Discourse Published in Rodong Sinmun, Organ of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea

    December 25, 1995

    Seventy years has elapsed since the dawn of the Korean revolution, which has advanced under the banner of the Juche idea. In this noble revolution several generations have shed their precious sweat and blood for people’s freedom, national independence and sovereignty and for the victory of socialism. A large number of revolutionaries have performed distinguished services and made brilliant achievements.

    Our people respect the revolutionaries of the previous generations as their revolutionary seniors, set great store by their spirit and achievements in the struggle, and are carrying faithfully forward and developing the revolutionary cause pioneered by them. This is a noble morality developed by our people from generation to generation, as well as a basic factor that ensures the steady, triumphant development of our revolution even in the most complex situations.

    The history of the world socialist movement provides the serious lesson that a revolution advances victoriously when revolutionary forefathers are respected and their accomplishments are preserved and developed, and that a revolution is abandoned and frustrated when revolutionary predecessors are betrayed and their accomplishments are negated. In several countries that had built socialism in the past, opportunists occupying the leadership of the parties and states defamed their revolutionary predecessors and obliterated their achievements. In consequence of their traitorous acts, the reputation of communists has been damaged, the image of socialism clouded, and the socialist system itself has ended in collapse.

    Establishing a correct viewpoint and attitude towards revolutionary seniors is most important for the development of the socialist movement.

    Only when the red flag of the revolution raised by the revolutionary forerunners is carried forward down through generations can the masses’ cause of independence, the socialist cause, emerge victorious.

    1

    To respect its pioneers is the demand of the revolution and the noble moral obligation of revolutionaries.

    Socialism advances to consummation as the successors carry on and develop down through generations what their predecessors achieved for the revolution. Their attitude towards their revolutionary forefathers means their attitude towards the revolution. It is an important matter relating to the destiny of the revolution.

    Holding revolutionary seniors in esteem means putting forward in every way the revolutionaries who devoted everything to the struggle, championing and preserving their revolutionary ideas and achievements and carrying forward and developing these ideas and achievements. The predecessors’ noble revolutionary ideas and the results of their arduous struggle constitute the gains of the revolution and precious wealth for carrying out the revolution. Only when all succeeding generations champion, preserve and develop their predecessors’ ideas and accomplishments can the revolutionary cause continue to advance to brilliant consum¬mation. Taking a nihilistic approach to their predecessors’ strug¬gle and achievements, or denying them, amounts to retreating from the road of revolution and betraying it. Vilifying revolution¬ary seniors and defaming their ideas and accomplishments means disgracing the revolution and grovelling at the foot of the enemy of the revolution. The working-class party must, with unbroken consistency, unfailing loyalty to the revolution and unshakable confidence in this cause, carry forward and develop the socialism pioneered and advanced by the revolutionary predecessors. It must pay close attention to giving prominence to the revolutionary pioneers and to educating the people in the ideas and through the accomplishments of these pioneers.

    The attitude towards revolutionary forefathers reflects the attitude of revolutionaries towards the revolution, as well as their morality.

    Morality is a basic criterion for defining the qualities of a revolutionary. A revolutionary must hold not only revolutionary ideals as his belief, but also be equipped with genuine human qualities supported by noble moral principles. Conscience and the sense of obligation are laudable virtues unique to the human race; these are the source of the spiritual force that encourages people to consci¬entious and noble deeds. Even a person with advanced ideas can¬not acquire noble human qualities, nor can he be a true revolution¬ary, unless he has a strong conscience and the sense of moral obli¬gation.

    Even in the old society, conscientious people valued morality, by which they evaluated personality and regarded immoral behaviour as unworthy of human beings. In an exploitative society, however, genuine morality cannot thrive or become dominant. Individualism, which is the basis of the exploitative society, cannot be compatible with true morality, and no relations of moral obligation can exist between the exploiting and exploited classes. Moral hypocrisy is the true nature of the exploiting class, and moral corruption is an inevitable product of the bourgeois society.

    The most ennobling human qualities belong to the communists, who love their fellow people and fight for the masses’ cause of independence. Love for and trust in people are the basis of genuine human relations, the basis of human morality. Promoting the benefit of others rather than of oneself and working with devotion for one’s society and collective are an expression of a person’s noble morality. Because they treasure and love people and place social and collective interests above those of an individual, communists struggle with devotion for the good of their fellow people, their society and collective, not for selfish interests or personal fame. Communist revolutionaries love their comrades and fellow people with noble feelings of love for humanity, and devotedly struggle solely for the people, for their independence, with revolutionary conscience and a lofty sense of moral obligation. A man who shuts his eyes to the people’s interests, who is devoid of love for them and lacks conscience, loyalty and sympathy, cannot be a communist or a revolutionary.

