner of trials and difficulties.
It is not fortuitous that the DPRK is called by the international community a “formidable country” and a “country that does what it is determined to do.”
The country’s unity is unthinkable apart from the exploits of Chairman Kim Jong Il (1942-2011) of the National Defence Commission, whom the Korean people uphold as the eternal General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. Having started to work on the Central Committee of the WPK in the mid-1960s and leading the Party for a long time, he ensured that all the people and the entire country achieved unity, unprecedented in human history.
Based on this unity, the DPRK develops and advances towards a brighter future without any hesitation or vacillation even under the harshest-ever sanctions by the hostile forces.
A Country with Powerful Military Strength
The military strength of the DPRK is recognized across the world. It possesses modern strategic weapons and powerful means of attack and defence and has an army capable of performing any modern warfare efficiently.
As it is strong in the military aspect, no force dares to provoke the country. Its military strength should not be assessed by the standard of its army. With all the people being armed and the whole country fortified on a high level, it is literally a ‘porcupine’.
The country’s politics of independence is supported by the powerful military strength as well as by the self-supporting economy.
It adheres to the principle of self-reliant defence. In view of the fact that Korea had suffered all manner of trials by outside forces, it is so natural that the powerful military strength is regarded as a treasured sword with which to protect the security of the country and nation.
The preceding leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, paid special attention to building up the country’s military capability. Inheriting their idea of giving priority to armed forces, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un is turning the country into a military giant, a strategic state recognized by the world.
Chairman Kim Jong Un Seen through Panmunjom Meeting
On the afternoon of 30 June, 2019, the world attention was focused on Panmunjom of Korea as a DPRK-US summit took place here all of a sudden upon the request of President Donald Trump of the United States.
At the summit meeting and talks the leaders of the two countries discussed the ways for easing tension on the Korean peninsula and improving bilateral relations, and agreed on resuming and pushing forward productive dialogues for making a new breakthrough in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and in the bilateral relations. The summit struck the world with wonder.
Because of the insincere attitude of the US side in the second DPRK-US summit that took place in Hanoi in February this year, the DPRK-US relations had grown cool and dark shadows had been cast on the improvement of these relations.
In his policy speech at the First Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly held in April this year, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un said he was not interested in the US-style dialogue of unilaterally pushing its demands, and clarified his position that he would not sit face to face with the US president until the US side found a new way of calculation.
It is quite natural that the world people were shocked to see the leaders of the DPRK and the US having a dramatic meeting at Panmunjom in such circumstances.
The DPRK-US summit can be said to have been realized thanks to the good personal relations between Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump.
If personal relations are good, even the hole of the needle is broad enough, but if not, the world looks narrow, it is said.
Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un said in public that he has good personal relations with President Trump, who also said on several occasions that he is always with Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and maintains good relations with him. Such good personal relations between them resulted in the historic Panmunjom summit.
The summit made the world judge that Kim Jong Un is very sincere and has a sense of duty. Kim Jong Un, in his policy speech in April this year severely criticized the insincere attitude of the US side, but said that his personal relations with President Trump were not hostile like the relationship of the two countries, and both of them still maintain good relations.
He spoke highly of Trump, saying that he was the first US president to hold a summit with the DPRK in the US history, and showed him broadmindedness.
Through two rounds of summit meeting, Trump felt that his DPRK counterpart was a man whom he could trust and with whom he could communicate. Attracted by Kim Jong Un’s humane features, he had sent his personal letter to him and, without any prior preparations, requested to meet at Panmunjom.
The Panmunjom summit demonstrated to the international community that Kim Jong Un is a generous and broadminded statesman.
To the eyes of the Koreans, the US attitude towards them is not friendly and double-dealing. While engaged in negotiations, the US was obsessed with imposing sanctions against the DPRK. After the Hanoi summit the US openly engaged in hostile activities by conducting a test for the simulated interception of the ICBM of the DPRK and resumming military exercises.
Relations between countries exert influence on the relations between their people. However, Kim Jong Un did not see his personal relations with Trump as he saw the relations between the two countries. The Panmunjom summit showed once again Kim Jong Un’s unprecedented and skilful diplomacy.
Facing Trump across the demarcation line, Kim Jong Un said to him that the whole world was watching them and invited him to the northern part, adding that he would be the first US president to set his foot on the territory of the DPRK. They shook hands with each other and posed for a photograph with the Panmun House as the background.
