Songun Era and Youth

A young man rushed to where there was a microphone stand and began to recite over the microphone a poem written by Hero Ri Su Bok.

Soon all those who had petitioned to be allowed to enlist in the army joined in reciting the poem and their choral recitation resounded far.

…

Where will there be so precious a life,
So beautiful a hope and so great a happiness
As offering my youth for the sake of the only country I have
Though I have the one and only life!

	A DPRK Hero's story of a feat performed during the Korean War against the US imperialists makes the young people resolve to dedicate themselves to defending the socialism.

Young man Kim Kyong Sop who had petitioned to be allowed to join the KPA after graduating from
Kim Hyong Jik University of Education said in his speech:

"What is most necessary for the country at this stern moment when the US imperialists are coming out with nuclear bombs in their hands?

"Needless to say, it is soldiers with arms in their hands.

"Let us glorify the youthful life of the Songun era at the post of national defence!"

His ardent appeal touched the heartstrings of those present at the meeting.

The Songun era and youth! Soldiers!

Today in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the word "Songun" is not the symbol of life which is regarded only as an ideal but is a designation and a synonym for the life of great worth glorifying our era.

When looking back upon the history of the Korean revolution, it was young people who rushed in the first line of the hard-fought battles unhesitatingly at the risk of their lives at the time when the country was placed in the position of the greatest difficulty and when the country necessitated advancing faster.

The anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters of the first generation of the Korean revolution who had covered tens of thousands of miles through bloody battles to save the country, following General Kim Il Sung were also hot-blooded young people in their twenties or so.

The history of youth in arms started by the anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters is being continued creditably, that is, by sthe generation of Hero Ri Su Bok in the 1950s, the generation of Hero Kim Kwang Chol in the 1990s and the generation of Hero Kim Ki Bong in the 21st century.

The young people cherish the belief that only when their country is strong can they realize their wishes and bring about their true happiness.

A story about a girl soldier of the Kamnamu (persimmon tree) company who is spending her youthful days at the post where her mother took military service formerly, a story about a soldier who had the honour of getting a souvenir photograph taken together with the leader Kim Jong Il at a post on the out-of-the-way Chol Pass.... Many of such Songun anecdotes and families of soldiers growing in number now constitute a pride of our era.

Men of the People's Army safely preserved portraits and badges of President Kim Il Sung and the leader Kim Jong Il before they died though they were adrift in a boundless ocean for months in the depth of winter.

The DPRK is safe, for there are young people who strive to add luster to the Songun era, cherishing such a belief.

The vigorous melody of the "Song of National Defence" sung by the petitioners with an adamant resolve reverberated far and wide.

An Mu Gwang