Politics

The Battle of Pochonbo fought in June 1937 is of historic significance in the history of the anti-Japanese armed struggle of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army.

In the mid-1930s the Japanese imperialists who had gone crazy about the aggression on the Asian continent tightened up the colonial fascist rule over the Korean people as never before while driving the chariot of war deep into the continent wildly.

They fabricated and promulgated draconian laws one after another to arrest, jail and kill revolutionaries on a large scale, and turned the whole of Korea into a large prison to mercilessly crush the slightest anti-Japanese sentiment.

All these were aimed at shattering all hopes of the Korean people for national liberation in their minds by brandishing the fascist iron hammer.

At this juncture General Kim Il Sung decided on the KPRA’s advance into Pochonbo of the homeland.

The purpose of the Battle of Pochonbo was to clearly show the Japanese imperialists 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 the armed resistance till the fall of Japan.

At 22:00 on June 4 1937, the historic Battle of Pochonbo started at the signal of a gunshot fired by General Kim Il Sung.

The thrilling battle took place according to the operational plan for advance on the homeland perfectly made on the basis of scrupulous reconnaissance information.

The sound of gunfire destroying the enemy’s establishments like lightning was heard from all sides and the enemies fell down with little resistance. Soon fires began to flare up here and there, lighting the gloomy night of Pochonbo as bright as noontime at once and turning the whole town into a great blazing torch.

Political operatives of the KPRA conducted vigorous political information activities, putting up and scattering handbills, written appeals and leaflets containing the “Proclamation” and “10-Point Programme of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland” written by the General. People began to gather on the street from every corner, shouting with joy “Long live General Kim Il Sung!” and “Long live the independence of Korea!”

General Kim Il Sung made a speech before the enthusiastically welcoming people to call on all of them to staunchly fight for the liberation of the country out in the sacred anti-Japanese war, instilling into them the confidence in sure victory.

He foresaw that the enemy defeated in Pochonbo would surely pursue them and made sure that the KPRA soldiers laid an ambush in a favourable place to wipe out the enemy. As the enemy continued to chase them, this time he lured the large forces of the Japanese imperialists into the valley of Jiansanfeng and dealt a heavy blow to them, completely frustrating the enemy's attempt at “punitive operations”.

The torch lit in Pochonbo fully demonstrated the will of national self-respect that Korea was not dead but still very much alive and that it would defeat the Japanese imperialist aggressors at any cost and liberate the country by its own efforts.

Though 88 years have passed since then, the Battle of Pochonbo, which heralded the dawn of national resurrection to the distress-torn land and implanted hope, confidence and the spark of struggle in the minds of all the fellow countrymen, still lives as a historic battle of great significance in the history of the revolutionary struggle of the Korean people.