The principle and policy of firm self-reliance is itself a fresh example that one can progress and develop while safeguarding independence and sovereignty DPR Korea is that example. It is the success of Comrade Kim Jong Un’s leadership in Korea.
Because of firm self-confidence and belief in self-defense, when the world was facing pandemic, wars, and many crises, Korea succeeded in greatly accelerating the pace of development through the power of self-reliance. This is the success of Kim Jong Un's miraculous leadership.
Whatever development DPR Korea has achieved, the West has described it as the result of support from Russia or China. In reality, it is the outcome of the continuous efforts of the DPR Korea people, united and standing on their own confidence.
Yes, cooperation or assistance from big countries can be an easy measure and may also give immediate benefits. But DPR Korea’s development is a long-term plan, for which the DPR Korea leadership and people chose the path of enhancing capabilities through hard effort.
The difficult road of self-reliance chosen by DPR Korea was extremely challenging and will be so in the future as well. DPR Korea has chosen the hard path of eternal prosperity. One can believe in the patriotism of DPR Koreas to overcome every difficulty and move forward.
Big countries like Russia and China are acknowledging DPR Korea’s growing capability and the determination of the DPR Korea people. The exchanges of visits by the presidents of Russia and China are efforts to further strengthen the traditional relationship.
DPR Korea may be small in size, but it has already been established as a nation that world powers must respect. Under his leadership, DPR Korea can be believed to become a more prosperous and powerful nation and an example of socialism.
DPR Korea and Kim Jong Un are proof that if a leader has vision, the nation becomes strong. Now DPR Korea has own identity.
President of the State Affairs of DPR Korea, Kim Jong Un, has said: “We are on the path of miraculous transformation.” Although the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the President adopted strict policies to protect against Covid, developed equally strategic relations with Russia and China, and took many measures to become self-reliant, the remarkable results of which are now beginning to be seen. After developing relations with Russia and China with military and other fraternal cooperation, DPR Korea has now risen much higher.
Just last week, China’s President Xi Jinping visited Pyongyang for the first time since 2019. Happy citizens, small children playing video games, pizza can be ordered through apps, and EV vehicles are running on the streets. Along with these changes, seeing the economy active and running at full speed, it is heard that even China’s President praised it. Nevertheless, Westerners continue to accuse the DPRK of being a poor country with human rights violations.
Seeing the progress of the DPRK, the truth that the West has had to admit is this: possibly the DPRK is in the best condition of Kim Jong Un’s years ago.
Thirty years ago, the economy had faced many challenges, but today the DPRK’s economy is strong, nationalism has become steel-like. Whatever changes have taken place in the DPRK, they are the result of Kim Jong Un’s wise and courageous policies. The proof of this is the bright development visible in the DPRK.
Leonid Petrov, Dean of the International College of Management in Australia and a Korea expert, says: at the very least, leadership must be this capable. Kim Jong Un strengthened relations with Russia, and historically reinforced relations with China.
In June 2024, Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang and the treaty with Russia made DPRK diplomacy appear very elevated. Trade with Russia and China has increased, cooperation has expanded on the basis of trust. Military and arms supply between isolated Russia and the DPRK under sanctions has become a reliable partnership for the security of both countries.
As DPRK–Russia strategic relations grow stronger, the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping—who rarely travels abroad—to Pyongyang, the main contact point and largest trading partner, has made the complex, business-based relationship smoother and stronger. DPRK is also the only country that maintains a defense treaty with China. Xi’s Pyongyang visit, after meeting the presidents of the U.S., U.K., and Russia in Beijing, carries many meanings and significance. Commitments to expand cooperation in agriculture, trade, construction, and technology were made public, and relations between the two countries reached new heights. The friendship between Xi and Kim Jong Un appeared very striking. Both countries declared: no matter how international circumstances change, the friendship between Pyongyang and Beijing will not change. Along with this visit, suspended air and rail services were restarted.““It is worth remembering that the DPRK has vast reserves of rare minerals. These minerals are raw materials for vehicles, missile-building technology, vehicles, computers, and microchip production. Their use is also a foundation for economic growth for DPRK, China, and Russia.
