Moscow, May 6 (DPRK ISG Information Bureau - RSTV)   

[all photos]

[English] [Русский] [中国语]

— 9th (1st Extraordinary) Organizing Conference: First Day —

The great victory of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the Korean People's Army over Ukrainian neo-Nazi formations in the Kursk region, which took place on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, caused a deep response in the hearts of all Russian people. In honor of this significant event, an extended meeting of the Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK was held on April 30, 2025, as part of the International Solidarity Group.

This meeting was the first event of such a scale held after the raider seizure of the building of the Soviet Peace Foundation (SPF), where the headquarters of our organization was previously located. The meeting was attended by members of the Board, activists of local and regional branches of the Society, as well as representatives of the DPRK Embassy in the Russian Federation.

Also participating were the International Association of Peace Foundations (IAPF), the International Union of Public Associations of Koreans, the "Council of Veterans of the Korean War", and the International Center for Combating Crime and Terrorism.

Representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Leninist Communist Youth Union, the American Communist Party (ACP), the "JoJack" movement, the "Red Volunteer" volunteer association, the Student Anti-Fascist Front, the Russian Orthodox Church, the International Slavic Academy of Sciences, the Youth Movement of Koreans of Moscow and other organizations were present as observers.

The following took their places in the presidium:

• Sergey Baburin (President of the IAPF, Deputy Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK ISG, Director of the 1st Department of Public Diplomacy and Head of the Russian Executive Committee).
• Viktor Petrov (Chairman of the Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK).
• Alexander Vorontsov (Head of the Department of Korea and Mongolia at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK).
• Ju Kyong Su (First Secretary of the DPRK Embassy in Russia).

Christopher Helali, International Secretary of the American Communist Party (ACP) and Head of the North American Executive Committee of the DPRK ISG, was present as a special guest.

Alexander Mostov, Head of the DPRK International Solidarity Group, chaired the meeting.

Comrade Mostov announced that this meeting of the Russian organization, dedicated to the great victory of Russian and Korean soldiers, serves as the beginning of the 9th Organizing Conference on an international scale, and proposed the following agenda:

1. Election of a new Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK.
2. Adoption of the Declaration on the Continuity of the International Solidarity Movement with the DPRK.
3. Reports.
4. Awarding of Exemplary Activists.
5. Acceptance of a Congratulatory Telegram Addressed to the Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un.
6. Musical Performance.

The immortal revolutionary anthem "The Internationale" was played.

Election of a new Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK

Discussion of the first item on the agenda has begun.

Comrade Petrov said:

"I have the great honor of speaking to you on behalf of our Society, which has served for many years as a bridge between two great nations - Russian and Korean. We do not simply interact within the framework of cultural programs, we are building a moral and spiritual union based on mutual respect, the memory of the exploits of our ancestors and the common struggle for independence.

In light of the events of recent years and especially recent days, when our armed forces shoulder to shoulder achieved victory over the threat of neo-Nazism, the importance of our work has increased many times over. Today, people's diplomacy and cultural exchange have become a form of ideological defense. This is a contribution to the struggle for truth, for historical justice, for the right of each nation to follow its own path.

We see how the world is again divided into camps: those who fight for sovereignty and those who impose a unipolar dictatorship. The DPRK, like Russia, is at the forefront of this struggle. And therefore, our friendship is not just a formality, it is a conscious choice in favor of resistance to global injustice.

And now more than ever, it is important to engage the next generation to unite the movement of international solidarity.

Taking into account that after the coronavirus pandemic the number of members of the Board of our Society has significantly decreased, I propose that the first item on the agenda be the election of members of the new Board."

The following composition of the Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK was unanimously elected:

Chairman: Viktor Petrov

Deputy Chairman: Alexander Mostov, Alexander Vorontsov, Sergey Baburin

Executive Secretary: Margarita Kuryleva

Members of the Board: Petr Shishkov, Shin Pyong Mo (Shin Andrey), Daria Kadkina, Georgy Dmitriev and Olevtina Zhestovskaya

Comrade Kim Chil Song (Kim Felix) has been relieved of his post as Vice Chairman of the Board due to health reasons.

The unanimous election of the new Board was a logical response to the actions of fraudulent elements who tried to sow confusion in the unified line of the organization's leadership.

Adoption of the Declaration on the Continuity of the International Solidarity Movement with the DPRK

Discussion of the second item of the agenda began.

Comrade Mostov read the text of the declaration:

On April 7, 1993, Rear Admiral Vladimir Tolstikov, together with the pilots-heroes of the Soviet Union, re-established the Soviet-Korean Friendship Society as the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK (hereinafter referred to as the Russian Friendship Society). However, due to the peculiarities of Yeltsin's legislation, the line of succession was never properly secured.

On July 17, 2023, at the 2nd International Congress of Solidarity, the historic unification of the Russian Friendship Society and the DPRK International Solidarity Group (hereinafter referred to as the DPRK ISG) took place. Having become a full member of the DPRK ISG, the Russian Society significantly strengthened its position, receiving a website, regional committees in different regions of Russia and many primary cells in the form of "friendship clubs with the DPRK" in many universities of this country.

