July 22, Moscow (RSTV)   

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On July 15, the 2nd International Congress of Solidarity, timed to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the Victory in the Korean War, opened in the central hall of the Soviet Peace Fund.

Seats on the presidium of the Congress were taken by Kim Song U, Adviser to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the DPRK in Russia, Alexander Mostov, Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK ISG, and Viktor Petrov, Chairman of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK.

The opening ceremony took place. It was attended by representatives of the DPRK Embassy and the Soviet Peace Foundation, members and candidate members of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK ISG, senior officials of the Executive Committees of our Group in Russia, Belarus and Germany, the Chairman of the Society for the Study of Juche Ideas in the Altai Republic, the Chairman of the Russian-Korean Friendship Club (Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation), leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Komsomol of the Russian Federation, the Communist Party "Communists of Russia" and activists of the Pioneer Organization named after Vasily Kuznetsov. Journalists from Russia, the US and China attended as observers.

During the ceremony, a gift was presented for Shin Hong Chol, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the DPRK in Russia, from activist Margarita Silakova. The ceremony of awarding video blogger Stanislav Vasilyev with a badge depicting the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung was also held.

There were speeches.

Kim Song U, Adviser to the Ambassador of the DPRK, and Ju Kyong Su, First Secretary of the Embassy of the DPRK, addressed the participants of the Congress.

"First of all, let me express my gratitude to the organizers for the initiative to hold a solemn meeting dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the Korean people in the Great Fatherland Liberation War as an invited representative of the DPRK Embassy at this event.

After the Second World War, the United States, which occupied peaceful Korea as a "liberator", based on its hegemonic ambitions on the Asian continent, incited the puppet troops of South Korea to launch a sudden military invasion of the North and thus provoked the Korean War on June 25, 1950. For this war, the United States mobilized numerous armed forces, and also pulled a military contingent from 15 subordinate countries and the remnants of the former Japanese army to the Korean Peninsula.

In this war, the US spent 165 billion US dollars of that time. The Fatherland Liberation War, which lasted three years, was unprecedentedly fierce. Korea, which liberated from Japanese colonial rule only five years ago and proclaimed the formation of a people's democratic Republic less than two years ago, surpassed all assumptions and common sense, defeated the United States, which boasted of omnipotence in the world, and marked the beginning of their decline.

The glorious victory achieved by the DPRK in the fierce struggle against the imperialist coalition forces led by the United States is a great triumph of the original strategy and tactics, military techniques and leadership of the outstanding military strategist, the Invincible Commander Kim Il Sung, as well as the unbending fighting spirit of the heroic army and people of our country, who with steadfast will courageously fought, rallying around their leader and united thought .

The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung, raised high the banner of anti-imperialism and independence, set the world cause of anti-imperialism and independence on a victorious path, and laid the foundation and excellent traditions for friendship and cooperation between the DPRK and the USSR. The relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries, which were prepared by Kim Il Sung and the leaders of the party and state of the former USSR, continued thanks to Kim Jong Il, and today they continue thanks to Kim Jong Un.

Friendly relations between Korea and Russia, which have a deep history and historical tradition, are further strengthened in accordance with the new requirements of the era and the desires of the peoples of the two countries.

In April 2019, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Russian Federation and held a historic meeting and negotiations with Russian President Putin in Vladivostok. This served as a significant event in strengthening and developing at a high level the course of strategic relations and traditional friendship between our countries.

In his last message of congratulations to President Putin on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of Russia's victory in the Great Patriotic War, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un expressed confidence that, under the leadership of President Putin, the resilient and just Russian people will overcome all challenges and threats from hostile forces and continue to win victories in the struggle to ensure the sovereignty and dignity of the state and stability in the region.

The incomparable patriot, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, glorifies the dignity and power of our Republic throughout the world. Thanks to the unceasing efforts and selfless work of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, the achievements that amaze the world in the construction of socialism are being made, and our Republic has become a state that is strengthening and rapidly developing at its own expense.

We will not stop for a moment in the struggle to build a socialist power and will accelerate the building of a socialist power where all the people enjoy a dignified and happy life.

We take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the DPRK International Solidarity Group, which in the past years actively supported our people and expressed solidarity with their just struggle. And I also hope that the members of the DPRK ISG and those present at this place will continue to make efforts to make a special contribution to the development of traditional relations of friendship and cooperation between the DPRK and the Russian Federation."

Viktor Petrov, Chairman of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK, delivered a welcoming speech.

"Dear comrades! Dear Colleagues! Dear allies! First of all, on behalf of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK, I would like to welcome you.

Dear Congress, I also represent the Soviet Peace Foundation and send you greetings from its President, Anatoly Evgenyevich Karpov, who also wishes success to our meeting.

I am very glad that every year the relations between the Society, between our veterans and your wonderful, young team are getting stronger and developing. I hope that after the 2nd Congress our relations will become even closer and simply fraternal.

In a nutshell, I would like to tell you my thoughts on the great date of the 70th anniversary. There are several points that are extremely important and relevant especially now.

