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Workers’ Partyof Korea
Workers’ Party of Korea
Firmly protecting the life and safety of the people is the utmost priority for the Workers’ Party of Korea
It is of great significance that the SOLIDNET par-77 ties avail themselves of this opportunity to exchange ideas and lessons learned under the theme of “The activity of the Communist and Workers’ Parties under conditions of the pandemic and the capitalist crisis, for safeguarding the health and the rights of the popular strata, in the struggle to change society, for socialism” when the world is going through the serious health crisis caused by novel coronavirus infection.
The International Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) hereby extends warm comradely greetings to the Communist and Workers’ Parties around the world who are waging an uninterrupted struggle to protect the working masses’ right to existence and advance the cause of socialism amid the crisis of global pandemic.
At present, the WPK is fighting against two challenges at the same time: the pandemic and natural disasters.
The novel coronavirus infection that plunges the world into catastrophe poses a greater threat to the DPRK than to other countries.
The infection that broke out in the country sharing a border with the DPRK spread to other Asian countries in succession and the DPRK was put under siege by the pandemic from early on.
The crisis has persisted for months now in neighbouring countries and regions where the pandemic is not completely put under control, but instead, causes reinfections and resurgence, and this critical situation around us constantly threatens the DPRK by further increasing the dangerous possibility that the virus might find a way into the country.
Against this backdrop, the WPK has made sure that proactive and timely anti-epidemic measures are taken to prevent the infiltration and spread of the virus within the country from the early stages of the outbreak.
The borders were closed, suspected cases were quarantined, school vacations were extended, import and export goods were thoroughly examined and disinfected, mask-wearing became mandatory and other emergency anti-epidemic measures were put into place one after another.
As the pandemic was proven to be more and more dangerous with the passage of time throughout the world, we have physically closed and blocked all channels and factors that might provide a pathway for the virus.
78 Firmly protecting the life and safety of the people is the utmost priority for the WPK. The WPK regarded the prevention of the novel coronavirus infection not just as an anti-epidemic work, but a crucial task of the state to safeguard the people, an important duty of the Party that is responsible for the life of the people and the future of the coming generations. It held 6 meetings of the Party Political Bureau during the period from
February to September this year to reexamine the anti-epidemic measures in place and took steps to find and close existing loopholes in time, and never allowed any chances or laxity in this work. The WPK made great efforts to ensure that the entire population shared the sense of crisis with the Party, accepted the decisions made at the Party meetings on anti-epidemic work as a vital issue for protecting their own lives and future and thought and acted in unison in a voluntary and conscious manner. As a result, the work of preventing the pandemic in the DPRK has definitely become the work of the whole Party, entire state and all the people, and brisk and prompt measures were taken in a dynamic way for all issues in the anti-epidemic work. Thanks to the Party’s foresighted leadership and the entire people’s voluntary commitment to indivisible uniform action, we have completely prevented the infiltration of the malignant virus into our territory and so far not even a single infected case has occurred in our country, undeterred by the complex health crisis in the neighbouring countries and the region. This substantiates the remarkable correctness of the measures taken by the Party and the State to prevent the spread of the global pandemic. In the fight to stably control the pandemic by blocking any conceivable source of the virus infiltration, we have gained truly valuable experiences and based on those experiences we are making more intense efforts to safeguard the people’s life and safety with redoubled confidence. This year the Party also had to face the unforeseen challenge which was the work to recover from the damage caused by disastrous heavy rains, floods and typhoons. From last July to September, various regions in our country suffered damage from heavy rains, floods and three typhoons in succession; as a result, vast amount of farmland, many dwelling houses, public buildings and infrastructures including roads and bridges have been destroyed or submerged, taking away houses and properties from flood victims and leaving them with no choice but to live in temporary accommodations.
For the WPK that has defined the people-first-principle as its political doctrine, no work is more important than the one to relieve the people from sorrow and pains.
Comrade Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the WPK, has personally visited the flood and typhoon stricken sites to study the situation and gave detailed directions for stabilization of the disaster victims’ living and reconstruction projects.
At the 16th Meeting of Political Bureau of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK held in the middle of last August, a decision was adopted to concentrate all efforts to recover from flood damage as soon as possible and provide stable living conditions to the people; and in hearty response to the ardent call of Comrade Chairman of the WPK for core party members of Pyongyang City to stand in the van of the fight to recover from the typhoon damage, more than 12,000 party members of the capital city have volunteered to go to the northern parts of our country that suffered typhoon damage and they are now engaged in the vigorous struggle for reconstruction.
