The journalists scribbled down every word that I said. What was more, they listened. In fact—though it is hard for Westerners to believe— my name was kept out of the press entirely. Among themselves, the reporters called me “The Great Teacher of Journalists.” But in the media, my activities were obliquely referred to as those of “the Party Center.” That way, my achievements received public attention but I personally stayed out of the spotlight.
Indeed, in September 1973 I was named Secretary of the Party Central Committee—the very committee where I had first worked. It was a formal acknowledgment of how essential my work about been on behalf of the nation, the Great Leader and the Party. But though I was flattered by this unprecedented honor, it was apparent that the DPRK was at a crossroads. Tensions were high on the Korean peninsula, and no one was sure what would happen next—and this time, it was my turn to be surprised.
Chapter 10
Commandments
The year 1974 brought a great, destructive crisis for the world economy. Reduced production and widespread unemployment caused people to complain about the “Worst-ever Depression” in many parts of the globe. Just like always, the US imperialists turned to war in order to distract the American people from their suffering economy. The Yanks interfered in other countries’ affairs as never before, and were scheming to launch yet another Asian war.
The Eighth Plenary Meeting of the Fifth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held in February 1974 against this extremely solemn international backdrop. Many speeches and suggestions for the future were given, but the event was dominated by concerns about what was occurring abroad.
I sat in the front row under the platform, listening with great care to every word that was being said. One day, as the proceedings drew to a close, a Political Committee member rose to put forth a question. His hair was as white as the snow on Mt. Paektu, and every single line in his face represented a martyred comrade lost during the days of anti-Japanese struggle. I knew the veteran and respected him enormously, so I was eager to hear his perspective. “I would like to propose Secretary Kim Jong Il for membership of the Political Committee,” he said. Then he gestured in my direction.
That old member of the Political Committee apparently spoke for all those present, for every single person in the room began to applaud. I had no idea that such a nomination was even under consideration. The Political Committee, as its name implies, decides matters of policy for the entire nation. There was no higher honor, no greater promotion possible. As I always did, I looked to President Kim Il Sung—and saw the one man in the room who wasn’t clapping in agreement. Rather, the Great Leader was deep in thought, torn, pensive.
President Kim Il Sung waited until the cheering stopped. “Let’s hold off on this proposal,” he said.
Yet the President’s old guerrilla comrade wasn’t one to retreat his position. “We’ve been inundated with petitions of support for Secretary Kim Jong Il,” he insisted. “We’ve received letters from everyone whose lives he has touched: from Party organizations, government agencies, public organizations. We’ve heard from people working in the areas of education, culture and the press. I have letters here from factories, cooperative farms and the People’s Army. All of us in this room are ready to vote on the matter immediately.”
The President did not respond, at least not right away. He simply sat there with a serious look on his face, jaw clenched. Minutes passed, and the tension in the air increased exponentially. This was not defiance; every man in the room was loyal to the Great Leader without fail. But the President didn’t quite agree with them for whatever reason. Finally, he gently looked around the conference hall at his beloved comrades. “I well understand the feelings of everyone here,” he said. “But again I insist on holding off on this matter, for the reason that Secretary Kim Jong Il is still too young.”
The old fighter rose again. I could tell that he was quite agitated, but somehow he was managing to suppress it. “You say that Kim Jong Il is too young,” he said, “but I don’t think age matters in this case. You led the Korean revolution to victory when you were his age, didn’t you? This is a matter bearing upon the destiny and the future of the revolution. I beg you to change your mind and reconsider.”
All eyes at once returned to President Kim Il Sung. He was silent once more, gathering his thoughts. Then, his remained the sole voice to speak in disagreement. “In revolutionary struggles,” he said, “the people must be bound together by comradely relations only. The positions of revolutionaries should be determined by the contributions they’ve made for the people and their future possibilities. Their positions shouldn’t be influenced in any way by blood relations. Kim Jong Il is my son. Because of this, I, of all people, am not in a position to recommend him. I don’t want to hear you say another word about this, I implore you.”
From the other side of the platform rose another aged guerrilla. “Then will you hear it from me, Comrade President? We are fully aware of this revolutionary principle. We follow it ourselves. But we have in mind the country’s future destiny, not the blood relations of the two of you.”
The President had met with countless difficulties in conducting meetings in the past decades, and had never failed to make a clear-cut decision on the spot. Yet never before had the Great Leader been put in such a uncomfortable position—and never had he hesitated for such a long time. These were all revolutionaries and Party leaders who had carried out the President’s instructions unconditionally. They regarded every word spoken by the President, every instruction from him, as the truth. None of the members of the Party Central Committee had ever opposed the President’s intentions, especially at a Central Committee meeting. But now, they were refusing to obey his request to table the question. One by one, they stood up and spoke from the heart on my behalf:
“The people see wonderful wisdom and outstanding leadership ability in Kim Jong Il’s shining achievements. They marvel at his wide knowledge and cleverness, and look up to him with admiration and respect. He is proficient in everything and equal to anything. Anything he has ever undertaken has been settled successfully. Everyone is always struck by his noble personality and the devotion with which he works for the motherland, oblivious of the need to sleep or even rest. His office windows are lit far into the night. I often see his car pass out the gate at dawn. That’s why we call his office ‘the light that never goes out.’ It’s no exaggeration to say that his energetic guidance is literally superhuman. It appears as if he doesn’t make distinctions between work and rest, or between day and night. Even the officials who work by his side say that they don’t know when eats, sleeps or uses the facilities.”