    Regarding revolutionary pioneers with respect is an inviolable revolutionary obligation. In spite of the difference in seniority in the relationship between seniors and juniors in the revolution, their relations are the comradeship of revolutionaries who fight in the same cause. The relationship between parents and children is kinship resulting mainly from actual physical birth, whereas the relationship among revolutionaries is the comradeship of fighters who share the same ideas, hardships and successes on the road of revolution and exalt their socio-political integrity, which is more precious to them than their physical lives. The kinship among revolutionaries represents a truly communist human relationship based on comradely love and revolutionary obligation. Communist revolutionaries’ outlook on morality and their moral qualities are characterized by their regarding it as a noble duty and honour to love their comrades most ardently and fulfil their revolutionary obligation to them. That is why revolutionaries consider it most shameful and treacherous to betray their comrades or to abandon conscience and loyalty in their mutual relationship.

    For the heirs to the revolution to respect their revolutionary predecessors–the forerunners who dedicated their lives to the revolution and left a great heritage behind them–can be said to be a noble expression of revolutionary morality. Our revolutionary forerunners gave their lives unhesitatingly in the fight and made precious achievements for the country, the people and the happiness of the coming generations, not for the sake of personal interest or honour; our revolutionary forefathers shouted, “Love the future!” in do-or-die battles, or at the last moment of their lives on the gallows, pre¬cisely because they loved the coming generations. By their heroic struggle, the revolutionary forerunners paved the road of revolution, brought about enormous gains for the revolution, and ensured the flowering of an independent and creative new life for people. To respect their revolutionary predecessors, who fought devotedly for those who came after, is the next generations’ natural revolutionary obligation, their noble moral duty.

    The highest representative of revolutionary elders is the leader, and loyalty to the leader is the highest expression of the sense of revolutionary obligation.

    The leader of the working class is the guiding intellect and leader of the revolution. The masses of the people make history, but they can hold the position of true masters of their destiny as independent makers of history and fulfil their role as such only when they receive the guidance of a preeminent leader. The leader puts forward scientific revolutionary ideas, strategy and tactics, inspires the masses with revolutionary consciousness and organizes them, guides the revolutionary struggle to victory, provides people with noble socio-¬political integrity and teaches them to lead honourable lives on the road of revolution. Under his leadership tens of thousands of revolutionaries grow up, and people come to struggle for the revolution. Under his leadership the socialist cause is pioneered and advanced victoriously. Thanks to his noble ideas and outstanding leadership, great revolutionary achievements are made, and the honour and dignity of the revolutionary generations are exalted.

    Carrying forward the masses’ cause of independence, the cause of socialism, means none other than the continuation of the cause of the leader. Inheriting the ideas and achievements of the revolutionary predecessors means inheriting the leader’s revolutionary ideas and the achievements made under his leadership. Respect for revolutionary predecessors finds typical expression in loyalty to the leader. Being unfailingly loyal to the great leader through all generations is the duty of revolutionaries and the highest expression of the sense of revolutionary obligation. Revolutionaries must resolutely defend the ideas and exploits of the leader and loyally carry forward his revolutionary cause.

    Historically, in opposing socialism, imperialists and renegades from the revolution have directed their attacks on the leaders of the working class and the revolutionaries of the preceding generations. This is because socialism was pioneered and has triumphed thanks to the guidance of the leader and the self-sacrificing struggle of the revolutionaries of the preceding generations, and because the dignity of socialism is associated with their honour. Modern revisionists and socialist renegades have caused socialism to degenerate and collapse by disgracing the leader and their revolutionary elders and by obliterating their exploits. The process of the degeneration and collapse of socialism began with the emergence of modern revisionism, which vilified the leader and revolutionary pioneers and distorted and debased the revolutionary ideas of the working class. Because of modern revisionists, socialism began to go off the track and crumble from within. Its collapse was due to the policy of “reform” and “restructuring,” pursued by socialist renegades who denied and obliterated every historical achievement of socialism. Opportunists and socialist renegades slandered the leaders of the working class and debased the sacred revolutionary struggle and great revolutionary achievements of their revolutionary predecessors. They destroyed socialism and revived capitalism. This is a most despica¬ble counterrevolutionary crime that betrayed the revolution under the pressure of imperialism, an immoral perfidy that discarded loyal¬ty to the revolution and trampled underfoot elementary human morals. Traitors to the revolution left no stone unturned in slander¬ing and defaming their revolutionary predecessors. Thus they creat¬ed ideological vacillation and confusion among the people and gave the imperialists and reactionaries the chance to slander the communists and socialism even more viciously.