Also, as it was discussed and decided at the 6th Enlarged Meeting of the 7th Central Military Commission of the WPK held in early September, the KPA units have been mobilized to major industrial areas for the typhoon damage recovery efforts and they are engaged in the intense struggle to remove all signs of ravage from the disaster by the end of this year.
It is the intention of the Chairman of the WPK that the party should shoulder the entire responsibility for the people’s living who were struck by the natural disasters; and it is the national trait of socialist Korea that the entire people of the country to share the pains of those who are suffering and to overcome challenges in unity.
At present, the WPK is directing the recovery efforts in a multifaceted and dynamic way so as to remove the flood and typhoon damage as early as possible and greet the 75th founding anniversary of the party as the people’s true holiday which all our people rejoice.
On October 10, the WPK will celebrate its 75th founding anniversary.
For the last 75 years since its founding, the WPK has shouldered the responsibility for the destiny of our people and our-style socialism, and has always led the Korean revolution to constant victory.
It is the people that demand socialism and it is the spiritual strength and creative power of the popular masses that work as a motive force of socialism.
The history of world revolutionary movement proves that unless the socialist ruling party adopts politics for the people and politics that serve the people, it will lose support of the people and become unable to do its mission as a leading political organization and in the end, it would be deprived of the gains of revolution and ruin the cause of socialism.
Whenever it had to choose the path forward and whenever it faced grave difficulties in the whole process of leading the Korean revolution, the WPK had always established its lines and policies after listening attentively to the voices of the people and bringing together their aspirations and intentions.
By relying on the boundless creative power of the popular masses, the WPK turned the country that had previously been dominated by centuries-old backwardness and poverty into a socialist state that is independent in politics, self-sufficient in economy and self-reliant in national defense and ushered in a new era of building a powerful state in spite of vicious sanctions and blockade of imperialists.
In particular, the WPK regarded it as its duty and the foremost priority to take care of and bear full responsibility for the destiny and life of our people and served them devotedly.
Upholding people as the most precious beings, giving top and absolute priority to people’s interests and sparing no expense for the sake of our people - herein lies the advantages of socialism of our country that capitalism can neither have nor imitate.
Comrade Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the WPK had personally initiated the building of Pyongyang General Hospital and took up the first spade in its ground-breaking ceremony this March. And later, in the 14th Enlarged Meeting of Political Bureau of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK that was held at the beginning of last July, he set in motion strong measures to provide a super-class advanced medical services for the people, thus ensuring that the hospital will excellently be completed on the occasion of the 75th founding anniversary of the WPK to once again vividly demonstrate the vitality of the people-first-principle-oriented politics of the WPK that regards people’s lives and health improvement as a matter of national importance.
Through their life experiences of a long period, our people have confirmed the truth of the fact that neither the war threats of imperialists nor the fierce challenges of nature and the catastrophe caused by the pandemic can ever hurt them as long as there is the people-first-principle-oriented politics of the WPK.
The WPK, in the future, too, will turn into reality the beautiful dreams and ideals of our people and complete the cause of socialism to the last, true to the noble intention of Great Comrades Kim II Sung and Kim Jong II of giving priority, respect and love to the people.
The validity and vitality of socialism have been further displayed in the course of overcoming the global health crisis this year.
Going through this pandemic crisis, the humanity strongly feels that socialism is incomparably superior to capitalism in guaranteeing people’s life and safety, ensuring nationwide control of crisis and achieving international cooperation.
Capitalist countries have placed money making above saving humans’ lives, prioritized individual freedom over socially collaborated crisis response and gave precedence to national self-interest over cooperation and solidarity with other countries which resulted in explosive growth in the numbers of cases and deaths; the reality shows that capitalist system is not the one that agrees with the intrinsic nature of humanity and its fall is not far in the future.
We fully support the revolutionary parties of socialist countries in their struggle to stably control the spread of the pandemic and to help those countries in critical situation with medical facilities and supplies along with manpower.
Also, we express absolute solidarity with the struggle of the Communist and Workers’ Parties that are making unyielding efforts, despite the constraints and grave difficulties caused by the global health crisis, to defend working masses’ right to existence, reveal the reactionary nature and injustice of capitalism and advance the socialist cause.
Taking this opportunity, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the Communist and Workers’ Parties that have extended wholehearted support to the WPK in its struggle for reliably safeguarding people’s security and stepping up the building of a powerful socialist country.
The WPK, in the future, too, will wage a dynamic struggle for realizing independence of the popular masses and accomplishing the socialist cause, firmly united with the Communist, Workers’ Parties and other revolutionary parties.
