editorial

On December 24 1991, the Korean people held the great leader Comrade Kim Jong Il in high esteem as supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army.

The 20 years of his revolutionary activities since he assumed the heavy responsibility of the KPA Supreme Commander are shining as the chronicle of the great brilliant commander who strengthened and developed the revolutionary armed forces of the DPRK and firmly defended the destiny of the country and people.

He imbued officers and men of the KPA with the truth that the army emerges victorious if it holds fast to the ideology, and if it fails to do so, it collapses, and developed the KPA into an army strong in idea and faith that reliably defends the destiny of the country and people.

With the unwavering faith that the independent dignity and peace of the country and the victory of socialism hinge on the arms, he continued his high-intensity forced march for building up the combat capability of the People’s Army, saying that he had to go not only to frontline areas surrounded with barbed wires but also to rougher and more dangerous places if there were his soldiers.

He continuously made field inspection tours to the outposts for defending the country, including Chol Pass, Mt Osong, Height 351, Height 1211, Panmunjom and Cho Island.

Wherever he went, he instilled a-match-for-a-hundred courage into the soldiers and taught them outstanding strategies and tactics for defeating any formidable enemy. When he arrived at a post at early dawn, he waited a long time until sunrise lest he should wake up the soldiers from a sound sleep and, while looking round barracks, he estimated the temperature in the soldiers’ quarters and examined the company’s living conditions, showing warm love and affection to the soldiers.

He directed primary efforts to developing the country’s defence industry, with the firm belief that it is possible to reliably guarantee the security of the country and the victorious advance of the revolution only when the KPA is fully prepared politically, ideologically, strategically and tactically and its arms and equipment are improved continuously as required by modern warfare.

He put forward the line of economic construction in the Songun era and directed his thinking and efforts to implementing the Juche-orientation and modernization of the defence industry of the country. Under his leadership, the DPRK’s defence industry became able to produce military equipment of any kind at will and the revolutionary armed forces of the country developed into an ever-victorious army equipped with modern offensive and defensive means.

Thanks to the powerful self-defence capabilities built up by the leadership of Chairman Kim Jong Il, the Korean people have been able to lead a stable life free from war and dynamically advance along the road of independence and socialism despite the touch-and-go situations created by the imperialists’ undisguised moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK and war drills.

The exploits of the Chairman who provided the invincible military muscle guaranteeing the sovereignty and destiny of the country and people will shine for all ages.