    The traitors gained the leading positions of the party and state through an intrigue and tarnished the honour of their revolutionary forerunners in an attempt to enhance their popularity and win sup¬port from the people. However, the top hierarchy of the party and state does not necessarily mean the leader, or enjoy the support and respect of the people. People’s confidence cannot be earned by means of power or fraud. If one wants to become a leader and enjoy people’s confidence and support, one must have the personality and qualifications that befit a leader and fulfil the responsibility and role as such. A leader must, above all, be the people’s servant who loves and devotes himself to them. Love for the people and respect for revolutionary predecessors are inseparable. A person who loves the people and is loyal to them is bound to highly respect his revolutionary forerunners who struggled self-sacrificingly for the people. However, one who despises the people and lords it over them does not hesitate to disgrace his revolutionary elders in the most despica-ble way. The renegades from socialism attempted to vilify the revo¬lutionary leaders and predecessors in a crafty way in order to enhance their own prestige. However, they have revealed their true colours as traitors, as well as their inhuman qualities. Those who have deceived their people and betrayed the revolution will inevitably be forsaken by the people.

    True revolutionaries who fight for the people and for the victory of socialism must not forget their revolutionary forefathers; instead, they must defend and develop their achievements. This is the way to keep their revolutionary honour and dignity and lead the revolution to victory.

    2

    Being loyal to morality in relation to our revolutionary pioneers is our revolutionary tradition and the noble moral trait of our society.

    Our revolution, which paved an original way for accomplishing the masses’ cause of independence under the banner of the Juche idea, opened up a new path in the building of commu¬nist morality. It set an example of noble and beautiful morality at its early stages and went on to develop it. In our country the tradition of communist morality was created in the flames of the anti-Japanese revolution. It has been carried forward and splendidly put into effect through our struggle to build a new society.

    Today, under our socialist system which is centred on the masses of the people, communist morality is displayed at a high degree. In our society the leader and his fighters, the Party and the people, are united in one mind, and our people love and help each other like kins¬men, forming a large, harmonious family. This shows the brilliant victory of the Juche idea in the spiritual and moral spheres and demonstrates the superiority of our style of socialism.

    The communist morality of our people finds its highest expression in their unqualified respect for and absolute allegiance to the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung .

    The respected Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great leader, acclaimed and venerated as such by our people for the first time in Korea’s history of 5 000 years. He was the greatest of great men, the incarnation of all the best values and qualifications a great man must possess.

    The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung regarded the people as his God. He dearly loved the people, firmly believed in them, and gave his all for their freedom and happiness, undergoing hardships and sufferings on their behalf throughout his life. The glorious history of our revolution, the dignity and honour of socialist Korea and the happiness of our people are associated with the respected name of the leader, the brilliant results of his great leadership. As a veteran of world statesmanship, the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung gave strength and confidence to the world’s progressive people in their fight for independence, and made an imperishable contribution to the cause of human independence.

    The respected leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was the great teacher and benevolent father of our people, and all our people are his soldiers and devoted followers, the sons and daughters of the paternal leader. All the generations of our country, from the first generation of our revolution up to the present one, have grown up and led a fruitful life under the leader’s warm care, developing their socio-¬political integrity. For many years, our people have regarded the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung as a legendary hero, the sun of the nation, a great leader and the nation’s father. They have considered it their greatest honour and noblest moral duty to be single-heartedly loyal and dutiful to him.

    Our people’s loyalty to the great leader has been displayed even more strongly since he passed away. People throughout the country paid their last respects to the fatherly leader in bitter tears and cherished their memory of him in unabated grief. As time goes by, our people are yearning for him more and more, praying for his immor¬tality with their purest minds. The world is moved by the infinite loyalty and devotion to the great leader our people have displayed before and after his death by believing in him and regarding him invariably as their spiritual pillar.

