Kim Jong Il – a guardian of socialism

 

by New Worker correspondent

Yongho Thae, Michael Chant, Andy Brooks and Dermot Hudson

Friends of Korea met at the John Buckle Centre in London last week for the launch of a special publication to commemorate the third anniversary of the passing of Kim Jong Il and the dear leader’s immense contribution to the Korean communist movement.

            Leading members of the Friends of Korea committee including New Communist Party leader Andy Brooks, Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist) general secretary Michael Chant and Dermot Hudson from the Korean Friendship Association all spoke on different aspects of Kim Jong Il’s outstanding contribution to the world communist movement. From Korea Yongho Thae from the London embassy of the DPR Korea talked about Kim Jong Il’s life-long work for the Workers Party of Korea and the Korean people.

            Then everyone rose to toast the memory of Kim Jong Il and launch the Friends of Korea committee’s first publication which was specially produced to mark the passing of the Korean leader who died at his post on 17^th December 2011.

            Kim Jong Il, A Guardian of Socialism is a full colour magazine that contains a selection of articles by Andy Brooks, Michael Chant and Dermot Hudson about the life of the leader of the Workers Party of Korea as well a short biography and an introduction to the work of the committee..

                        In Britain the Committee to Commemorate Comrade Kim Jong Il was established last month  as part of a series of memorial events that have taken place in Korea and throughout the world and will continue until 17th December. The committee included the NCP, RCPB(ML), Socialist Labour Party, European Regional Society for the Study of the Juché Idea, UK Korean Friendship Association and the Society for Friendship with Korea (Northern Region).

             The events included the holding of a joint seminar called by the NCP and the Juché Idea Study Group on Juché and Songun politics that are the basis of Korean-style socialism while Dermot Hudson of the KFA took part, via Skype, in an international seminar organised by the International Committee for the Study of Songun Politics that also heard Skypelink contributions from Nepal, Singapore and India.

It also included the publication of Respecting the Forerunners of the Revolution is a Noble Moral Obligation of Revolutionaries – a keynote work by Kim Jong Il written in 1995 --  Kim Jong Il, A Guardian of Socialism and  a special issue of Independence Star, the journal of the Juche Idea Study Group of England.

A Friends of Korea meeting to recall Kim Jong Il’s immortal works and life took place on Sunday at Marx House in London and the month-long series of tributes ends with a formal ceremony at the DPR Korean embassy in London.

The Co-ordinating Committee of the Friends of Korea, which brings together all the major movements active in Korean friendship and solidarity work in Britain today.  It is chaired by Andy Brooks and the secretary is Michael Chant.  The committee organises meetings throughout the year, which are publicised by the supporting movements and on the Friends of Korea blog.