opinion

Days, months and years of the Songun revolutionary leadership of Chairman Kim Jong Il tell a lot of touching stories about his love and devotion for the soldiers of the Korean People’s Army.

Here are some of them.

Chol Pass

Chol Pass is steep and rugged.

It goes up 16 kilometres and down the same distance. It has a steep slope and is slippery when it snows heavily. But Chairman Kim Jong Il often drove his car to climb the pass.

One day in July 2001, when he went over the pass over again, officials tried hard to dissuade him.

At that time, he said that he knew the pass was rough and dangerous and a little slip on it would make the car fall over the precipice, but he often climbed the pass because his beloved soldiers stood guard along the defence line of the country waiting for him, Supreme Commander of the KPA, over the pass. They are impregnably defending their posts, rain or shine, thinking of their Supreme Commander, he said, adding he could not stay idle without visiting them.

Nothing, even the high and rough Chol Pass, could block his way to his soldiers.

Supreme Commander and soldier

It happened one day in March 1996.

Towards evening, Chairman Kim Jong Il climbed the Chol Pass again.

It was a historic place where President Kim Il Sung met a soldier who was on his duty at the post on the pass and had a photo taken with him on the field guidance tour of a KPA unit one spring day 31 years ago.

The Chairman, who had accompanied the President at the time, recalled that day and told officials to meet a soldier on sentry duty there.

A KPA general ran to the guard house but couldn’t bring the sentry with him soon as it was some distance away from the top of the mountain.

The sun set and the wind began to blow more strongly. It was so cold that it was hard to bear the cold on hands and feet. However, Chairman Kim Jong Il stood at the top of the cold mountain for 20 minutes waiting for the sentry.

Finally, the general came back with a soldier with his gun and in full combat gear.

With a bright smile on his face, the Chairman was delighted to meet the soldier who gave him a smart military salute and warmly asked about his name and birthplace. The soldier courageously answered what his name was and that he was born in Kophung County of Jagang Province. Hearing his answer, the accompanying officials could not but be surprised. The soldier who had a photo taken with the President at the post 31 years ago was also from Kophung County of Jagang Province.

The story about unusual happiness of an ordinary soldier from a mountainous village, who met the Chairman unexpectedly at the remote windy mountain army post, spread across the country.