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fierce and complicated struggle against the enemies at home and abroad. Originally, the socialist countries took over backward economies and technology, but they were unable to con- centrate their efforts on economic construction from the first. The working class which had taken power was faced with the urgent task of effecting a thoroughgoing social change—the abolition of the old exploiting system and the establishment of a new socialist system—and of safeguarding the revolution against a counterrevolution. For instance, the Soviet Union, the first socialist country, had to wage a difficult and complicated struggle, in capitalist encirclement, to ensure the victory of the socialist system and shortly afterwards, shoul- dered a heavy burden in the second world war. In the postwar period, too, the Soviet Union had to put great efforts into defence construction to safeguard socialism against the cold war policy of the imperialists. The people of socialist coun- tries had to build socialism and defend the revolution while countering the military threat and economic blockade of the imperialists, and, at the same time, make great efforts to support the revolutionary movement in the world and the struggle of the progressive people of the world to build a new society. Considering these factors, we can say that the successes achieved by socialist countries in economic construction are tremendous, not to mention the achievements in the political, ideological and cultural fields. In a period of a little over half a century, since the first socialist country emerged, socialist countries have made greater economic, scientific and tech- nological progress than capitalist countries have done in hundreds of years. In addition they have laid solid founda- tions for progressing even more rapidly in the future. 17

Historical experience has already proved unequivocally that socialism is superior beyond compare to capitalism and has unconquerable vitality. There is a great gulf between life under socialism, where the masses of the people equally enjoy independent and creative activities to the full as masters of the state and society, and that under capitalism, where people become the slaves of money and seek only their own pleasure. A man whose mind has been paralysed by capitalist ideology cannot see the difference. It is obvious, when socialism strikes root deeper in the future and the remnants of the old society have been eradicated and so the political and ideological unity and the creative power of the people become stronger, that the socialist system will demonstrate its advantages more clearly and that in the near future socialist countries will outstrip the developed capitalist countries by far even economically and technologically. Of course, we cannot say that so far socialist countries have brought the superiority of the socialist system fully into play. Frankly speaking, they have deviated sometimes to the- Right and sometimes to the "Left" in managing the new social system. Deviations occurred in the process of establishing the socialist system, but in particular, grave mistakes were made in finding answers to new problems as to how the revolution and construction should be promoted after the establishment of the socialist system. A series of serious deviations were also made in dealing with the mutual relations between the socialist countries which carry on the revolution and con- struction in different historic conditions. All this has tar- nished the image of socialism. 18 f t f f t C w o fr h it sc

These deviations have nothing to do with the intrinsic nature of the socialist system. They are due totally to the fact that those who administer the socialist system are not experienced and fully prepared politically and ideologically. The struggle between socialism and capitalism is the struggle between the new and the old. That the new emerges victorious and the old perishes is an immutable law of historical development. This law will never change, though the victory of the new may be attained only after experiencing twists and turns. The development of the history of mankind is the process of realizing Chajusong for the masses of the people, the subject of history. A new thing is that which contributes to realizing Chajusong for the masses in the course of historical development; an old thing is that which, on the contrary, restrains the realization of Chajusong for the masses. Capitalism was a new system compared with feudalism when it abolished the feudal caste system and realized bourgeois freedom and equality. However, it became an old one which ran counter to the development of history by trampling upon the masses' desire for independence, the desire to become fully-fledged masters of society, free from not only feudal fetters but also capitalist exploitation and oppression. Just as there can be no capitalist who does not seek profits, so there can be no capitalism that does not exploit and oppress the working masses. The path of socialism is the only way to satisfy the desire of the masses to become real masters of the state and society, free from exploitation and oppression. Capitalism, no matter how it may be beautified and embellished, cannot throw off its old form of the exploiting society. It is only in socialist society that the popular masses can hold the position of 19