    What was most important to us, gripped by the pain of great loss after his sudden death, was to continue to venerate him as much as when he was alive and to carry forward his cause with loyalty. Our Party concentrated all its efforts on the important work of holding the great leader in lasting reverence and carrying forward and developing his revolutionary ideology and cause, and roused the whole Party, entire army and all the people to this end. We have solemnly rebuilt the Kumsusan Memorial Palace as the sacred temple of Juche, reverently laying the respected Comrade Kim Il Sung in state there, and have continued to add glory to the great name of the leader and his immortal accomplishments. Our Party is organizing and mobilizing its members and working people for a vigorous struggle to ensure an impeccable continuity of the great leader’s ide¬ology and leadership and implement his teachings.

    The leadership of our Party, which invariably and highly respects the great leader and faithfully carries on his ideology and cause, has convinced our people more deeply that the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung will always be with them, and motivated them to strengthen their indomitable revolutionary spirit and will to carry the revolutionary cause of Juche through to completion, true to the leader’s teachings. With a full conviction that as long as our Party exists the great leader’s revolutionary cause is ever-victorious, our people are fighting forcefully, placing unqualified support and trust in the Party and united firmly behind it. Our Party is greatly proud of having such fine people as ours, who with unshakable outlook on the leader and a noble sense of moral obligation, are loyal to their Party and leader through generations.

    Our Party and people highly respect the revolutionaries who fought for the revolutionary cause of Juche under the leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung .

    The anti-Japanese revolutionary veterans are the honourable first generation of our revolution. They took up arms and started fighting the war, shedding blood, not for their personal interests or fame, but solely for the day when people would live happily on their liberated motherland. The anti-Japanese revolution was unprecedentedly arduous and beset with trials. Under the most trying conditions, the anti-Japanese revolutionary fighters upheld the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung as the centre of their unity, the centre of leadership, and fought by displaying unparalleled heroism and sacrifice. As a result they defeated the Japanese imperialists, accomplished the historic cause of national liberation, and made a brilliant contribution to establishing the glorious revolutionary traditions of our Party. Our Party respects them as the pioneers of our revolution and as model revolutionaries, and sets great store by their revolutionary spirit and exploits. Putting forward the slogan “Let us produce, study and live like the anti-Japanese guerrillas!”, our Party encourages the entire Party membership and working people to emulate the revolutionary spirit and fighting attitude of the anti-Japanese fighters in their work and life, and add glory to their exploits.

    The participants in the Fatherland Liberation War are the hero¬ic fighters who defended the people’s country by inheriting the brilliant traditions of the anti-Japanese revolution. In the fierce fighting to decide the destiny of the country, our People’s Army and people defeated the US imperialist invaders and defended the freedom and independence of the country with honour. Our Party is very proud of the immortal achievements of our soldiers and people during the Fatherland Liberation War, and educates the younger generation and other people in their mass heroism and patriotic spirit.

    The heroes and heroines, labour innovators and the front-rankers during the Chollima upsurge in the postwar years belong to the proud generation that brought about a high tide of building socialism, surmounting the obstacles in the way of our revolution. We give prominence to these heroes and heroines, innovators and front-rankers in the Chollima age, as models of self-reliance who, under the leadership of the Party in a short period, built our country into a socialist state–independent, self-sufficient and self-reliant in defence–on the rubble of war in the spirit of self-reliance and fortitude.

    Our Party continues to glorify the socio-political integrity of the revolutionary and patriotic martyrs and heroic fighters who performed brilliant feats in the different periods of our revolution, thus passing their accomplishments down through history. We have set up the splendid Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery and Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in their memory, and have named their birthplaces, schools, factories, farms or the units of the People’s Army where they studied or served after these heroes. We give wide publicity to their distinguished services.

    Our country also spares nothing to take loving care of the child¬ren of the revolutionary and patriotic martyrs and heroic soldiers. We have set up schools for the children of revolutionary martyrs in many parts of the country, educating them to be stalwart revolution¬aries at state expense; we assign them to the important posts of Party, state and army and help them work well. Our Party and peo¬ple do this because they see it as their moral obligation to the revolu¬tionary martyrs.