Side by side entering a new stage development, the DPRK ISG and the Russian Friendship Society, considering their goal to be the restoration of historical justice and the education of a new generation of activists in the spirit of veterans of public diplomacy, proclaim the continuity of the Soviet-Korean Friendship Society and further trace their common history from the date of its foundation - July 16, 1958.

The declaration was signed by the Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK International Solidarity Group and the Chairman of the Board of the Russian Society of Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK.

Reports

Then the speakers made their reports.

Welcoming the participants of the meeting on behalf of the IAPF, Comrade Baburin drew the attention of those present to the fact that we are holding the meeting on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War and at a time when, on the initiative of the IAPF, celebrations are beginning within the framework of the year of the 100th anniversary of Public Diplomacy. And the activities of friendship societies are, first and foremost, people's diplomacy.

Comrade Vorontsov expressed gratitude to the participants of the Board meeting for his re-election as deputy chairman and gave a lecture on changes in Russian-Korean relations.

Comrade Helali, on behalf of all progressive people of the world, expressed gratitude to the Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un for the fact that the KPA soldiers acted as a united front with Russian soldiers in the fight against fascism and neo-Nazism. And he emphasized that the American Communist Party would be happy to sign the declaration in the future.

In turn, Comrade Shin thanked the participants of the meeting for nominating him to the new board and expressed his readiness to act in the interests of our organization. As a participant in the "special military operation" in Ukraine, he praised the merits of the Supreme Commander Kim Jong Un, whose wise leadership led to the victory of the KPA liberation operation in the Kursk region.

And Comrade Dmitriev spoke about how the work of the primary cells of the Solidarity Group in different regions of Russia has been improved over the past period. In particular, he said that the Russian-Korean Friendship Club was actively working in the humanitarian direction, handing over self-made means of protection to special forces participating in the "special military operation." The speakers' speeches also noted the special contribution of the head of our organization, Comrade Alexander Mostov, to the unification of the international solidarity movement with the DPRK and the convening of the current meeting of the Board of the Russian organization.

Awarding of Exemplary Activists

Letters of gratitude were presented to exemplary activists on behalf of the Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK ISG.

In particular, the following were recognized as exemplary activists: Ivan Kozlov (Deputy Head of the Russian Executive Committee of the DPRK ISG and Regional Secretary in the Central Federal District of Russia), Marianna Ryzhova, Ksenia Grekova, Vadim Averin and Alexander Melnikov.

Acceptance of a Congratulatory Telegram Addressed to the Respected Comrade KIM JONG UN

A telegram addressed to the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un was accepted. It expressed gratitude for the outstanding role of the KPA in the victorious operation to liberate the Kursk region and reaffirmed the allied solidarity between the DPRK and the Russian Federation.

The full text of the telegram follows:

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un!

On behalf of the entire Russian people, we express our warmest congratulations to you, the command and soldiers of the Korean People's Army on the victorious completion of the operation to liberate the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.

This operation is not only an outstanding military victory that put an end to the occupation of the border regions of Russia by the neo-Nazi armed formations of the Kyiv regime, but also a clear testimony to the strong military partnership and allied loyalty between the DPRK and the Russian Federation, laid down in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty of June 19, 2024.

The fortitude, military valor and organization of the Korean units, operating in close cooperation with Russian troops, became the determining factor in the successful defeat of the occupiers. The liberation of more than 1,200 square kilometers of Russian territory is not only a strategic military victory, but also a great moral victory for the allied peoples who defended the principles of justice and sovereignty.

We are deeply touched by the courage and dedication of the fighters of the Korean People's Army, who, shoulder to shoulder with Russian soldiers, defended the Russian land as their homeland, shed blood in the Kursk region, defended the honor and independence of our countries and dealt a crushing blow to the forces of neo-Nazism and imperialism. This feat, inscribed in gold letters in the new chronicle of Korean-Russian brotherhood, rightfully continues the glorious traditions of the anti-fascist struggle of the Great Patriotic War.

We remember the contribution of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army to the defeat of Japanese militarism in the Far East and German fascism in Europe. Today, as in those days, Korean heroes have once again shown the world an example of firmness, loyalty to principles and military brotherhood.

We highly appreciate the decision of your command to act in the spirit of the strategic treaty with Russia and express our full support for Korea's noble mission to defend peace, international justice and resist imperialist aggression.

Please accept, highly respected comrade Kim Jong-un, an expression of our deep gratitude, respect and solidarity.

We are in the same trench!

Signatures:

PETROV Viktor Alekseevich

Chairman of the Board of the Russian Society for Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with the DPRK

MOSTOV Alexander Andreevich

Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK  International Solidarity Group

BABURIN Sergey Nikolaevich

President International Association of Peace Foundations

Musical Performance

At the end of the meeting, activist Artem Ponomarev played Korean folk music and KPA battle marches on the accordion, which evoked a lively response from those gathered.

His program included the following songs:

1. 은빛날개
2. 저항을 높이 날고 돌아온 저녁에
3. 병사의 발자욱
4. 조국이란 그렇게 귀중한곳
5. 해빛밝은 내 나라
6. 그 품 떠나 못살아
7. 백두의 말발굽소리
8. 군가에 발을 맞추자
9. 병사의 순간

The meeting was declared closed, its materials were sent to the DPRK Embassy in the Russian Federation.

The participants of the meeting took a photo for memory.