December 24 in DPRK

December 24 is a day of special significance in the DPRK as a series of happy events took place that day.

December 24, 1917

Kim Jong Suk(1917-1949) whom the Korean people boundlessly reverse as anti-Japanese heroine was born that day.

Born in the days of national sufferings when Korea was under the Japanese military rule(1905-1945), she took part in the anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in her early years with arms in her hands and made a great contribution to the cause of Korea’s liberation. She also performed great exploits in the building a a new society after liberation.

The greatest of her feats is that she devotedly safeguarded the headquarters of the Korean revolution. She carried out to the end the orders given by General Kim Il Sung, the peerless great man of the Korean nation, fought at the cost of her life against phenomena running counter to his idea and lines and protected him from danger in fierce battles by devoting herself like a shield.

She was an outstanding commanding officer, competent political worker and master shot. Her image is enshrined in the minds of the Korean people for her warm love for the people and her devotion for the comrades.

What is distinctive in her exploits is that she provided a sure guarantee for carrying forward the socialist cause of Korea through generations.

Her life and exploits will shine forever together with the prosperous socialist Korea.

December 24, 1991

Leader Kim Jong Il was appointed the Supreme Commander of the Korean People’s Army that day.

It was when socialist Korea was faced with unprecedented trials. Taking advantage of the collapse of socialism in some countries, the imperialists were stepping up the anti-socialist offensive against the DPRK.

Kim Jong Il, who assumed a heavy responsibility of the KPA supreme commandership at such a time, frustrated the aggressive schemes of the imperialists and ensured the security of socialist Korea by strengthening the army into invincible powerful forces. He defined Songun politics as the main political mode of socialism and embodied it in a comprehensive way, thus putting the national power involving not only military affairs but politics, the economy and culture on the highest stage. As he, with the conviction of sure victory and iron will, stood in the van of the army and the people, socialism of Korea could be saved from crisis and its invincibility demonstrated throughout the world.

He safeguarded not merely socialism. In the days of life-and-death struggle to safeguard socialism he unfolded a plan for building a great, prosperous and powerful nation and provided a springboard for it, with the result that the DPRK ushered in a new era of building a thriving nation.

It is quite natural for the Korean people to significantly celebrate December 24 when he was appointed the Supreme Commander of the KPA.

December 24, 2008

That day the torch of a new revolutionary upsurge was rekindled in the DPRK. While proving field guidance to the Chollima Steel Complex, the leading base of metallurgical industry of the country, Kim Jong Il sparked it off.

The DPRK had a prototype of a revolutionary upsurge called “Chollimia great surge.” One day in December 1956, three years after the Korean war(1950-1953) unleashed by the US imperialists, President Kim Il Sung met the workers of the Kangson Steel Plant(the predecessor of the present Chollima Steel Complex). He told them that if they produce 10,000 tons of structural steel more it would help the country greatly, and kindled the flames for increased production and innovations. True to the President’s call the steelworkers in Kangson performed a miracle of producing 120,000 tons of steel billets in a blooming mill with a capacity of turning out 60,000 tons. Their examples resulted in creating the vortex of Chollima great surge (Chollima is a legendary winged horse running 400 km a day, meaning a lightning speed). As a result, the DPRK completed the socialist industrialization within a short period of 14 years.

It can be said that it is the plan and intention of Kim Jong Il to make a new turning point in the current drive to build a thriving nation by inheriting this tradition. When the workers in Kangson, the native place of Chollima, rush ahead in high spirits their colleagues throughout the country will follow suit, he said, calling on the Chollima Steel Complex to rekindle the torch of a new revolutionary upsurge.

The torch of a great upsurge rekindled in Kangson is now spreading like wildfire. All the people are turning out in the great struggle of building a thriving nation to become honourable participants and persons of great services, working ceaseless innovations and feats in all fields. At present, the overall economy of the DPRK is developing at a remarkable speed.

The Korean people in such high spirits will surely open, as they have decided, the gate to a great, prosperous and powerful nation in 2012 that marks the centenary of birth of President Kim Il Sung, father of socialist Korea.

December 24, 2008, when the torch of a new revolutionary upsurge was rekindled, was recorded in the history of socialist Korea and also enshrined in the minds of the Korean people as another national commemoration day of great significance.