Opinion

To maintain independence is essential for establishing fair international relations.

When each nation’s independence is ensured firmly, domination and subordination can thoroughly be abolished and genuine equality achieved between countries and between nations.

A country that fails to maintain independence and acts under other’s baton cannot be claimed to be a true sovereign and independent state even if it has a government.

Such a country cannot exercise its independent right in external relations and, after all, it is shackled by unequal master-servant relations and brings national ruin. 

Since the master of your destiny is yourself, each country and nation must adopt a standpoint of formulating foreign policies according to their independent judgment and determination and implementing them with consistency and principle.

Only then can they exercise sovereignty and equal right in international relations with dignity, not dancing to the tune of others nor blindly following others.

It is another important condition for countries in establishing fair international relations to respect other’s independence. 

There can be neither high and low country nor ruling and governed nation.  All the countries and nations are equal.

Each country has the right to adopt an ideology, system and doctrine suitable for it.

Nobody is entitled to interfere in and find fault with that.

If you interfere in others’ affairs and force your view on others, fair international relations cannot be established.

Only when countries and nations maintain their independence and respect others’ independence can they establish equal relations and be on good terms with each other by transcending differences in ideology, system and doctrine and achieve common prosperity and development in a peaceful environment. 

As in the past, it is  an aspiration common to humankind and overall international trend to live and develop independently.

As many countries of the world share common interests in the development of international relations and world civilization as members of the international community, they can forge friendly ties with each other and contribute to establishing a fair international order if they have the standpoint of respecting others' independence, not infringing it.

The DPRK has firmly maintained an independent stand in international relations and developed friendly and cooperative ties with many countries over the world on the principle of mutual respect for sovereignty, non-interference, equality and mutual benefits.

It has mapped out foreign policies and conducted external activities guided by the Juche idea, according to its independent judgment and determination and in conformity with the country’s specific conditions and its people’s interests.

Thanks to the consistent and steadfast independent politics of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the DPRK has been able to advance along the road of socialism, unaffected by the ever-changing world situation.

The DPRK will continue to make a positive contribution to accomplishing the cause of global independence by further boosting international relations based on independence.