THE GREAT LEADER COMRADE KIM JONG ILS’ ON THE SPOT GUIDANCE ,SELF RELIANCE
THE GREAT LEADER COMRADE KIM JONG ILS’ ON THE SPOT GUIDANCE ,SELF RELIANCE
AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
(PAPER DELIVERED TO JUCHE IDEA STUDY GROUP OF ENGLAND MEETING JANUARY 30TH 2010)
I thought rather than give an account of the life and revolutionary activities of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il as I have done so in the past on several occasions I would prepare something concentrating on contemporary issues and also dealing with practicalities namely building up the economy.In this paper I hope to dissolve some misunderstandings and myths about the role of leader Kim Jong Il.
I am going to say something here about the on the spot guidance of leader Kim Jong Il and his leadership over the DPRK economy.In the past year or so he has visited many enterprises and institutions travelling all over the DPRK.
There are great misunderstandings about both the role of the leader and about on the spot guidance so let us deal with them before proceeding. Because some years ago a big mouth in a large socialist country decided it would be a good idea to attack the preceding leader of that country and launched into a vitriolic attack on that leader. Part of this was based on the false concept that there was somehow in a socialist society a separation of the leader from the masses,indeed even the antithesis of the masses.Thus they do not see the leader and masses as one.On top of this there is a view which asserts that the leader is simply a politician like politicians in capitalist countries who are generally seen by the populace at large as untrustworthy individuals out for their own interests.
In my discussion with DPRK social scientists they always stressed that the leader is not an individual. Basically the leader,party,army and people form a harmonious whole.The leader is very much part of society just like anyone else.Indeed,without wishing to go into detail about the history of comrade Kim Jong Il's life,leader Kim Jong Il has always led a humble life and shared weal and woe with the masses.For example as a university student in the late 1950s he personally took part in the construction of Pyongyang working hard building a road.
On the spot guidance means simply more than just visiting somewhere and looking around.It fully embodies the mass line of the Workers Party of Korea and the famous Chongsan ri method and Chongsan Ri spirit which basically the leadership going down to the grassroots,grasping the situation and offering help and assistance,It is different to the bureaucratic method of simply sitting in an office reading reports.
During the past year or so leader Kim Jong Il has given on the spot guidance continously,almost on a daily basis,visiting many different places.Although he visited Army units the guidance was focussed on industrial and economic units and also coincided with the 150 day campaign and 100 day campaign.
On the 24th December 2008 leader Kim Jong Il visited the Chollima Steel Complex at Kangson to rouse the workers there to increase production.This visit was highly significant because it was here in December 1956 that the great leader comrade Kim Il Sung visited the plant which was then known as the Kangson Steel plant.At the time the situation of the DPRK was difficult it was 3 years after the war which had flattened large parts of the country and everything was in short supply-the DPRK had just managed to rehabilate the economy but there was still a lot to do.Worse still various enemies of the revolution ganged up on the DPRK
the US imperialists and south Korean puppets were clamouring for a war against the DPRK and modern revisionists and great power chauvinists were interfering in the DPRK and putting pressure on.Internally factionalist groups with the backing of outside forces had tried to overthrow the leadership.The great leader comrade Kim Il Sung appealed to the workers saying that the party could only rely on them and no one else.He appealed to them to produce an extra amount of steel as this was badly needed by the country.In the event they doubled steel production from 60,000 tons to 120,000 tons smashing rated capacities.
Leader Kim Jong Il noted noted that the Korean people opened the gate of industrialization at one go by advancing several centuries in the spirit of self-reliance which stunned the world in the 1950s, he underscored the need to give full play to the might of self-reliance which was augmented in the days of "the Arduous March", the forced march and thus build a great prosperous powerful nation earlier than scheduled.
He earnestly called on the entire party and army and all the people to bring about a new revolutionary surge with the conviction of sure victory and indomitable spirit and thus fling open the gate of a great prosperous powerful nation by 2012 and more strikingly demonstrate the dignity and might of Songun Korea.
In 2009 he tirelessly gave on the spot guidance.KCNA reported that provided field guidance to at least 200 units across the country this year. (I would add here that this means that he was giving on the spot guidance 2 out of every 3 working days in the year)
The number of the units which received his field guidance in the first three months of the great advance for effecting a great surge that started at the outset of the year is more than quadruple that in the same period of last year.
