Korean people’s respect for their leader  

BY ALHASSAN MAMMAN MUHAMMAD

The world admires the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for their boundless reverence to and respect for their Supreme Leader.

Why then do they respect their leader so ardently?

Carrying forward the cause of President Kim Il Sung (1912-1994) and Chairman  Kim Jong Il (1942-2011), Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un materializes his people’s dream and ideal.

Thanks to his efforts, Korean people’s centuries-old desire to lead a dignified life as masters of a powerful country has been translated into reality.

Koreans are a nation with a distinguished history. Back in ancient times, Ancient Korea or Kojoson, which existed from the early 30^th century BC to 108 BC and Koguryo, which lasted from 277 BC to AD 668, were recognized as powerful countries in the East. Generation after generation, they wished to live proudly as a powerful nation which no invaders dare to challenge.

Their desire grew more intense while they lived as slaves under the Japanese military occupation in the first half of the last century, survived the Korean war unleashed by US-led imperialist allied forces in the 1950s, and weathered the protracted post-war confrontation with hostile forces which attempted to stifle the country.

Kim Jong Un strives to make this desire come true.

By rapidly developing the country’s defence science, he has raised it to the status of a world-recognized strategic state against which no other countries dare to start a war.

He is energetically leading the effort to build an economic power, so as to realize the people’s dream to live in a prosperous country. Under his guidance, many modern factories and enterprises relying on the country’s own strength, technology, raw materials, and fuel have been built. Though they still have something that is in short supply or not available, they are proud of their creations and are convinced of the brighter future of the powerful socialist country.

Another reason for the Korean people’s boundless respect for and trust in him is his people-oriented politics.

He defined the “people-first principle” as the essence of the guiding ideology of the country and put forward the slogan “Everything for the people and everything by relying on them!”

He encourages officials to carry on all works, ranging from the formulation of policies of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the DPRK government to their implementation, thoroughly based on the people’s interests and requirements. He demands that all officials make selfless, devoted efforts for the sake of the people and sets personal examples.

In a word, Kim Jong Un is “the leader beloved of the people” and “the people’s benevolent father.”

It is quite natural that people put absolute trust in such a leader.

Alhassan Mamman Muhammad is a professor at the University of Abuja