Songun idea WPK's guidelines

At present the Songun idea serves as guidelines in defending socialism and carrying out the socialist construction in the DPRK.

Songun implies giving priority to the military affairs before anything else but does not simply mean that precedence is given to the military.

It is a new word coined by leader Kim Jong Il after comprehending President Kim Il Sung's idea and policy of attaching importance to arms and the military affairs.

Kim Jong Il said that Songun means attaching importance and giving precedence to the military affairs in the Party's leadership over the revolution and construction and so at present our Party's politics is Songun politics and its leadership is the Songun-based revolutionary leadership.

To attach importance and give precedence to the military affairs means regarding the military affairs as foremost in the revolution and construction and resolving all the problems arising in the revolution and construction with the revolutionary army as the mainstay.

This is why the Songun idea requires that priority should be given to the military and the revolution and construction should be pushed with the revolutionary armed forces as the main agent.

To begin with, it calls for attaching importance to the military affairs in the revolution and construction and giving precedence to it before anything else.

Giving top priority to the military means always considering the military affairs as the most important one among all the problems arising in the revolution and construction and channelling a great deal of efforts into boosting it.

What importance is given to the military is related to the existence of a country and many countries have paid somewhat closer attention to the military. Those countries, however, included the military affairs in the state policy as an instrument of aggression against other nation or a tool of preventing the foreign invasion.

But the DPRK's policy of attaching importance to the military is a principle of defending the sovereignty of the nation and solving all the problems arising in the socialist construction in reliance on the military and has become top priority of the Party and state.

It made it possible to put an end to Japanese colonial rule over Korea and win back the country's independence. After the country's liberation it enabled the Korean people to emerge victorious in the war against the US that had boasted of being the strongest in the world and beef up the national power and provide a military guarantee for the people's independent and creative life in the postwar years. As a matter of fact, the DPRK's history is that of attaching importance to the military affairs. All the victories and achievements it has made so far are the brilliant fruition brought about by the idea of attaching importance to the military.

To see the military affairs as the key factor in achieving independence of the nation and direct the greatest efforts into the strengthening of it—this is the import of Songun.

Next, the Songun idea means dealing with all the problems arising in the revolution and construction with the revolutionary army as the core and the mainstay.

The main agent of the revolution is a social group that leads the guidance of the Party of working class and the leader in the van of accomplishing the cause of socialism.

Centuries ago theoreticians had seen the working class as the driving force of the revolution.

Their view was based on the reality of capitalist countries in the mid-19th century. The times have advanced far, remarkably changing the social environment, class relationship and status of working class.

In socialist society changes have taken place in the social and class relationship.

That is why in the DPRK the revolutionary army has been chosen as the main agent of the revolution, not the working class, on in-depth analysis of the development of the times and the changed social and class relationship.

The Songun idea has newly defined that the revolutionary army holds a core position and plays a leading role in building the driving force of the revolution and constructing socialism.

To put forward the army as the main agent of the revolution indicates that the revolution and construction are pushed forward by regarding the revolutionary army as the hard core and mainstay and relying on it.

Considering the revolutionary army as the most powerful political force in carrying out the socialist cause and pushing the revolution and construction on the basis of its revolutionary spirit, militant might and role—this is the other import of Songun.

The Songun idea is, in essence, a revolutionary idea indicating the way of providing independence for the people by placing the revolutionary army in the centre.

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