Honouring a great Korean revolutionary

Dermot Hudson and Theo Russell

by New Worker correspondent

Kim Il Sung was born on 15th April 1912 and his birthday has long been celebrated as the Day of the Sun in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and by everyone who stands by the DPRK. And on that day last week solidarity activists gathered at the Cock Tavern in London to recall the outstanding achievements of the leader of the Korean revolution.
    Speakers included Dermot Hudson, the chair of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) that organised the meeting and NCP national organiser, Theo Russell. The Democratic Korean embassy in London sent a tribute that was read out at the meeting and messages were received from Korean friendship groups in Germany, Poland and Switzerland.
    In his tribute Dermot Hudson praised the successful test firing of the Democratic Korean ballistic missile as a great victory for Juche and self-reliance – the Korean-style socialism pioneered by Kim Il Sung that is followed by his successors in the people’s republic today.
    Kim Il Sung was a great anti-imperialist revolutionary who turned the DPRK into a fortress of militant anti-imperialism and totally opposed the line of compromise with imperialism. His life from beginning to end was one of principled and constant struggle against imperialism and for independence’.
    Theo Russell praised the life of Kim Il Sung as that of a great revolutionary . He said that the achievements of the DPRK are great and are due to the Juche philosophy authored by the great leader of the Korean people who worked tirelessly throughout his life for the communist cause.
    Shaun Pickford, the head of Staffordshire KFA focused on the international dimension of the DPRK and the Juche Idea. The first Juche idea study group was formed in Mali , West Africa and since then many international seminars on the Juche Idea have followed.
    This was followed by a general discussion on Juche and life in the DPRK and ended with the traditional refreshments and informal chat amongst friends of Korea old and new.

Remembering a great Korean

Andy Brooks speaking

by New Worker correspondent

Friends of Korea gathered last weekend to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of great leader Kim Il Sung, at a meeting at the Chadswell Centre called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA).
    The meeting began with the Song of General Kim Il Sung and an introduction by Dermot Hudson, the KFA Chair, on the importance of the life of the Korean revolutionary leader who led the guerrilla movement that fought the Japanese imperialism which occupied the Korean peninsula until their defeat in 1945, and later beat back the American horde and their lackeys during the Korean war in the 1950s.
    NCP leader Andy Brooks recalled the time he met Kim Il Sung in 1990 when the New Communist Party established fraternal relations with the Workers Party of Korea (WPK). Keith Bennett, a veteran Korean solidarity campaigner, spoke about Kim Il Sung’s life-long work with national non-aligned countries and the world communist movement.
    Messages were received from the London embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the RCPB (ML), and the meeting ended with the showing of a film about the life of the Korean leader.

The Korean Victory in 1953

Dermot Hudson and Andy Brooks

By New Worker correspondent

Friends of the Korean people met in central London last weekend to celebrate the defeat of US imperialism in the Korean War that began when the USA and its lackeys attacked north Korea in June 1950. It ended with the USA beaten to a standstill on 27^th July 1953. Although the USA signed an Armistice, it still refuses to normalise relations with the people’s government in the north and the Korean peninsula remains divided, with the south still occupied by thousands of US troops.

The meeting, at the King’s Cross Neighbourhood Centre in central London, was called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) and opened by KFA Chair Dermot Hudson. He praised the role of great leader Kim Il Sung, who led the Korean people to victory over the US aggressors in the Korean War.

New Communist Party (NCP) leader Andy Brooks pointed out that although Hong Kong had returned to People’s China in 1997 under the formula of ‘one country – two systems’, it was often forgotten that it was Kim Il Sung who first put forward this proposal to end the partition of Korea with the establishment of a ‘Democratic Confederal Republic of Koryo’ in 1980. But the country still remains divided by a monstrous concrete wall built by the south Korean regime in the 1970s and the south remains occupied by US imperialism.

Realistic circles at the helm of the new south Korean government want normalisation and the return of their factories in the ‘special zone’ that was closed in 2016. But that can only happen if the USA recognises the northern government and all the imperialist sanctions are lifted. US President Trump has taken some steps forward in friendly meetings with Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un, but the US leader is still unwilling or unable to deliver the necessary measures needed to end the tension on the Korean peninsula.

A member of the anti-imperialist Italian community in London spoke about the need to support the DPRK against imperialism and the need to build solidarity with Democratic Korea was taken up by many others in the audience. The meeting closed with the showing of a popular DPRK film and much needed refreshments given the very hot weather in the capital over the weekend!

Remembering a Great Korean

Andy Brooks recalls the life of a great Korean

by New Worker   correspondent

Friends of the Korean people returned to the Chadswell Centre in central London last weekend to celebrate the 105^th anniversary of the birth of great leader Kim Il Sung, the Korean communist who led the guerrilla struggle that broke the bonds of Japanese colonialism to build the people’s republic which now stands as a bright red bastion of socialism in north east Asia.

Kim Il Sung was born on 15th April 1912 and his birthday has long been celebrated as the Day of the Sun in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and by everyone who stands by the DPRK.

Speakers, including solidarity activists and DPR Korea diplomats, spoke highly of Kim Il Sung’s immense contribution to the theory and practice of scientific socialism at the meeting called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA).

KFA Chair Dermot Hudson opened the meeting with a talk on the outstanding achievements of the Korean revolutionary whose life spanned most of the 20^th century. This was followed by Kim Song Gi from the DPRK embassy in London who said that his country was firmly based on the revolutionary traditions of Mt Paektu started by the great leader Kim Il Sun. Now the Korean people are successfully implementing the twin line of developing the economy and nuclear force in parallel under the wise leadership of Kim Jong Un.

Alex Meads spoke about the revolutionary traditions of the Korean People’s Army and their internationalist support for the Vietnamese, Egyptian and Zimbabwean revolutions while NCP leader Andy Brooks talked about his personal recollections of Kim Il Sung whom he met when the NCP sent a delegation to Pyongyang in 1990.

There was plenty of time for questions and general discussion which continued over refreshments long after the meeting ended.