To Participants in the Conference of Representatives of Branches of Chongryon-2020 (Third Conference of a New Heyday)
I warmly congratulate the Conference of Representatives of Branches of Chongryon (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan) which is being held amid the great interest and expectation at home and abroad in the meaningful period when the strength and invincibility of our Republic is being demonstrated worldwide. I extend warm compatriotic greetings to the participants in the conference and other officials of Chongryon and compatriots resident in Japan.
This is a conference with a proud history and tradition, which has aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the masses of compatriots from all walks of life in every historic period of the development of the movement of Koreans in Japan; it has thus expanded and consolidated the mass basis of Chongryon and produced remarkable successes in implementing the patriotic tasks.
There are many organizations of overseas compatriots of other countries in the world, but there is no other organization than our Chongryon which has its lowest-echelon units in all parts where the Korean compatriots live and the leaders of whose lowest-echelon units get together on a regular basis to hold a large-scale conference.
In the past leaders and other officials of the branches of Chongryon have performed many feats, indeed, for achieving national reunification and the prosperity of their homeland and strengthening and developing the movement of Koreans in Japan, regarding the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il as the fathers of their nation and saviours of their lives.
The harsh conditions and circumstances in the alien land, where suppression and discrimination that infringe upon and threaten the dignity, interests and lives of our compatriots exist constantly, have never brought peace and stability to the Korean community in Japan; however, as there have been many ardent patriots like the officials of branches of Chongryon, who are thoroughgoing in their spirit of national independence and value things of their own, there is today's Chongryon that shines as a model organization of overseas compatriots and its patriotic work is so vigorous.
I offer high tribute to the branch leaders of the first generation and other branch officials of the elder generations who have played the role of firm cornerstones of their socialist homeland and Chongryon with sweat and sincere devotion throughout the whole period, from the first days of the patriotic cause up to now. They have built up the branches, the basic organizations of Chongryon, and undertaken all the burdens, large and small, for the patriotic cause as they would do their own family affairs.
I would like to take this occasion to extend my greetings of gratitude, together with the hearty encouragement from the people of their homeland, to all other officials of basic organizations of Chongryon and other patriotic compatriots who have always deeply sympathized with their homeland and Chongryon for their hardships, and invariably devoted their all for the development of the community of the Koreans in Japan and for the all-round rejuvenation of the movement of the Koreans in Japan, no matter whether they are recognized or not and whether they are rewarded or not.
The heavy yet important tasks Chongryon has assumed at present and the tenacious challenges that hover over the community of Korean compatriots require that the branches, the basic units of Korean compatriots for living and direct undertakers of the patriotic tasks, enhance their functions and role in every way possible than ever before.
Chongryon should consistently hold fast to the instructions of Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on consolidating its branches and give stronger impetus to the struggle for making all its basic organizations reliable cornerstones for the patriotic cause.
It should build all its branches up into powerful patriotic collectives, which are imbued with the great Kim Jong Il's patriotism and advance, closely united in single mind and will.
Branch officials should find out every suitable method which the compatriots would favour, accept and respond to, and conduct information and cultural activities in an aggressive manner, thus training them all to be ardent patriots who have cherished the Juche-oriented faith and the spirit of love for their homeland and nation.
They should remarkably spruce up their branches into those in whose work the masses of compatriots have become masters and take an active part, so that the businesspeople and compatriots of all other strata would enhance their sense of responsibility and perform their duties as masters in the campaign for setting an example of patriotism.
By giving top priority to thoroughly implementing the mass line, leaders and other officials of the branches should rally more compatriots into the ranks of patriots, so as to expand and strengthen the mass foundation of Chongryon without interruption.
They should develop all the branches of Chongryon into friendly neighbourhoods overflowing with the beautiful traits of mutual assistance and firmly rallied through virtue and affection.
They should orient the activities of their branches to strengthening the blood-sealed ties with the compatriots, and all their officials should strive to relieve them of the worries and agony they experience in their family businesses and lives and defend and promote their rights and interests, thus ensuring that the climate of making selfless, devoted efforts for their good prevails in their organizations.
In particular, they should make the perfect preparations more perfect and devote themselves lest a single family of the compatriots would suffer from the heart-breaking pain due to the malignant infectious disease sweeping the world.
They should build all the branches into durable bases for maintaining the national identity.
Regarding national education as the great foundation of the movement of the Koreans in Japan, branch officials should not spare time and efforts to bring up the children of the Korean compatriots into pillars, who will carry forward the baton of Chongryon and patriotism, and should briskly conduct various national cultural and sporting activities with Koreans' schools as centres.
They should launch a vigorous struggle for encouraging the compatriots to enjoy using our language, both written and spoken, and preserving the excellent folk customs and traditions of the Korean nation, so as to lead all of them to live with dignity as genuine Koreans who are possessed of the soul of Korea and the spirit of their nation.
They should develop all the branches into the bulwarks of patriotism, which can make characteristic contributions to the efforts for achieving independent national reunification and building their homeland into a powerful socialist country.
As in the past, so in the future too, branch officials and other compatriots should always breathe the same breath as and keep pace with the people of their homeland and build higher the monument to patriotic devotion on the sacred road for the prosperity of their homeland.
All the branches should make an active contribution to implementing the historic cause of national reunification by paying due attention to achieving the national unity with the compatriots living outside the organizations; they should also create an external environment favourable for the existence and development of the community of the Koreans resident in Japan by taking the initiative in conducting activities for friendship with the Japanese people.
Organizations, affiliates and other organs at all levels including the Central Standing Committee of Chongryon should direct all their energies to paying special attention to and strengthening the branches, remembering that now the decisive link in the whole chain of efforts for strengthening Chongryon and the shortcut to bringing earlier the new heyday of the movement of the Koreans in Japan lie in strengthening the basic organizations.
All the organizations and affiliates of Chongryon should set up their work system more progressively to help the lowest-echelon units, build up the ranks of branch officials and regularly help the leaders of branches so that they can properly play their roles.
Chongryon officials should make strenuous efforts to put its backward branches on a normal track, so as to turn all its basic organizations into lively, working entities that shine their brilliance of patriotism in the work for their homeland and nation.
Whenever I think of the basic organizations of Chongryon that remain stout in various parts of the alien land, I always recollect the unassuming, devoted efforts made by its branch officials, and I will render unstinting support and sincerity for the community of the Koreans resident in Japan that brims over with the Juche character and national identity and for the better welfare and brighter future of our compatriots.
Believing that this conference will prove significant in intensifying the work of the branches and developing it onto a new, higher stage and set up a milestone in ushering in an upsurge of the campaign for setting an example of patriotism, I sincerely wish great success in its work.