“Kim Jong Il is the teacher of the people and their close friend. He is kindhearted and considerate. His noble qualities are manifestations of his warm love with which he brings happiness to the people by taking charge of their fate. He is as anxious for everyone’s welfare as their real mothers. He always smiles brightly and his smile is very attractive, giving people the impulse to open their heavy heart and throw themselves into his bosom. People feel his smile is a ‘smile of love.’ Only warmhearted people smile that way. His loving embrace is like that of the good earth which gives life to everything, broad and gentle. Kind-heartedness, magnanimity, broadmindedness, vigor, enthusiasm, boldness, the humble character of common people—these are the different aspects of his personality.”
“Whenever people meet with Kim Jong Il, they frankly tell him what is on their minds. Wherever he goes, people have a hearty laugh because of his vivaciousness. His presence animates people, making their work become full of life. He seems to be constantly spreading joy and happiness. The people become relaxed, simple and downright innocent in his presence. Many even feel like singing. Healthy energy surrounds him whenever he walks or talks. Every person who meets him says that they feel vigor emanating from his entire body.”
“Kim Jong Il’s thought is comprehensive. Every idea of his is distinguished with re
volutionary and innovative character. In other words, each is totally original and has nothing to do with the established usages and conventions. Whenever he writes or speaks, thousands of new ideas crowd in his head; each of them seems as if it were impatiently awaiting its turn to be called out. His knowledge may be said to be encyclopedic to such an extent that I wonder how much knowledge the human brain can hold. He is literally versed in everything.”
“Our comrade has a special ability to analyze the nature of objects and phenomena around him and to discover principles and laws that govern them. With his insight and wisdom, he sees through historical currents, grasps the objective demands of social development and discovers the laws of its forward movement. In doing this, he is like the rider of a galloping horse of history, taking its reins in his hands.”
“Owing to your leadership, Comrade President, the people have come to acquire dignity, rights and happiness. They now find life worth living under the only leader that they’ve ever known. The people feel admiration and unbounded respect for Kim Jong Il, for he takes after you in thinking, philosophy and personality. Comrade President, you have trained him to continue the path of Juche. He is in fact the very incarnation of love, morality and the Juche idea.”
On and on they went. I was completely unaware of how strong my support had grown, especially among my elders in the Party. As each and every cadre rose to speak, President Kim Il Sung didn’t know where to turn. Finally, everyone said their piece. The Great Leader slowly looked around, hoping to find someone who supported his desire to drop the matter. But he found no one.
In total defiance, the first aged fighter stood up to speak one last time. “Comrade President,” he begged, “to our regret, we have grown old. Young comrades should assist you now. Only then can our revolutionary progress make new advances in a vigorous, energetic manner.” The guerrilla spoke with such intensity that he grew out of breath, leaning on his fists against the table. For a few minutes any thought of revolution were gone, and we all sat tensed until he calmed down.
There is a myth in Western propaganda that the Great Leader was some absolute dictator whose word is law and who is responsive and responsible to no one. But he genuinely and enormously valued his comrades’ loyal opinions. President Kim Il Sung sat on the platform for a while before he finally made up his mind. “If all the committee members are in agreement,” he said, “I have no objection to Secretary Kim Jong Il being elected to the Political Committee.”
Enthusiastic applause erupted in the conference hall. There and then, the plenary meeting elected me to the Political Committee of the Party Central Committee. I walked up to the platform and went down the line, shaking hands with every single person. When I came to the Great Leader, I clasped his outstretched hand with both of mine. “I will return the trust you have placed in me one thousandfold,” I promised.
President Kim Il Sung chuckled with pride. Then he leaned over and spoke softly so that only I could hear. “My comrades—our comrades— said that I trained you to follow the path I have trod. But they’re wrong. It was your dear mother, anti-Japanese heroine Kim Jong Suk, who laid the cornerstone of this cause. Her building such a foundation is the greatest exploit that she performed for the sake of the revolution. Do you remember what her greatest wish was?”
“Of course I do. It was for me to follow in your footsteps.”
He nodded. “I’ve never told you this lest it give you the wrong idea, but the last thing she ever told her revolutionary comrades was, ‘Please look after my son after I’m gone and help him become the leader just like his father.’ I’ve been grooming you to be my successor ever since. I could have installed you in the Committee myself, but then you’d never have been accepted by the Party—let alone by the people. Their desire had to match my own. Now, thanks solely to your great work, it does. One day, Comrade Secretary, you will be my successor.”
