Juche

Pyongyang, January 1 (KCNA) -- The hope-filled new year, Juche 113 (2024), has come to the socialist homeland continuously adding new epic stories to its history as a great powerful country, while advancing toward the successful implementation of the fighting programme set forth by the 8^th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea and the fulfillment of the great far-reaching target for the prosperity and development of the DPRK and the wellbeing of its people.

Seeing the year 2023 out, all the people review the proud year that witnessed great changes specially recorded in the history of the country, convinced that the future will be rosier with greater miracles and changes. And they express their firm reverence for and trust in our great Party, the banner, organizer and guide of all victories and glory.

A grand art performance for celebrating the New Year 2024 was given with splendor at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, the capital city of the DPRK, amid great excitement of all the people seeing in the New Year with the spirit of working hard to hasten a new victory full of great confidence.

The venue for the performance was filled with the pride and joy of the audience as they recollected with deep emotion the proud advance of the year in which they brought about eye-opening events by overcoming all difficulties, single-mindedly united behind the Workers' Party of Korea.

To highlight the colorful prelude of the New Year celebration, figure skaters and acrobats demonstrated their wonderful skills on the ice-rink.

A group of well-known drummers revved up the festive atmosphere through their cheerful tune.

A ceremony of hoisting the national flag of the great DPRK, was held.

All the audience paid high tribute to the sacred national flag.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, enjoyed the performance together with senior officials of the Party and the government.

Amid the playing of the welcome music, Kim Jong Un appeared in the auditorium together with his respected daughter and wife, being greeted with a thunderous standing ovation of the audience.

All the participants raised stormy cheers of "Hurrah!", looking up to the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, the symbol of mightiness and heroism of Juche Korea and great representative of the great dignity and brilliant honor who is raising the national power and might of the DPRK to the eminence of the century with his outstanding leadership and political ability and ushering in a new dynamic era when a rich country with a strong army is being built by dint of self-respect, self-sustenance and self-defence.

He waved back to the enthusiastically cheering crowds as a token of his warm greeting of best wishes to all the audience and all the beloved people of the country seeing in the New Year.

Among the audience were Kim Tok Hun, Jo Yong Won, Choe Ryong Hae and Ri Pyong Chol, members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, and other leading officials of the Party and government and officials of armed forces organs.

The performance was enjoyed by the participants in the 9^th Plenary Meeting of the 8^th Central Committee of the WPK, participants in New Year celebrations, Pyongyang citizens, service personnel and students of the revolutionary schools.

Members of the diplomatic corps here watched the performance.

The performance was given by artistes of prestigious art troupes, including the State Merited Chorus and the Wangjaesan Art Troupe, students of art education institutions in the city, ice sportsmen and children.

The performance began with the prelude "We Sing of the Party." Put on the stage were colorful numbers, including monumental songs of the times praising the WPK, an invincible Party which unites all the people under the banner of patriotism with its strong might of guidance and successfully leads Korean-style socialism to an overall upsurge and development.

There came the last moment of the year and the bells began tolling solemnly to celebrate New Year's Eve at 00:00 on January 1 along with the ignition of the torch of celebration and the display of fireworks in the sky above the capital city.

Children presented bouquets to Kim Jong Un and leading officials of the Party and the government and wished them a happy New Year.

The venue of the celebration was overflowing with great happiness and boundless excitement of seeing in the New Year with the benevolent father of the great socialist family.

The performance, which ended with the finale "Snow Is Falling on New Year's Day", "We Are the Happiest in the World" and "Our National Flag", redoubled the high revolutionary enthusiasm and fighting spirit of all the people to bring earlier the rosy future of our powerful state with the inexhaustible power of their unity based on loyalty and patriotism under the ever-victorious guidance of the great Party Central Committee.

At the end of the performance, loud cheers of "Hurrah!" for Kim Jong Un rocked the venue again and fireworks were let off to gorgeously decorate the nocturnal sky.

The last night of the old year was beautifully decorated and the prelude to the New Year was open magnificently.