complete masters in all fields of politics, the economy and culture and play their role as masters. Socialist society is the new society which conforms to the independent character of the masses and the requirements of social development. The old may disguise itself as the new and the dying may temporarily seem to be reviving. However, the old has no future because it is perishing. Revolutionaries must not be misled by passing phenomena but clearly distinguish the new from the old; they must fight for the victory of socialism to the end, convinced that the new will, without fail, emerge victorious. If we are te adhere to the revolutionary stand of the working class and follow the path of socialism to the very end, we must enhance the leadership role of the party to meet the requirements of the development of socialist society in the given period. As socialist construction makes headway in socialist countries, so the material and cultural standard of living of the working class and other working masses rises, their cultural and technical qualifications generally improve and the number of intellectuals grows considerably. As socialism approaches the higher phase of communism, the differences between physical and mental labour diminish and the whole of society becomes intellectual. This accords with the law of social progress. This, however, does not mean that the working-class character of socialist society changes. The process_of change and development-in-socialist society is a process in which class distinctions disappear gradually and the whole of society becomes working-class. In socialist society intellectuals can be regarded as the working class which engages in mental labour. As socialist society makes progress, so the working-class character of this society is not 20

weakened but, on the contrary, it is strengthened still further. Socialist society is a society which meets the inherent desire of the working class, and this desire is that all the people be provided with full Chajusong by opposing selfishness and on the basis of collectivism. This desire of the working class agrees with the common human aspiration to Chajusong. Because socialist society is a society which meets the inherent desire of the working class, socialism and commu- nism can be built only under the leadership of the party which is the vanguard detachment of this class. The further the building of socialism and communism proceeds, the more the leadership of the party should be strengthened, instead of being weakened. Without the party's leadership it would be impossible to ensure the unity of the people in ideology and will, display the superiority of collectivism that is inherent in socialism, and beat the untrodden path of communism. Strengthening party leadership means improving the standard of party work in keeping with the developing situation, while maintaining the revolutionary principle of the working class in the revolution and construction. If a party fails to see the developing situation and retains outdated theories and methods, it will commit dogmatic and subjective mistakes; if it abandons the revolutionary principle of the working class on the plea of a changed situation, it will make revisionist and reformist.errors. The working-class party which leads socialist construc- tion must concentrate every effort on strengthening and enhancing the role of the subject of the revolution by improving party work. It is only when the subject of the revolution is strengthened and its role improved that we can succeed in harnessing nature and transforming society and also emerge 21

victorious in the fight against the enemy. Needless to say, it is important in bringing out to the full the superiority of the socialist system to lay firm material and technical foundations for socialism and improve the method of managing the socialist economy. But it is more important to strengthen the subject of the revolution. It is people that develop the economy and technology and it is also people that manage the socialist system. Therefore, the superiority of the socialist system cannot be displayed unless the subject of the revolu- tion is strengthened. Strengthening the subject of the revolution is also essential in preventing the ideological and cultural infiltration of imperialism. The great leader has said that a man with a well- trained body will not fall ill even if he is attacked by disease. However violent the imperialists' desperate manoeuvres may be, revisionism and reformism cannot raise their heads when the subject of the revolution is strong. We must always seek the key to victory in the revolution and construction in the subject, not in the objective con- ditions, and seek the basic method and means of promoting the revolution and construction in strengthening the subject and enhancing its role. The strengthening of the subject of the revolution must begin with the consolidation of the party, the core and leading force of the subject. When the party is sound ideologically, the masses can be sound in their ideology; when the party suffers from ideo- logical malady, the masses also suffer from ideological sickness. It is only when the party is united that the masses can be united; when it is divided, the masses will be divided. Therefore, primary attention must be paid to maintaining the purity of the party's revolutionary idea, improving steadily its 22

s s e s e e c st l- of l- e. y n n - g ct st g c - al n l. e s ideological and theoretical levels and cementing its organi- zational and ideological unity and cohesion. In order to strengthen the subject of the revolution, it is also imperative to make the broad masses revolutionary and unite them closely around the party. The education of the people in the revolutionary ideology of the working class must be intensified in step with the improvement in their material and cultural lives and in their cultural and technical standards, which rise with the progress of socialist construction. If not, a cavity might be created in their consciousness and bourgeois ideas can infiltrate. If this happens, people may lose confidence in socialism and com- munism and cease working for the revolution. Enhancing the role of the subject ceaselessly is of decisive significance in promoting the revolution and construction. The party's unified leadership in all fields of the revolution and construction must be fully ensured, and on this basis the creative zeal and activeness of the masses must be brought out to the maximum in accordance with the revolutionary mass line. The construction of socialism and communism is an undertaking for the masses and of the masses, so the only way to promote socialist construction is to encourage them to work willingly and with devotion. Any attempt to seek a clever way, other than this, will end in clinging to the capitalist method that has nothing in common with socialism and will cause grave and irrevocable consequences to socialist construction. Our Party has been able to lead the revolution and construction to victory in the arduous and complicated circumstances that are unprecedented in history because it has consistently strengthened the subject of the revolution and enhanced its role. 23

