The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un sent a letter "Let Us Write a New Great Chapter in the History of the Movement of Koreans in Japan by Carrying Forward the Patriotic Spirit of the Founder Generation" to the officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan(Chongryon) and other Korean compatriots in Japan on May 25 on the occasion of the 70th founding anniversary of Chongryon.

The full text of the letter is as follows:

Esteemed officials of the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon),

Dear compatriots resident in Japan,

Having traversed a road of patriotism with the honourable appellation and dignity of being a prototype of overseas compatriots’ organizations in the world, Chongryon has greeted the 70th anniversary of its founding.

Over the many decades since the day when it was founded, flying high the national flag of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and demonstrating the spirit and mettle of indomitable Korea at the centre of a capitalist country, Chongryon has left indelible imprints in history, sharing its destiny with the motherland.

In the swirling vortex of history Chongryon and Koreans resident in Japan stoutly followed the road of the national movement of patriotism from one century into the next and from one generation into the next linking their destiny to that of their dear homeland. Their merits shine resplendently in the history of the Juche-oriented movement of overseas compatriots.

On this significant occasion of the founding anniversary of Chongryon I pay ennobling tribute to Comrades Han Tok Su, Ri Jin Gyu, So Man Sul, Ri Kye Baek, Ri Sim Chol, Yun Tok Gon, Kim Un Sun, Pak Jong Hyon, Ro Jae Ho and other first-generation officials of Chongryon and other known and unknown Korean activists in Japan, who founded the dignified entity–Chongryon–pioneering the thorny path of the Juche-oriented movement of Koreans in Japan in the vanguard under the leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.

I also offer my warm congratulations and encouragement to Chairman Ho Jong Man, First Vice-Chairman Pak Ku Ho and other officials who, witnessing the historical development of Chongryon, have worked with devotion in the vanguard of its patriotic struggle, and to all the officials of its grass-roots organizations who, living most closely with our compatriots, have formed ties of kinship with them and are looking after them with sincerity by carrying forward the soul of the preceding generations.

My heartfelt thanks go to Chongryon’s educationalists and all other compatriots who, without any selfish motive and without seeking any reward, are making earnest efforts to develop national education under the difficult circumstances in the alien land.