A railway trackbed is repaired as part of flood relief work in North Hamgyo’ng Province (Photo: Korean Central Television).
The Workers’ Party of Korea [WPK] Central Committee issued an appeal on September 10 (Saturday) concerning relief work for flooding in North Hamgyo’ng Province. The floods have killed over 130, displaced over 100,000 people and caused damage to numerous homes and critical infrastructure. Some media reporting and commentary have described the disclosure about flood damage (even one in English) and the subsequent labor appeal as “rare.” This is not accurate.
According to DPRK state media “the disaster left the people in the northern part of North Hamgyong Province who had been pushing forward the 200-day campaign of loyalty day and night homeless to suffer from great hardships.” The WPK Central Committee appeal “stressed that the Party Central Committee is firmly convinced that the reliable people in the northern areas who are firmly defending the eternal treasure of the Korean revolution in the revolutionary battlesites associated with the ever-lasting history of resistance waged by the peerlessly great persons of Mt. Paektu would rise above the present trials.” and resolved that “neither disaster nor difficulties can deter the army and people of the DPRK dashing forward like the wind toward the final victory under the banner of the self-development-first principle, rallied close around the Party.”
According to KCNA, the appeal also said:
The WPK made an important decision of directing the main thrust of the 200-day campaign to the campaign for recovering from the flood damage in the above-said areas and weathering the difficulties in view of the emergency situation.
In this connection our Party took an important measure of rapidly dispatching the main units active in the major sites of the 200-day campaign including the construction of Ryomyong Street to the sites for the recovery from the flood damage and letting the whole Party and army and all people focus all their efforts on the rehabilitation operations.
“Let us achieve the miraculous victory of converting misfortune into favorable conditions on the front of recovering from the flood damage in the northern part of North Hamgyong Province with the tremendous might of single-minded unity!” This is a slogan to be held up by the participants in the 200-day campaign across the country.
All the fields and units including the Cabinet, ministries, national institutions, industrial establishments and cooperative organizations, set the operations to recover from the flood damage as the key thrust of the 200-day campaign and direct all efforts to them.
Direct all efforts to the construction of dwelling houses to provide flood-hit people with warm cradles and turn the flood-battered region into a fairyland in the era of the Workers’ Party within this year.
All the service personnel of the Korean People’s Army who are to be dispatched to the sites for recovery from the flood damage, create the Mallima speed in implementing the rehabilitation and construction tasks in the spirit of at a go like storm and gunpowder just before ignition.
On September 12 (Monday), DPRK state broadcasting issued an editorial about flood damage relief work. According to KCNA, the editorial said:
A life and death drive is now under way in the areas along the River Tuman in the northern tip of Korea to recover from the severest natural disaster since the liberation of Korea.
The Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) sent an appeal to all the party members, service personnel of the Korean People’s Army and other people to achieve a miraculous victory in the operations for recovering from the disaster in the northern areas of North Hamgyo’ng Province by dint of the great single-minded unity in view of the prevailing emergency situation.
The main thrust of the 200-day campaign to glorify this significant year as the one of victors is directed to the sites for recovering from the flood damage in the above-said areas and main units active in major sites are rapidly dispatched to those areas.
Our Party took an important measure of letting the whole Party and army and all people focus all their efforts on the rehabilitation operations. Even the construction of Ryomyong Street nearing completion was suspended and all construction forces, equipment and materials to be used for it are diverted to those operations.
The primary thrust in the rehabilitation campaign is to build dwelling houses for the flood-hit people.
The WPK made this resolute and unwavering decision because it regards the people-first principle as its life and soul.
It is the party representing and protecting the interests of the people and serving them.
The Party’s final purpose is to fully realize the independence of the popular masses and the Party regards it as the overriding principle of its activities to steadily improve the people’s living standard.
From the very day of its founding the Party has enforced the politics of love and trust with the firm political creed of regarding the people as Heaven.
The people’s wishes have been a barometer and starting point of all thinking and practices and the people’s voices have been reflected in the Party’s lines, policies and action programmes.
The nomenclature, army and many monumental edifices were named after the people and the historic tasks of the anti-imperialist, anti-feudal democratic revolution, socialist revolution and building of a powerful socialist country were successfully carried out in conformity with the people’s aspiration and will.
Such people-oriented policies as free medical treatment and free compulsory educational system were consistently enforced even during the Arduous March, the forced march, prompted by the new viewpoint of the WPK that the people’s interests precisely mean profitability and no calculation is made in the work for the people.
An important decision was made to build new dwelling houses for those inhabitants whose houses were expected to come under water though the construction of power stations might be hindered and this principle is abided by as a formula in the field of power station construction. This epic of love could be created only by the WPK which is fully responsible for the destiny of the people.
Marshal Kim Jong Un (Kim Cho’ng-u’n) made a classical formulation that Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is, in essence, the people-first principle for the first time in history and is adding shine to the new history of prioritizing, respecting and loving the people on this land with warm loving care.
The slogan “Everything for the people and everything by relying on them!” reflects the will of Kim Jong Un to let the entire Party make selfless, devoted efforts for the good of the people.
The miracles performed in the drive to recover from the flood damage that hit Rason last year clearly proved in practice that there is no more urgent emergency for the Party than the pain being suffered by the people and no more important revolutionary work than alleviating their misfortune.
The flood-hit people and other people across the country turned out as one in the campaign to recover from the disaster with their absolute trust in the Party.
The WPK will bring the people in the above-said areas a new happier life by working unheard-of miracles in the rehabilitation operations by dint of the great single-minded unity.
Filed under: 200 Day Speed Battle (2016), 2016 Rainy Season, basic party organizations, Central Committee, Central Military Committee, Civil Defense Department, Comprehensive Affairs, county/city party organizations, critical infrastructure, DPRK Cabinet, DPRK External Relations, DPRK-United Nations Relations, Executive Policy Bureau, Financial Planning Department, General Affairs, Information Section, internal security, Korean People's Army (KPA), Korean People's Internal Security Forces, Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KPA construction battalions, KPA construction brigades, KPA General Logistics Department, KPA supernumerary organizations, kpif, Local Party Affairs, local people's committees, military economy, Minister of People's Security/KPISF construction units, Ministry of Capital Construction, Ministry of Forestry Management, ministry of people's security, Ministry of People's Security engineering units, Ministry of Post and Telecom, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of the People's Armed Forces (MPAF), North Korean press, Notification, Organization and Guidance Department, PAD Guidance Section, party life, population control, primary party committees, Propaganda and Agitation Department, Provincial Party Committees, Provincial Party System, Public Information Commission, reserve training units, rural management committees, State Affairs Commission, State Planning Commission (SPC), transportation, Workers' and Social Organizations
