editorial

On April 25 1932 the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army was founded as the first revolutionary armed force of the Korean people.

It heralded a new era of the Korean revolution for achieving the freedom and independence of Korea with arms in hands.

For the Korean people, April 25 is the starting point of a bloody armed struggle that began before the establishment of their state power and the founding of their Party and brought about all the momentous events.

It was a demonstration of the resolute stand of the Korean revolutionaries who were determined to fight with a clear purpose and consciousness and carve out their destiny independently. 

The Korean revolutionaries held high the banner of independence by national efforts and displayed an indomitable fighting spirit in the anti-Japanese armed struggle which was accompanied by the bloody battles against the vicious enemies, the showdown waged with the formidable imperialist enemy armed to the teeth with neither state backing nor support from a regular army, the fight against the worst of natural conditions, hunger, exhaustion and diseases and the combat not to give in to all those hardships.

In the course of this, they created the revolutionary traditions of Juche, the lifeline of the revolution and eternal source of sure victory.

The significance of April 25 is not confined to the birth of the Juche-oriented revolutionary armed force.

This was a day when they solemnly expressed their decision to take the road of armed struggle as their volitional and responsible choice, and their will to regain national sovereignty and establish a democratic government with indomitable revolutionary faith and through a death-defying struggle. Such is our generation’s renewed understanding of April 25 1932.

After the KPRA was built, preparations were started for founding the Party, general staff of the revolution, and for establishing the people’s government by relying on the armed force.

Under the leadership of General Kim Il Sung, the Party Committee of the KPRA played the role of the general staff with the function of providing leadership over all affairs of the Korean revolution, as the highest leadership organ, while its basic organizations were expanded and strengthened and a unified system of guidance over them was established. During the anti-Japanese war, many communist core elements grew to be the backbone in founding the Party, organizational and ideological foundations for founding it were laid through the achievement of the unity of the revolutionary ranks in ideology and will and broad masses of people were firmly united as a political force to provide a mass foundation for Party building.

A new path for building a Juche-oriented people’s government was carved out and an example for it made during the anti-Japanese armed struggle. The people’s revolutionary governments established in guerrilla zones under the powerful armed support gained through their activities the experiences of building the people’s government protecting the interests of workers, farmers and other people and of carrying out democratic reforms and enforcing the people-oriented policies.

All the things the KPRA created while fighting bloody battles against the Japanese imperialists through endless blizzards constituted a solid cornerstone for leading the Korean revolution only to victory in each stage and a firm foundation guaranteeing its eternal victory.