    In our country many revolutionary and war veterans, disabled soldiers, merited people, renowned intellectuals and other distinguished people in the cultural field still continue to work for the rev¬olution, leading valuable and worthwhile lives under the warmly loving care of the Party and enjoying social concern and respect. To love, respect and give prominence to the revolutionaries and merited people who are loyal to the Party and revolution, country and people–this is the politics of our Party and lofty spirit of our society.

    Our Party and people also appreciate the people renowned in our nation’s history and keep their accomplishments alive in the nation’s memory. We unearthed the tomb of Tangun, the founder of Korea, and rebuilt it majestically, and splendidly reconstructed the tombs of King Tongmyong, the founder of Koguryo7, a powerful ancient state, and of Wang Kon, the founder of Koryo8. The long history of our nation has thus acquired greater brilliance in the era of the Workers’ Party.

    The masses’ cause of independence, the cause of socialism, is a national, and at the same time an international cause. The Korean revolutionaries are genuine internationalists; they respect the revolutionaries, anti-imperialist fighters, anti-fascist fighters, progressive figures and revolutionary people of all countries, irrespective of their nationality, and duly appreciate their achievements.

    Our Party and people respect Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin as the leaders of the working class and speak highly of their distinguished services. Reflecting the demands and aspirations of the working class, Marx and Engels, the first leaders of the working class, developed socialism from a Utopian concept to a science and started the socialist and communist movement. Lenin inherited and developed Marxism to meet the change in the times and won the victory of the October Socialist Revolution by organizing and mobilizing the working class. Stalin, succeeding to the cause of Lenin, built the first young socialist state into a world power and defended the socialist motherland from the fascist invasion, leading the army and the people. In their days Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin represented the aspirations and demands of the exploited working masses, and the cause of socialism was inseparably linked with their names. The fact that imperialists and the traitors to the revolution viciously defame the leaders of the working class and abuse their leadership as “dictatorship” or “infringement on human rights” only proves that the leaders of the working class were zealous champions of the peo¬ple’s interests and enjoyed their trust and support, and that they were steadfast communist revolutionaries who held fast to the revolution¬ary principle without compromising with the enemies of the revolu¬tion.

    Our Party has always assessed the ideological and theoretical achievements of the working-class leaders in an impartial way. It has defended the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism from all manner of opportunistic distortions and inherited and developed them to meet the interests of the revolution and the requirements of the reality. The revolutionary idea and theory of the working class must be applied to meet the historical circumstances and specific situation of each country. The conditions and circumstances of the rev¬olution ceaselessly change and develop. Therefore, if we take a dogmatic approach to the existing theories, we cannot formulate the line and policies correctly, and so cannot avoid twists and turns in the revolution and construction. While adhering to the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism, our Party has established its own guiding ideology and theory on the basis of a correct analysis of the historical limitations of their doctrines, and used them as a weapon in advancing the socialist cause.

    The great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung , in the course of creatively applying Marxism-Leninism to the Korean revolution in his early days, authored the Juche idea and blazed the trail for the indepen¬dent development of our revolution. The Juche idea is an original idea, which developed the revolutionary idea of the working class to meet the new historical circumstances and the modern-day require¬ments. The historical limitations of the preceding theories were overcome by the Juche idea, and the revolutionary ideology and the¬ory of the working class developed onto a higher stage.

    The opportunists and socialist renegades distorted and defamed Marxism-Leninism and disgraced its authors. Modern revisionists emasculated the revolutionary principles of Marxism-Leninism to please the imperialists and thus distorted and corrupted the revolutionary ideology of the working class. The socialist renegades, claiming that the socialist ideal itself was wrong, denied the revolutionary idea of the working class outright. The idea that denies the working-class revolutionary idea cannot be anything but bourgeois ideology. The traitors claimed that they were carrying out “reform” and “restructuring” for “democracy” and “economic welfare,” gainsaying the revolutionary idea of the working class. However, real life has clearly shown that their “theory” was nothing but a reac¬tionary theory for destroying socialism and reviving capitalism.

    Our people respect not only the leaders of the working class but also the revolutionaries and peoples of all countries who have fought heroically for the socialist cause. We remember the great revolutionary struggles of the peoples in many countries who have rendered distinguished services in the socialist cause. We highly appreciate their historical achievements. Our Party and people oppose and denounce all manner of counterrevolutionary plots and traitorous acts that defame and debase the struggles and achievements of revolutionary forerunners who contributed to the socialist cause.