Those who have visited the DPRK after Covid-19 have said: the kind of technological development that has taken place in the DPRK, visible in daily life, is astonishing. WeChat, WhatsApp, modern messaging apps, mobile games, delivery apps, banking apps have already become parts of life. The DPRK is undergoing modernization.
The country where children are raised like kings and queens—that country is the DPRK. Schools, playing, music, TV, computer networking, programming fields are expanding widely. In schools, education is given to make students aware of morality and nationalism; students even perform dance and songs in videos of ballistic missiles and war.
In sum, the DPRK has advanced far ahead over time.
Because it is not like the open societies of the western world, accusations are made against the DPRK as a country without human rights. One person who returned from the DPRK reacted: for patriotism and self-respect, the DPRK is an exemplary country. Some call it authoritarianism, but in the DPRK there is respect for citizens. There is a country and there is identity. Citizens are committed to preserving identity.
After the visits of the Russian and Chinese presidents, the DPRK has succeeded in demonstrating its geopolitical importance and strategic strength. Its capability has been revealed. The strategic communist front among Russia, China, and the DPRK is evident, and its influence is certain to reach even U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already held talks three times.
Some time ago, when Putin reached Pyongyang, there was a festive atmosphere; that atmosphere was also seen when Kim arrived. Now, when China’s President reached Pyongyang, it looked like a great shared celebration of seven decades of relations. Even when the DPRK was under blockade and sanctions, the support China gave was extraordinary. At a time when the DPRK has developed the world’s strongest military relations by sending soldiers and other materials to the war with Ukraine, the visit of China’s President has made DPRK–China relations firm and unshakable. This is a great success for the DPRK.
Because of sanctions imposed by America, the DPRK is struggling with economic and other obstacles. For the DPRK, Japan’s militarization, America’s Indo-Pacific and military partnership with South Korea are matters that prick every day. The visit of China’s President and the firm relations with the DPRK have become a strong counter-message to Western powers.
It is worth remembering that DPRK–China relations are tied to the Korean War of 1950–53 and the military support China sent in that war, and are regarded as blood-bound relations. In that war, even Mao Zedong’s son was killed. The DPRK is also an impenetrable security wall that Western powers cannot cross into China. Although the United Nations imposed sanctions when the DPRK built nuclear bombs and China leaned toward the UN, the DPRK was wary of China. But since no coldness entered the inner relationship, the blood-bound tie was not harmed.
Competition among America, China, Russia, Japan, and South Korea is increasing day by day. But the DPRK continues to arrange what is needed for self-reliance and self-security. The DPRK has already become capable of confronting any empire or expansionism. After the military strengthening between Russia and the DPRK, when China’s President extended a hand of cooperation and held it, the DPRK is seen as even more capable of advancing in peace, stability, development, and prosperity. Xi’s commitment—that no matter what changes come, China will value friendship with DPR Korea, will not change its stance, and will continue to support and assist the DPRK’s socialist campaign under Kim’s leadership—is regarded as a historic success of the DPRK. In coming days, both countries have agreed to strengthen political trust through exchanges of high-level visits, expand practical cooperation centered on public welfare, continue traditional friendship, and strengthen strategic coordination on the basis of impartiality and justice.
The equal-status relations among Russia, China, and the DPRK, as Kim Jong Un desires, have created ripples in the centers of world power. These ripples have raised the DPRK’s status much higher. Before Xi’s visit, leader Kim Jong Un’s sister Kim Yo Jong said that DPR Korea will not accept anyone’s pressure regarding nuclear weapons. This means that the U.S. President’s statement after Xi’s visit—that both China and America are against North Korea’s nuclear weapons—has been rejected. In this visit, China’s President neither sought information nor made any comment about DPRK’s nuclear weapons. Whatever sanctions America and the United Nations impose, they do not seem to have much effect on the DPRK.
In sum, the visits of the Russian and Chinese presidents to Pyongyang, Kim Jong Un’s visits to Russia and China, and the deep relations on every matter have established the DPRK as an equal partner of China and Russia. The DPRK has succeeded in drawing the attention of the world and world powers toward itself. This success of President Kim Jong Un must be regarded as astonishing.
By RK