Under his leadership the Songjin Steel Complex witnessed a great event to be specially recorded in the development of metallurgic industry, the event that definitely put the nation's metal industry on the orbit of its development on the basis of Juche iron.
While giving on-the-spot guidance to the Taehung Youth Mine, he most highly appreciated the feat its workers performed by successfully placing the magnesia clinker production on a Juche basis in the spirit of self-reliance in a brief span of time. This benevolent care resulted in the emergence of the first hero mine in the country.
The builders of the Huichon Power Station have completed in a matter of five months the amount of work which would take several years at ordinary pace by dashing ahead along the path indicated by him, creating the "Huichon Speed", a great speed of advance in Songun Korea.
A new era of full introduction of CNC technology has been ushered in economic construction. Keeping pace with the forced march of peerlessly great man Kim Jong Il, the Taean Heavy Machine Complex wrought such a miracle in the spirit of self-reliance as putting super-large machine tools on a CNC basis and the Kusong Machine Tool Factory turned into a model factory equipped with up-to-the-minute technology.
He visited the February 8 Vinalon Complex twice to give field guidance to it and also toured the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex, bringing about a great leap forward in the development of the nation's chemical and fertilizer industries.
While visiting the Samilpho Special Product Factory, he highly praised the factory for setting an example in producing varieties of highest quality foodstuffs by totally relying on the locally available raw materials and resources and thus kindled a torch for bringing about a new radical turn in the foodstuff processing industry.
He provided on-the-spot guidance to the Migok Cooperative Farm in Sariwon City, the Unhung Cooperative Farm in Thaechon County and other rural areas, leading them to thoroughly implement the party's policy on bringing about a radical turn in agriculture. His field guidance kicked off a nationwide hot competition for a leaping boost in agricultural production.
The Ostrich Farm has turned into a large-scale one presenting spectacular scenery and cattle farms, pig farms, chicken farms and other stock-breeding bases have been technologically updated and fish culture centers have been equipped with the latest science and technology thanks to his loving care for providing the people with most affluent and highly civilized life.
The people's ideal was translated into a reality wherever he went as exemplified by the construction of attractive mountaineering roads on Mt. Myohyang presenting superb scenery, the renovation of the Pyongyang Grand Theatre, the appearance of Majon Hotel, the Kalma Theatre, the North Hwanghae Provincial Art Theatre and other best centres for cultural and emotional life, the Taedonggang Tile Factory, the world's best general building material base, Mansudae Street, a standard for building apartment houses of a thriving nation, the Hwangjin Hot Spring Village, a socialist fairyland, and other places.
He energetically led the work to put science, education, culture and arts and land construction onto the highest level.
The whole party's campaign for general offensive, the all-state campaign for general mobilization and the all-people life-and-death campaign were conducted to bring about an epochal phase in building a thriving nation, inspired by the indefatigable journeys for field guidance made by him and the 150-day campaign and the 100-day campaign resulted in bringing a shining heyday to Songun Korea.
I think some of the concrete results of the on spot guidance and leadership are carried in the passage above.I would say that the main result has become self reliant economic growth.The Korean people have been able to advance by their own efforts and significantly in the face of US and UN sanctions.During the 150 day campaign industrial output growth hit 28% and during some of the time of the 100 day campaign it topped 30%. Some cynics may say "ah well production statistics do not mean anything".However besides the quantative growth there were 2 vitally important aspects involved.Firstly,the widespread introduction of Korean made Computer Numerically Controlled machine tools into sectors of the DPRK economy.These are known as the cutting edge and there is even a new popular song "Cutting Edge".CNC machine tools have boosted productivity and cut costs.In one case they reduced the amount of hours required to produce turbine parts from 800 hours to 50 hours.Secondly,2009 saw the workers and technical staff at the Songjin Steel Complex in the north east realise a long cherished goal -the production of Juche iron and steel ie the production of and iron using native resources and methods.This means that the need for coking coal is eliminated in the iron production process thus meaning that steel and iron production can proceed without interruption and the industry has been liberated from reliance on a foreign source of materials. Leader Kim Jong Il described this as a victory greater than a third nuclear test.
Thus the DPRK economy has made a huge leap forward in 2009 and the basis laid for a self sutaining take off into economic growth as well for the goal of building a great prosperous powerful socialist nation and raising peoples living standards.This is the fruit of leader Kim Jong Il's on the spot guidance and Songun leadership. This is the reason why Korean people celebrate the date of his birth and also friends of the DPRK also celebrate it.