Under the difficult situation in which the US imperialists, the chieftain of world imperialism, have been occupying one half of our territory and perpetrating ceaseless aggressive manoeuvres against our Republic, our people have been carrying out two tasks at the same time—building socialism independently, and thwarting the aggressive manoeuvres of the imperialists in order to reunify the country. At present our people are fighting, bearing double and triple burdens on their shoulders. However, our Party has always stuck fast to the revolutionary stand with the conviction that victory will be won, precisely because the subject of our revolution has been strengthened. On the basis of a scientific review of the historical experiences of the Korean and world revolutions, the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung further developed the Marxist- Leninist revolutionary theories in a creative way to suit the new situation, established the immortal Juche idea in his early years, and provided a contemporary guideline capable of leading the revolutionary movement in a steady upsurge. On the basis of the Juche-orientated principle of Party building, he has strengthened our Party organizationally and ideologi- cally, established unbreakable ties between the Party and the masses in every possible way and steadily enhanced the Party's leadership role in all fields of the revolution and construction. In this way he has been leading our revolution to brilliant victory. The great leader gave instructions that, in order to build socialism, the ideological fortress of communism must be conquered along with the material fortress and that, to this end, the three revolutions—ideological, technical and cultural—must be promoted on the principle of giving precedence to the work of transforming the people, the 24

masters of society, along communist lines. In this way a correct way of continuing the revolution after the establish- ment of the socialist system and of achieving the cause of communism has been elucidated for the first time in his- tory. Following the path indicated by the great leader, our Party has been building socialism successfully, without any deviation, and fully displaying the advantages of the socialist system. Holding high at all times the revolutionary banner of anti- imperialist struggle, our Party has been fighting resolutely against the imperialist moves of aggression and war and safeguarding the eastern post of socialism with credit. The US imperialists lay stress on the strategic importance of south Korea, which is situated near Japan, their biggest ally, and which occupies a strategic point on the Asian continent, and so have not only turned south Korea into their nuclear war base to bring military pressure to bear upon us, but also converted it into an economic and political base against socialism in collaboration with the Japanese imperial- ists and other reactionaries in the world and are manoeuvring in every possible way to demonstrate the "supremacy" of capitalism on the Korean peninsula. Despite the desperate manoeuvres of US imperialism and its stooges, our Republic has been advancing along the socialist road without the slightest vacillation. Encouraged by this, the south Korean people are fighting resolutely against the United States and for independence, against fascism and for democracy, thereby shaking the colonial rule of US imperialism violently. The fact that our country, though small, is holding fast to its Chajusong while building socialism successfully confronted by the allied force of imperialism is clear proof that socialism 25

is in all ways superior to capitalism and has unconquerable vitality. Our era by no means suits imperialism; it is an era of historical change in which imperialism is on the brink of ruin and the people of the world are marching forward boldly along the road of socialism, the road of independence. The contemporary age requires that revolutionary people the world over should rise up as one in the struggle to inflict a decisive defeat on the doomed and desperate imperialists and create an independent new world. Opposing imperialism and defending Chajusong is the common fighting task of the revolutionary people of the world today. The subject of the struggle for Chajusong in each country is the people of that country, whereas the subject of the struggle to oppose imperialism and make the world in- dependent consists of the socialist countries, the international communist movement, the national-liberation movement in colonies, the non-aligned movement, the world peace move- ment and other anti-imperialist, independent forces. The anti-imperialist, independent forces are incompara- bly stronger than the imperialist forces. What is important is whether the anti-imperialist, independent forces fight in unity or not. That unity is a decisive factor for victory in the revolution is an immutable truth. Particularly today, when the imperial- ists are aligned and allied in opposition to socialism and the progressive people of the world, it is essential for all the anti- imperialist, independent forces to fight in close unity. In strengthening the unity of the anti-imperialist, in- dependent forces, it is particularly important to strengthen the unity of the socialist countries and the international communist movement. The socialist countries and the 26