    Although the opportunists and the socialist renegades defaced the honour of the leaders of the working class and the revolutionary pioneers, they can never wipe out their names and their worthy achieve¬ments from history. Just as socialism is alive in people’s minds and is opening up the path to a new victory in spite of temporary twists and turns, so the honour and accomplishments of the leaders of the working class and the revolutionary forefathers be respected for ever by the people as the socialist movement advances.

    Our Party and people treasure friendship and solidarity with the peoples of various countries around the world and have given active support and encouragement to people who are fighting for socialism and for the cause of anti-imperialist independence. We have invariably been true to the internationalist principle and revolutionary obligation both in the party and state relations with the socialist countries and in our relations with all the friendly countries and friendly people. We invariably respect the party and state leaders, prominent figures in the political, public, academic and press circles and friends in many countries with whom the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung became intimate during his foreign activities. We remember our revolutionary comrades-in-arms and fraternal people who gave our people disinterested help in the trying years of our revolution, and also people of all countries who support and encourage the just cause of our people.

    The noble mental and moral qualities of the people are inconceivable without the correct leadership of the party and the leader.

    Socialist society, where comradely unity and cooperation constitute the basis of social relations, creates the socio-economic condi¬tions for the formation and development of new morals which con¬form to its intrinsic nature. However, people’s mental and moral qualities do not automatically become noble with the establishment of the socialist system. Even in socialist society, people can acquire noble mental and moral qualities only when they are correctly guid¬ed by the party and the leader.

    The mental and moral qualities of the people take after those of the leader and follow the party’s politics. A great leader and a great party produce a great people.

    The respected Comrade Kim Il Sung was a great man and the great father of the people who was endowed with the loftiest human love as well as with fervent love for and trust in the people. Our Party is genuinely a maternal party. It leads the people and takes care of them, pursuing the politics of love and trust–benevolent politics–true to the noble idea and virtue of the great leader. The beautiful mental and moral traits of our people were formed and have developed and become ennobled today under the benevolent care of the paternal leader and maternal Party. Thanks to the great personality of the fatherly leader and to the benevolent politics of the motherly Party, our people have acquired a high sense of moral obligation; they love their comrades, respect their revolutionary seniors, are loyal to the Party and the revolution and devote themselves for the society and the collective. Consequently, genuinely communist human relationships based on comradely unity and cooperation, love and trust, have come into bloom in our society.

    The mental and moral traits of our people clearly show that our socialism, which is centred on the masses of the people, is superior to the capitalist world politically, ideologically, mentally and morally.

    3

    Establishing the moral traits of respecting one’s revolutionary predecessors and developing sound relations between the people, based on morality and loyalty, is an important task in carrying forward and accomplishing the socialist cause.

    As the revolution advances and society develops, morality must also develop steadily towards perfection. The consummation of socialism presupposes the perfection of people themselves, the masters of society, and moral consummation holds an important place in the perfection of human qualities. The highest stage in the develop¬ment of human morals is communist morality. Communist morality is a collectivist morality, based on comradely love and revolutionary loyalty; it is the highest morality, which conforms to man’s intrinsic requirement. Only through the process of eliminating the remnants of outmoded morality still lingering in the people’s minds in social¬ist society and establishing thoroughly communist morality can peo¬ple be transformed into people of the communist type and can socialism be accomplished.

    Defending and carrying forward the revolutionary traditions established by revolutionary predecessors is a revolutionary duty and noble moral obligation for the successors to revolution.

    The revolutionary idea and spirit of the revolutionary predecessors, the valuable achievements and experience in their struggle and their revolutionary traits are the important contents of the revolution¬ary traditions which we must inherit and learn down through the generations. The revolutionary traditions are a priceless ideological and mental wealth that provides the continuity of revolutionary lifeblood. Whether the socialist cause advances victoriously through generations, or is abandoned as one generation is replaced by anoth¬er, can be said to depend on the attitude towards revolutionary tradi¬tions. Rejecting revolutionary traditions means renouncing the revolutionary idea and spirit and giving up the revolutionary struggle, and in the long run, leading the revolution to frustration. The experi¬ence and lesson of the socialist movement show that neglecting, denying or obliterating the revolutionary traditions will lead a work¬ing-class party to inevitable degeneration and destruction, no matter how it boasts of its long history and rich experience in the struggle, and that such a practice will make it impossible for a country to defend socialism no matter how long its history of socialism or how strong its economic and military power. In order to strengthen and develop a working-class party steadily into a revolutionary party and carry forward and accomplish the socialist cause successfully through generations, it is imperative to preserve and put into effect its revolutionary traditions correctly in party building and party activity and in all fields of the revolution and construction.

