The Korean revolution was pioneered and has emerged victorious by force of arms. The sovereignty and dignity of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have been defended honorably by Songun politics.

The leader Kim Jong Il said

“The independence of the country and the people and the victorious advance of the revolution can be firmly guaranteed only by Songun politics.”

Relying on force of arms the Korean people defeated two imperialisms in one generation and defended the destiny of the country and the people, and carried out two stages of social revolutions and have built socialism successfully in defiance of the enemy’s challenges and threats.

Songun has been the banner of struggle, the banner of victory, that has encouraged our people on the glorious road from the initial stage of the Juche revolution to the present.

President Kim Il Sung, who set out on the road of the anti-Japanese revolution in his early years, attached great importance to arms and military affairs and consistently maintained this principle. A revolution is decided by force of arms. A strong army will make it possible to liberate the country and build the Party and the state. This was his faith and the essence of his idea which gives prominence to military affairs.

By rallying like-minded people and using the two pistols inherited from his father as his asset, Kim Il Sung founded the Anti-Japanese People’s Guerrilla Army (AJPGA), the first of its kind in Korean history, in April Juche 21 (1932).

He established guerrilla bases in vast areas and conducted flexible military and political activities by relying on them. He set up people’s revolutionary governments in the bases which were a prototype of the new-type government to be established in the liberated Korea.

The road of anti-Japanese armed struggle was not smooth. In the worst adversity he braced up the ranks with a do-or-die spirit, convinced that if they let go of the arms, Korea could not rise to its feet again.

In the course of this hard struggle, the AJPGA was reorganized into the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army (KPRA) and a unified system of leadership was established for the anti-Japanese armed ranks and revolutionary organizations in the homeland, with the result that the KPRA developed into a pivotal force in the anti-Japanese national-liberation struggle. Thus, the Korean revolution was pushed ahead vigorously on the strength of the arms and the great cause of national liberation was finally achieved.

The task of building a new society after Korea’s liberation had to be carried out in confrontation with the US imperialists who occupied south Korea.

While constantly attaching great importance to arms, Kim Il Sung channelled energy into creating self-reliant defence industry even in the difficult situation, strengthened our army into regular revolutionary armed forces and, on this basis, achieved the historic cause of founding the DPRK in September Juche 37 (1948).

With the founding of the DPRK our country made its appearance on the arena of history as an independent state with a powerful weapon for the revolution and construction and our people came to enjoy a worthwhile life as legitimate masters of state power and as an independent people.

The US imperialists, dreaming of conquering the northern half of Korea and, further, dominating the whole world, finally unleashed a war of aggression in Korea.

Kim Il Sung mobilized the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and all the people for winning victory in the Fatherland Liberation War by prevailing over the enemy’s numerical and technical superiority by means of our politico-ideological, strategic and tactical superiority, and thus honorably safeguarded the sovereignty of the country and the people and gave strong impetus to the anti-imperialist, anti-US struggle throughout the world.

After the ceasefire, too, the US imperialists aggravated tensions in Korea and other parts of the world by their ceaseless moves for war.

In the prevailing situation, Kim Il Sung set forth the line of developing economic construction in parallel with defence upbuilding and led the people to carry it out in a revolutionary way. He also saw to it that the Party’s military line of training the entire army into a cadre army, arming it with modern weaponry, arming the whole nation and fortifying the whole land was implemented to the letter, with the result that the combat capabilities of the KPA have been remarkably augmented and the whole country turned into an impregnable fortress.

Always accompanying Kim Il Sung since the inspection of Tank Division No. 105 in August Juche 49 (1960),
Kim Jong Il has devoted all his energies to increasing military strength and defence power.

Since he put forward the slogan on modelling the whole army on the Juche idea in the 1970s, he has energetically led the work of imbuing the whole army with the ideology of President Kim Il Sung and trained the KPA into the army of the Party and the leader unfailingly loyal to the revolutionary cause of Juche with the worship for the leader. In those days all the provocations of the US imperialists were smashed to pieces, whereas the dignity and power of the DPRK were demonstrated to the whole world.

In the 1990s when the imperialists and reactionaries became more unscrupulous than ever in their moves to isolate and stifle the DPRK, the Korean revolution underwent the bitterest trial. Kim Jong Il who succeeded Kim Il Sung as the Supreme Commander of the KPA and the Chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission adopted Songun politics with a firm determination to complete the Korean revolution by force of arms, a revolution carved out by arms.

He had already made clear the principle of revolution that the government can be maintained only by arms, and built up the country’s power with the military-centred policy. He adhered to the solid creed that the army means the Party, the state and the people and set out on the road of Songun politics since his inspection tour to an army unit on Tabaksol Hill on the New Year’s Day of Juche 84 (1995).

Under his Songun leadership, the revolutionary soldier spirit was created and the whole Party and society were pervaded with ardour to learn from the spirit. As a result, the political and ideological power of the KPA rose as never before. In this period, Kim Jong Il clarified that our Party’s politics is Songun politics and that the basic strategic line of our Party is the Songun revolutionary line.

Songun politics is a unique political mode of our times which settles all problems arising in the revolution and construction on the principle of attaching priority to military affairs and pushes ahead with the cause of socialism as a whole by putting up the army as the pillar of the revolution.

He enhanced the position and authority of the DPRK National Defence Commission and reorganized the political structure of the state into that of Songun politics with the Commission as its pivot to conform with the requirements of the Songun era, thus developing the DPRK into a mighty political power for effecting Songun politics of the Party.

In the days of implementing Songun politics the KPA has turned into an invincible army and main force of the revolution which is strong in ideology, superior in tactics and powerful in military equipment, and the single-hearted unity of our revolutionary ranks centering on the KPA and the motive force for the revolution have been consolidated as solid as rock.

Under the banner of Songun politics, the KPA soldiers undertook both national defence and socialist construction, and the revolutionary soldier spirit, the Kanggye spirit and the Torch of Ranam prevailed throughout the country. This brought about a great upswing in the building of the economy and culture and opened up a new phase in building a great prosperous powerful nation in this land.

The first north-south summit to be held in the history of 55-year-long division and the follow-up publication of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration provided bright prospects for national reunification. Foreign affairs, too, registered great successes with an increasing number of countries around the world showing a greater interest in improving their relations with our country.

Songun politics which fully embodies the requirements of the Juche idea is, indeed, an all-powerful treasured sword and a banner of victory that defends the sovereignty of the DPRK and the destiny of socialism and creditably guarantees a rosy future for the cause of Juche in the new century.

The fact that the DPRK is demonstrating its dignity in the new century with the might of Songun politics, making a forward march for building a great prosperous powerful nation, infuses great national pride and self-confidence in the Korean people while encouraging and imbuing confidence in the world’s progressive people who advocate independence.

The DPRK will prosper forever as it guided by the peerless great man with extraordinary intelligence and strategy, winning victory after victory under the banner of Songun politics.

Korea Pictorial, Pyongyang, DPR Korea
Juche 92 (2003)