opinion

But the Korean people still remember the historic flames of Pochonbo that blazed up illuminating the whole country which had been eclipsed with the ruin of the nation.

It was the General’s daring intention to advance on the homeland as soon as possible to teach the Japanese aggressors a lesson and show them that the Korean people were alive, that they would not abandon their spoken and written language, that they did not recognize the idea that “Korea and Japan are one” and that “Japanese and Koreans are of the same descent”, that they refused to be “imperial subjects” and that the Korean nation would carry on an armed resistance till the fall of Japan. 

The gunshot made by Kim Il Sung at 10:00 pm on June 4 1937, breaking the nocturnal silence of Pochonbo, was the power that inflicted merciless punishment upon the Japanese imperialists and instilled the soul of national resurrection into the minds of the Korean people.

At the fierce attack of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, the police substation was destroyed and the subcounty office, post office and other enemy’s administrative centres were engulfed in flames.

Political operatives conducted vigorous political information work, giving out written appeals and leaflets. People poured out from every corner shouting “Long live General Kim Il Sung!” and “Long live the independence of Korea!” with joy.

The General foresaw that the enemy who had suffered a defeat in Pochonbo would certainly chase the KPRA and positioned the soldiers in ambush at a favourable spot on Mt Kouyushui to wipe out the enemy to the last man. He drove pursuing large Japanese forces into the valley of Jiansanfeng and dealt a heavy blow to them to completely thwart the enemy’s “punitive” attempt.

The torchlight which flared up in Pochonbo that day was the flames of the revolution that kindled the spirit of national self-respect that Korea was not dead but very much alive and that it would defeat the Japanese imperialist aggressors at any cost and liberate the country by its own efforts.

The spirit of national self-respect associated with the flames encouraged the Korean people to fight against the Japanese imperialist gangsters and achieve the historic cause of national liberation. Furthermore, it enabled them to defeat the US imperialist aggressors who boasted of being the “strongest” in the world in the Fatherland Liberation War in the 1950s and build a socialist state independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in defence on the debris of the war by their own efforts.

In that spirit, the Korean people did not yield to the hostile forces even in the unprecedentedly harsh period of the Arduous March, but defended their socialist country by braving all sorts of challenges and trials by dint of self-reliance.

The DPRK, which is not large in territory and population, has been able to demonstrate the dignity of the nation to the whole world, since it has firmly adhered to the principle of national self-respect under the guidance of the great leaders and the great Party from the beginning of the revolution.

In the new century of the Juche era, the Koreans are developing the DPRK into an invincible socialist power under the wise leadership of the respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un, holding higher the banner of national self-respect.

As the torchlight of Pochonbo is still burning in the hearts of the Korean people and they have made it an inveterate habit to believe in their own strength and shape their future by their own efforts, they are now creating a great history of national prosperity under the guidance of the Party, holding aloft the banner of our-state-first principle and Korean-nation-first principle.