The President was then able to make his wish official, declaring me his successor under law. In the DPRK, the process was very different than what it would have been in a Western country. Most Western countries are allegedly governed by constitutions, anachronistic documents from colonial eras that justify bloody expansionism and oppression. As a consequence, thinking all nations are interchangeable and the same, Westerners often foolishly analyze the DPRK’s constitution to demonstrate this or that. But the Juche idea allows for every nation to be governed in its own way. A chopstick is not a flawed fork, but a different form of eating appropriate to a different nation. North Korea isn’t guided by our constitution but by the Ten Great Principles of the Monolithic Ideological System.
THE TEN GREAT PRINCIPLES OF THE
MONOLITHIC IDEOLOGICAL SYSTEM
1) Thou shalt struggle with all you have to paint the entire society with the Great Leader Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary ideology.
2) Thou shalt revere the Great Leader Kim Il Sung with the highest loyalty.
3) Thou shalt hold no other authority above that of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung.
4) Thou shalt accept the Great Leader Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary ideology as your belief and follow the Great Leader’s instructions as your cause.
5) Thou shalt execute the Great Leader Kim Il Sung’s instructions absolutely and without condition.
6) Thou shalt unify the Party’s ideology and will in solidarity around the Great Leader Kim Il Sung.
7) Thou shalt learn communist dignity, the methods of revolution and a people-oriented work style from the Great Leader Kim Il Sung.
8) Thou shalt value the political life that the Great Leader Kim Il Sung has bestowed upon you, and loyally repay the Great Leader’s trust with the highest political awareness and skill.
9) Thou shalt establish strong organizational discipline so that the entire Party, people and military operate in unison under the one and only leadership of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung.
10) The great revolutionary accomplishments begun by the Great Leader Kim Il Sung shall be inherited and perfected by generation upon generation until the end.
Now secure in my position, I immediately sought to implement changes to thank the Great Leader for his confidence in me. In my view, there could be no greater festivity, no more significant national holiday, than President Kim Il Sung’s birthday. Of course the Korean people had many memorable days and anniversaries to celebrate: the day of national liberation from Japanese imperialism, the days which marked the founding of the Party and the Republic, New Year’s Day and other Korean holidays. But the President’s birthday was the most important because he won back our lost country, thus enabling the people to enjoy all the other holidays.
Accordingly, I proposed to “establish April 15, the birthday of Comrade Kim Il Sung, the Great Leader of the revolution, as the biggest holiday of the nation. From this year onwards, we must celebrate his birthday every year as the truly greatest jubilee of the nation and must make a tradition of the April 15 celebration.” The Party members agreed with me entirely, and my proposal was thereby approved without hesitation.
1974 would be the first year where the President’s birthday would be officially celebrated as the greatest national holiday. I therefore wanted the festivities to be the greatest possible. True, he would be sixty-two years old—traditionally, not an anniversary year. But none of his anniversary years had been spent in jubilant environments. On his twentieth birthday, he’d been preparing to form anti-Japanese guerrilla units in Manchuria. On his thirtieth birthday, he was in the midst of a guerrilla campaign against the Kwantung Army in the thick forests of Mt. Paektu. On his fortieth birthday, he was in the operations room of the Supreme Command during the fierce war against the US imperialists. He’d greeted his fiftieth birthday giving on-the-spot guidance to peasants in the countryside. And though his statue was unveiled on his sixtieth birthday, the day was still bittersweet given the tragedy of national division.
I knew that the new People’s Palace of Culture was virtually completed and about to be opened. It though
t that this might make an appropriate venue for the upcoming event. One day I toured the building and was very impressed by the facilities. All of the equipment was modern, and the traditional octagonal roof was simply beautiful. The fact that the People’s Palace was being constructed alongside the scenic Potong River only added to its glory. The Palace would clearly end up being far bigger and better-equipped than the Pyongyang Grand Theatre—itself a world-famous facility. I decided that this would indeed be the perfect venue for the President’s birthday celebration.
Now I had to figure out who would be performing. Not only would they be performing for President Kim Il Sung for his birthday, but this would be the inaugural presentation at the Palace. There were many talented performers in Korea, each better than the last and each prepared to deliver the show of a lifetime. My phone didn’t stop ringing, as every possible act tried to convince me why they should be the ones on stage that night. I was of course very familiar with all of them, and the decision was excruciating to make. How could I possibly choose?
Then I recalled that a troupe of Koreans living in Japan were due to be in their homeland that evening. Who better to perform? It would symbolize the Great Leader’s growing prestige abroad. Their act would recall his greatest past achievements while casually alluding to the problem of a dispersed Korean nation. When I gave the troupe the call, they were beside themselves with happiness. They would never have a higher honor in their entire careers, even if they all lived to be 100.
Dear Reader: The Unauthorized Autobiography of Kim Jong Il Page 18
