Immortal Exploits of Bringing About National Liberation

August 15 is the day of national liberation for the Korean people.

The liberation of Korea (August 15, 1945) Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean people, brought about by leading the anti-Japanese armed struggle to victory was a historic event that put an end to the history of national sufferings and opened up a new era of Juche Korea.

Entering the 20th century, the Korean people, who had long been groaning in the fetters of feudalism, were subjected to bitter slavery owing to the Japanese imperialists’ military occupation (1905-1945) of their country. The Japanese imperialists enforced merciless tyranny, depriving the Korean people of even the elementary right to existence, cruelly suppressing their movement for social progress and seriously hindering the independent development of the nation.

They destroyed and plundered the precious spiritual and cultural wealth of the nation created in the 5 000-year-long history and forced Koreans to change their names into Japanese ones. Millions of young and middle-aged people were forcibly drafted as cannon fodders for war or to the places of drudgery, and many Korean women were taken as sexual slaves for the imperial Japanese army.

As the Japanese imperialists seized all the economic lifelines of the country including agriculture, fishery, forestry and mining, Korea was reduced to a source of raw materials and a commodity market for Japan.

When the destiny of the nation was at the crossroads of life and death, Kim Il Sung embarked on the road of revolution with a great intention to restore the country. He originated the immortal Juche Idea and organized and led the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle to victory under the banner of the idea, thus liberating the country at last.

With the liberation of the country, the political, military and economic foundations on which the Japanese imperialists had relied were fundamentally eliminated and the main fetters that hindered the independent development of the nation were completely liquidated. Thanks to the enforcement of democratic reforms including agrarian reform and nationalization of major industries, all sectors of the national economy including industry and agriculture entered a new stage of development.

As Kim Il Sung firmly adhered to the Juche-oriented and independent stand in the revolution and construction, the Korean people realized the cause of building the party, army and state in a short period after liberation, won a brilliant victory in the Fatherland Liberation War (June 1950-July 1953) against the armed invasion of the US imperialists, and effected a constant great upsurge in the postwar reconstruction and socialist construction, thus laying an eternal foundation for building a prosperous country.

The liberation of the nation brought about a radical turn in carving out the destiny of the Korean people.

They, who had to undergo subhuman maltreatment and humiliation, became completely free from colonial slavery and able to enjoy an independent and creative life to their heart’s content as full-fledged masters of their destiny and of the state and society. And everyone had the right to elect and to be elected so as to take part freely in the state political activities and turn out in the struggle to build a prosperous country.

They also accomplished socialist industrialization in 14 years, built a socialist state independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in national defence, and victoriously advanced the socialist cause of Juche, while frustrating the ceaseless moves of imperialism to isolate and stifle their country. This is inconceivable apart from President Kim Il Sung’s exploits of national liberation.

The undying exploits of the President who ushered in a new era of Juche Korea are shining along with the DPRK winning victory after victory with each passing day.

Yang Ryon Hui

2023-08-14