    The revolutionary traditions of our Party are the revolutionary traditions of Juche, established by the anti-Japanese forerunners under the leadership of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung . The glorious revolutionary traditions of Juche are the historical root of our Party and the eternal cornerstone of our revolution. Defending and carrying forward the revolutionary traditions established by the revolutionary predecessors is the way to strengthen and develop our Party for ever into the revolutionary party of a Juche type, defend our socialism and carry forward and accomplish the revolutionary cause of Juche without fail. We must inherit the lofty revolutionary idea and spirit of the revolutionary predecessors, staunchly adhere to the revolutionary principle, the working-class principle, and advance stoutly along the road of revolution, no matter what the circumstances or conditions. We must ensure that the Party members and other working people equip themselves firmly with the revolutionary tra¬ditions of our Party, put them thoroughly into practice and always live and work in a revolutionary manner. We must see that all the Party members and other working people, following the examples of the revolutionary predecessors, make loyalty to the Party and the leader their revolutionary faith and ethics and fight devotedly for the revolutionary cause of Juche under the leadership of the Party. In this way we will bring lasting glory to the revolutionary traditions of Juche, established by the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners and developed by our Party, and keep and demonstrate the honour and dignity of the communist revolutionaries who highly value revolutionary principles and loyalty.

    We must intensify moral education among Party members and other working people to establish communist moral traits throughout our society.

    Morality is the social standard of behaviour to be observed voluntarily, with conscience. Therefore, it is only when people acquire noble moral traits with a clear conscience in and out of work that they become revolutionaries, genuine communists truly loyal to the Party and revolution, the country and people, and establish communist moral traits throughout all of society.

    We must always educate and lead the Party members and other working people to observe communist moral standards in good faith in all aspects of social relations and social life, ranging from loving their parents, brothers, sisters and comrades and helping each other with solicitude, to valuing their communities and organizations, taking good care of state and social property and observing public morals voluntarily.

    We must pay special attention to educating the younger generation, the successors to the revolution and the masters of the future, to be unfailingly loyal to the Party and revolution.

    The prosperity of the country and nation and the destiny of socialism depend on how we educate and train the younger generation. The mental and moral qualities of the younger generation reflect the future of their country and nation. It is a historical lesson that even in a socialist society the younger generation are unable to grow up into reliable successors to the revolution, nor can they defend socialism, unless they are given proper education. The youth and children are at the stage of ideological and mental development and they have grown up in easy circumstances without undergoing the trials of revolutionary struggle. Therefore, if they are not given proper education, they may be easily affected with unsound ideology, morality and modes of life. The present mental and moral state of our youth and children is excellent. However, we must never neglect the education of the younger generation on any account.

    We must teach them to be revolutionaries, communists who follow the Party and the leader with loyalty, are unfailingly faithful to the country and people and equipped with noble, sound mental and moral traits.

    Giving the younger generation a good education is an important duty of the elder generation. The most valuable heritage that the revolutionary predecessors should hand down to their successors is their mental and moral heritage. The elder generation should bequeath material wealth for a rich life to their posterity, but what is more important is to hand over valuable mental and moral wealth to them so that they reliably succeed to the revolution. We must teach the younger people clearly how the first and second generations of our revolution followed the Party and the leader and how they lived and fought to overcome the difficult revolutionary situation during the arduous anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle, the Fatherland Libera¬tion War, and in the years of difficult postwar reconstruction and socialist construction. In this way, we will ensure that all the younger people zealously emulate the same unfailing loyalty to the Party and the leader as was displayed by the first and second revolutionary generations, as well as the latter’s devotion to the revolution¬ary cause and their indomitable fighting spirit.

    It is important to enhance the role of youth organizations in educating the younger people. The basic task of the League of Socialist Working Youth is to give the younger generation sound education and train them into the kind of successors to the revolution that are politically and ideologically steadfast and possess a noble moral character. The LSWY organizations must step up education in keep¬ing with the characteristics of young people so that they all grow up into a new revolutionary generation and reliable masters of the future.