Indeed, only five years have passed since the end of World War II. The Americans hoped that the Korean Peninsula would become a springboard for attacks on China and the Soviet Union, which were like a thorn in the eye.

When there is a clash between imperialism and the forces of progress (forces of socialism), the most important supporting pillars are, first of all, the Leader (as you know, the struggle was led by the great Comrade Kim Il Sung), the second is the army, which was in full combat readiness and had colossal strength, the third is the Workers' Party of Korea, the fourth is the unity of the party, the army and the people, and the fifth, most important aspect is international solidarity.

Perhaps for the first time since the war, the great strength of international solidarity with the struggle of the Korean people has manifested itself. The Korean comrades erected a wonderful monument to the Chinese volunteers, of whom there were more than a million, and, of course, we cannot forget the great support of the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, who immediately came to the aid of the fraternal Korean people.

Whole books could be written about what international solidarity was shown for the first time in the world in this war, which took place, it would seem, on the distant Korean peninsula. The whole world, above all the Soviet public, the Chinese public, the public of the socialist countries, which had already shown their strength at that time, took the side of the Korean people. It was a huge support that helped us eventually win and win.

In the fact that when we first encountered the concept of the Juche idea, some treated it rather ironically. But when war came to our home, when war came to Europe, we see that self-reliance is the greatest current force, which was first of all proclaimed by the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.

Now Russian leaders are clutching their heads: even paper clips have to be transported from Poland! Someone will give, somewhere we will buy, someone will do something... But the Korean comrades immediately established the principle of "Juche" - we try not to rely on anyone, we rely on our own strength.

Once again, let me greet you all and remind you how this Victory was achieved and what results we all should take away from it. A small country, but having the principle of "Juche", is capable of defeating the biggest international imperialist and predator, which is the United States."

At the end of the ceremony, Alexander Mostov, Leader of our organization, delivered a political address.

"Dear comrades!

As Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK ISG, I have the honor to welcome you to the opening ceremony of the 2nd Congress of International Solidarity, timed to coincide with the day of the great Victory in the Korean War.

On behalf of the Congress, I would like to express my gratitude to the representatives of the DPRK Embassy Comrade Kim Song U and Comrade Ju Kyong Su, the leadership of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation, the activists of our Executive Committees in Russia, China, Germany and Belarus, the Altai Society for the Study of Juche Ideas, the Russian-Korean Friendship Club of the Diplomatic Academy, as well as video bloggers and journalists from many countries whose faces I can see in the hall now. In such a difficult international situation, when due to the extremely provocative actions of the US imperialists, the flames of a new world military conflict can flare up from time to time, it is more important than ever to strengthen international solidarity.

The current situation obliges us today - on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the victory over the American aggressors - to recall the lessons of the history of the national liberation struggle of the Korean people, draw parallels with the events of our time and draw conclusions about what contribution to the common cause we can make on our own.

When the Korean War began, the survival of the DPRK seemed almost impossible: how can a small Republic defeat such a giant as the United States? But not just "survival" - the victory of the Korean people, achieved by the heroism and selflessness of the soldiers of the Korean People's Army, Chinese people's volunteers and Soviet pilots, became an important turning point in history, confirming the undeniable truth about the power of unanimity and solidarity.

However, the US did not learn from its defeat. On the contrary, over the past 70 years, having occupied the south of Korea and installed a puppet government on it, they were preparing for a new invasion. Since then, for 70 years, they have been conducting large-scale military exercises, such as "Freedom Shield", which simulates a full-scale war against the Republic, including "preemptive strikes" on nuclear and missile facilities, the "seizure of Pyongyang" and the "liquidation of the leadership." Moreover, now the Americans are planning to once again place, under one pretext or another, their nuclear weapons on the territory of South Korea, which, of course, will pose a direct threat not only to the DPRK, but also to Russia and China.

History has shown that all attempts to conclude a fair deal with the United States, whether it be the 1994 US-DPRK Framework Agreement, the inter-Korean agreements, or agreements with Trump during the last period of improvement in relations, only lead to the fact that the enemy buys time and then abandons his promises under the pretext of a “new deal” after a change of administration in the United States or South Korea. This is truly absurd, and in this connection it must be remembered that all concessions, all “goodwill gestures” made to America or its satellites, lead to only one of two scenarios: occupation, as happened with Iraq, or enslavement, as happened with Ukraine. And in my opinion, the third option is impossible.

Our duty today, dear comrades and colleagues, is to protect the historical memory of the victory in the Korean War. And to do this, to be honest, is far from being as easy as saying. In Russia and the world, the pro-American view of the history of the Korean War still dominates in the public consciousness. In many history books, the DPRK is presented as an aggressor, and numerous bloggers and fake media exacerbate the situation even more, dehumanizing the Korean people and in fact morally justifying the pressure they are now under. And for this reason, our first task is to work with the public, with friendly media, with friendly bloggers, with friendly parties and public organizations, to work together to achieve change."

The first day of the Congress began.