Esteemed Comrade Chair,

Dear Comrades,

First, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Turkey and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece for exerting great efforts to successfully host the 21^st International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties that will be of great significance in the development of the world socialist movement.

Also, I convey militant greetings from the members of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and the Korean people to the communist and workers’ parties and progressive peoples of various countries who are fighting to realize socialist and communist ideas, the ideal of humankind.

Comrades,

It is quite significant that this meeting, with the theme of “The fight for peace and socialism continues!”, is being held this year which marks the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist International.

The Communist International which was established with the purpose of defending the gains of the October Socialist Revolution and expanding its achievements, set itself a historic mission to organize and develop on the international scale the struggle of the working class and oppressed nations around the world to terminate the imperialist suppression and to break the chains of the capital.

For the 20-odd years the Communist International existed in the first half of the 20^th century, the international communist movement and  the working-class movement made a rapid progress.

Of particular significance is the fact that in the 1930s, the Communist International set itself a strategic task to rally the working class and popular masses of all countries in the fight against war and fascism to prevent war, safeguard peace and democracy, thereby admirably fulfilled its role as the general staff of the world revolution.

The Communist International supported the policies put forward by Comrade Kim Il Sung, the great leader of the Korean revolution, such as the the revolutionary line on independence, the line on building a people’s revolutionary government and the line on anti-Japanese national united front, thereby encouraging the Korean people in their struggle to achieve national liberation and class liberation.

For the last 100 years since the founding of the Communist International the world socialist movement has come a long way and has witnessed in the process brilliant victories as well as painful setbacks.

However, no matter how vicious the imperialists’ anti-socialist moves may be, today socialism exists as an undeniable reality in many countries including the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, giving a strong impetus to the struggle of the world’s progressive peoples for peace and against imperialism.

Comrades,

The WPK has been able to frustrate the aggressive maneuvers of imperialism and successfully advanced the cause of socialism because it thoroughly maintained the independent line of revolution.

The building of socialism in the DPRK has to be carried out under the condition in which the country is geographically located between big powers and its territory divided into two and in which socialism and imperialism face each other in the most acute form of confrontation; it is therefore characterized by unparalleled arduousness and complexity.

In view of the unique environment of our country and fundamental requirements of our revolution, the WPK put forward independence as its political philosophy.

Throughout the course of building socialism, our Party rejected imperialism, dominationism, revisionism and dogmatism and solved all the problems in accordance with the aspirations of our people and specific conditions of our country relying on our own strength and hence built a socialist country that is independent in politics, self-sufficient in economy and self-reliant in national defense.

Today, in our country, the building of socialism has entered a very important and pivotal stage.

At the 7^th Congress of the WPK, Comrade Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the WPK has put forward the grand strategic task of building a thriving socialist country to realize the ideal of prosperity, wealth and military strength.

In the course of the struggle to implement the decision of the 7^th Party Congress, we have accomplished the historic cause of building the nuclear force of the state, on the basis of which we are leading the development of situation toward peace in recent years.

Major progress has been achieved in the efforts to put the national economy on a Juche-oriented and modern basis with the result that new sectors of industry have been created and domestic resources are widely used to meet the demands for energy, fuel and raw materials while every year we are witnessing new homes and streets and monumental edifices built for the people.

Through these notable successes made in the last three years since the 7^th Party Congress, the Korean people have been convinced that they can effectively achieve the cause of building a socialist power when they rely on and further develop their own strength and capabilities.

Today, economic construction is not a simple contest of national power but a front line of political and class struggle to prove in reality the superiority of socialism over capitalism.

What is more, as the imperialists who lost nuclear supremacy are resorting to the last measure of sanctions and blockade against the DPRK, the economic construction is in itself a life-and-death struggle that would decide the winner and loser between socialism and capitalism.

That is the reason why the WPK has set itself the task of building an economic power as its major political mission for the present stage and reaffirmed building a socialist power under the banner of self-reliance as the Party’s political line at the 4^th plenary session of the 7^th Party Central Committee held last April.

Now the WPK is engaged in a vigorous struggle to improve the country’s economy onto a new higher stage of development based on the solid foundation of independent national economy built by the great Comrade Kim Il Sung and Comrade Kim Jong Il and relying on the might of heroic working class as well as the powerful contingent of scientists and technicians trained in the socialist education system.

Our goal for economic development is enormous and the imperialists’ maneuvers to hamper our progress persist, but the Workers’ Party of Korea will definitely build a prospering socialist power by itself drawing on the treasured sword of self-reliance.

Comrades,

Peace is an intrinsic demand of socialism and the desire of our nation which has been under constant threats of a nuclear war from imperialists.

In accordance with the strategic judgement of the WPK, the DPRK has been engaged in negotiations with the US aimed at replacing the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty and building a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula.

The DPRK has already manifested its definite intention to open a new era of peace and prosperity through taking crucial and significant measures in a proactive way such as suspending nuclear tests and test-firing of ICBMs.

Whether or not peace finds its place to settle on the Korean peninsula and in the northeast Asia depends on the stand of the US now.

What is important is for the US to remove all the threats and hurdles that undermine the security of our system and hinder our development, and completely withdraw its hostile policy toward the DPRK.

We will always hold the initiative in the righteous struggle for peace and security of the Korean peninsula to defend our socialist system and the gains of the revolution, and never tolerate or sit idle by the sanctions imposed by the imperialists, but fight against and frustrate their moves.

Comrades,

Socialism remains as the ideal and future of humankind and as the irreversible trend of the times.

The threats of capitalism against the rights to existence and development of working masses and the manoeuvres of imperialism to encroach upon the sovereignty of other countries at its will are growing more reckless day after day. The reality of today demands that the revolutionary parties aspiring after socialism strengthen the unity in their joint struggle.

Anti-imperialist independence and socialism are the basis of unity among the revolutionary parties.

The Workers’ Party of Korea will continue to struggle shoulder to shoulder with all parties from socialist countries on the road of building socialism and it will render strong support and encouragement to the communist and workers’ parties who are fighting against exploitation and oppression by capital and for the democratic rights of working class and other working masses.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the communist and workers’ parties from different countries who are extending sincere support to the struggle of the Workers’ Party of Korea for the building of a powerful socialist country and peace on the Korean peninsula.

The Workers’ Party of Korea, in the future too, will vigorously struggle for the victorious advance of the cause of socialism in close unity with the communist and workers’ parties cherishing independence around the world under the high banner of socialism and anti-imperialist independence.

Thank you.