    For sound education, schools, society and families must all join their educational efforts. Schools at all levels, public educational establishments and families must all pay close attention to education so that all young people receive a good grounding in sound, revolutionary living anytime and anywhere. Young people are full of curiosity and responsive, so that everything they see, hear and feel exerts a great influence on their emotions and lives. Therefore, we must pay close attention to their education through mass media such as arts, literature and the press.

    Moral education in socialist society must conform to the essential characteristics of communist morality and the requirements of developing socialist society.

    First of all, we must regard moral education as an important part of ideological education and conduct it in close combination with the latter. Ideology and morality are inseparable, and morality is inconceivable apart from ideology. Morality based on the revolutionary idea of the working class is a collectivist, communist morali¬ty; morality based on bourgeois reactionary ideology is an ultra-ego¬istic morality, a reactionary bourgeois morality. Only when a per¬son’s ideology is sound can he acquire a noble moral quality, and only when his ideology is reinforced with his conscience and morali¬ty can it be true and unshakable. We must conduct communist moral education in breadth and depth, considering it as an important part of education in the Juche idea. By intensifying communist moral education on the basis of developing in depth education in the principles of the Juche idea among the Party members and other working people, we must see to it that they firmly absorb the Juche-oriented revolutionary outlook on morality and acquire the best mental and moral traits of a communist revolutionary of the Juche type.

    We must ensure that people cultivate their communist moral qualities through life in the revolutionary organizations and in their revolutionary practice. People develop their qualities as social beings through collective life in social communities, and life in the revolutionary organizations is the highest form of social collective life. Life in a revolutionary organization is a fine school that trains and educates people both ideologically and morally to acquire communist traits. An important factor that has enabled our people to acquire sound and revolutionary mental and moral qualities lies in the fact that everyone leads his life as part of a particular political organization. We must stimulate the activities of people in a revolutionary organization and establish more firmly the habit of leading the organizational life on a voluntary basis. We must do this to encourage the people to enhance their sense of collectivism, reject all manner of liberalistic and unsound trends and develop noble moral traits. A person’s conscience and sense of moral obligation are expressed and verified in practical activities. An outmoded moral outlook and immoral practices are mainly rooted in obsolete customs. We must see to it that people remain true to their conscience and obligation in their daily work and life and oppose an obsolete moral outlook and conventions, thereby setting up a new socialist way and spirit of life.

    It is most effective to conduct moral education by the method of educating people through the influence of positive examples and social campaigns. This method is a powerful means, congenial to the nature of socialist society. Among our people are numerous commendable people who unhesitatingly dedicate their lives for their revolutionary comrades, unobtrusively do good things for the Party, the revolution, the society and the collective, and live conscientiously with a loyal and dutiful attitude throughout their lives. They are the incarnation of a clean conscience and noble morality, the models for the people of our era. We must pay a high tribute to the communist traits manifested among these people, give wide publici¬ty to them, and launch a powerful society-wide movement to follow their example.

    We must fight against obsolete, reactionary morality and any trend of life that runs counter to communist morality, and must prevent their penetration into our ranks.

    The work of establishing a new communist morality is carried on in the fight against obsolete, reactionary morals and all sorts of immorality and depravity. Bourgeois morality leads people to follow the law of the jungle and degrades them into slaves of money who discard the most elementary human conscience and duty for the sake of cash. In capitalist society, where bourgeois morality rules, every manner of social evil is rampant, and a corrupt and degraded mode of life prevails. The situation is further aggravated by the reactionary ruling circles. The imperialists are extensively spreading their corrupt bourgeois morality and way of life both at home and abroad. We must heighten our vigilance against the ideological and cultural infiltration of the imperialists and completely foil it. We must also have a clear knowledge of the reactionary nature and harmfulness of the treacherous acts of the opportunists who slandered the pioneers of the revolution and abused communist morality, and must staunchly oppose and reject them. The more the imperialists and the rene¬gades from the revolution scheme to slander the communists and abuse communist morality, the higher we must display our revolutionary mettle and the noble moral traits as communist revolutionar¬ies.

    The history of our revolution, which has advanced under the banner of the Juche idea, led by the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung , is a glorious one. It has been embroidered with revolutionary comradeship and noble moral fidelity and has paved the road of victory in our revolution on the strength of single-hearted unity among the revolutionary ranks. Our Party and people will defend the glorious history and traditions of our revolution and develop them for ever.