Chelyabinsk, February 20 (DPRK ISG Information Bureau - RSTV)   

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On February 17, the first meeting of the Friendship Club with the DPRK was held at the Chelyabinsk State University (Faculty of Eurasia and the East).

Since the holiday, the Day of the Shining Star, was recently celebrated, much was said about the Great Leader Kim Jong Il.

Victoria Atyanina spoke about the Day of the Shining Star and how this day is celebrated in the DPRK.

Evgeny Radobolsky gave a report on the biography of the Great Leader Kim Jong Il.

Also, in honor of the opening of our club, the participants performed a Korean song.

The grand opening began with a speech by Evgeniya Olskaya, Head of the Friendship Club with the DPRK at Chelyabinsk State University:

"I welcome everyone present! I am very glad to see you at our first meeting dedicated to the opening of our Friendship Club with the DPRK. In honor of this, the girls will perform a song."

After which Zelenskaya Olesya, Atyanina Victoria and Sapozhnikova Yulia performed the song "휘파람".

After the performance, the head of the club took the floor:

"Today we also want to tell you about the Day of the Shining Star that took place yesterday. But first, let's watch a video message from Alexander Mostov, Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the DPRK International Solidarity Group."

The video message said:

"Dear teachers of the Chelyabinsk State University, dear students, activists of the Friendship Club with the DPRK, as the Chairman of the Committee of Leaders, I am sincerely glad to see so many interested people at the event held at the initiative of our new primary cell. It was created with the aim of deepening, mutual understanding and cultural exchange between the peoples of our countries.

And, as you probably already know, on February 16, the people of Korea, like many progressive people of the world, celebrated the Day of the Shining Star. On this day, when the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il was born in the Paektu secret camp, Koreans traditionally lay flowers at the bronze statues and memorials, remembering his eternal achievements not only in building a powerful nuclear power, but also in the field of international relations, which directly concern you and me.

For example, the historic meeting of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il with the President of Russia Comrade Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, which took place in 2000, became a truly turning point in the history of Russian-Korean relations.

The leader of the DPRK himself then visited Russia 3 times: in 2001, 2002 and 2011, respectively. These visits in the future served as the basis for the development of cooperation between our two countries, and since the beginning of the era of the leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, they have been brought to a new level.

As you know, with the recent signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement, relations between our countries have improved beyond measure.

So, dear fellow students, I wish you success in your studies and club activities. I am confident that the Friendship Club with the DPRK at Chelyabinsk State University, wholeheartedly supporting the positive trend in Russian-Korean relations, will prepare many new people's diplomats.
I hope to meet you soon at one of the next receptions at the DPRK Embassy or even in Pyongyang.
Thank you and good luck again."

Next, Victoria Atyanina gave a report on the Day of the Shining Star:

"The Day of the Shining Star is a national holiday in North Korea, falling on February 16 - the birthday of the second leader of the country, Kim Jong Il. Together with the Day of the Sun, the birthday of his father Kim Il Sung, this day is considered the most important national holiday in the DPRK.

The most exciting celebrations are taking place in Pyongyang and include mass gymnastic and musical performances, fireworks, military demonstrations and mass dance evenings.

Here is how some public publications write about the celebration:

"The festive events on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the Great Marshal lasted two days off. On Saturday, mass flower-laying ceremonies were held in all the cities of the DPRK, dances and public festivities were held in the squares."

In Rason, the center of the celebrations was the elevation where giant bronze statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il were installed. During the day, all the organizations and companies of the city laid flowers at the foot of the statues.

This is what the TASS publishing house writes about the ongoing holiday:

“An annual exhibition of compositions made from “kimjongilhwa” - the flower named after the late leader - has opened in Pyongyang, and a figure skating festival has started, with athletes from China, Russia, France, Bulgaria and Finland taking part. In addition, synchronized swimming masters also performed.”

A small log house on Mount Paektu in the north of the DPRK, where Kim Jong Il was born in a secret partisan camp in 1942, became a place of mass pilgrimage on the eve of the holiday. Participants in the ceremonies held there take an oath of allegiance to the party line and the new leader of the country.

On the occasion of the holiday, gifts were delivered by helicopter to children on the eight most remote islands of the DPRK, located in the Yellow Sea.

During his lifetime, the head of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea demonstrated his concern for the younger generation in this way every year.

The first and eternal president of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung, claimed, local media recall, that children are "true kings in his country" and emphasized the care for them on the part of the state.

In return, the country's young residents are required to study well for the benefit of the homeland and be completely devoted to the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and its leadership."

Then Radobolsky Evgeny spoke about the life of the Great Leader Kim Jong Il:

"This report will focus on the second leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, whose birthday was yesterday - Kim Jong Il.

Kim Jong Il can rightfully be called an epochal figure who determined the appearance of the modern Democratic People's Republic of Korea. During the years of his active work and rule, mass industrialization and mechanization of agriculture were carried out, and later, in the 21st century, computerization.

We can roughly trace 3 periods in the life of Kim Jong Il:

1) Early - childhood, adolescence - smoothly flowing into the second period;

2) The period of active work under his father Kim Il Sung. One of the brightest periods in the life of Kim Jong Il, during which he demonstrated his organizational and managerial skills;

3) The period as the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The beginning of this period is associated with serious geopolitical upheavals that affected the DPRK, but nevertheless, the country survived thanks to Kim Jong Il, who by that time had solid experience.

Kim Jong Il was born in a camp on Mount Paektu in Samjiyon County in the north of the Korean Peninsula.

The childhood and youth of the future leader of the DPRK were not cloudless: he was born during the war with Japan, in 1949 his mother Kim Jong Suk died, and a year later the Korean War began. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that a difficult childhood only strengthened the spirit of Kim Jong Il. Until the end of his life, he will remain stamina and hard work.

Little is known about his school years. Historiography reports that young Kim Jong Il was an intelligent and ambitious child.

In 1960, the future leader of the DPRK entered the political economy department of the economics faculty of Pyongyang University. As a student, Kim Jong Il did not shy away from work; during his industrial practice, he worked in a textile factory, went to subbotniks.

In 1961, he joined the Workers' Party of Korea, where he began working in the apparatus of the central committee, dealing with issues of strengthening party discipline.

After graduating from university, he supervised the Department of Culture, Propaganda and Agitation of the Central Committee of the WPK, where he was actively involved in propaganda activities and supervised the publication of the “Selected Works” of Kim Il Sung.

In 1974, he became a member of the Central Committee: there are many known cases when Kim Jong Il went to agricultural and mining sites to talk to workers and learn about their working conditions. One can recall his inspection of the Komdok mine or his trip to the western coast, where he spent the night learning how the field work was going.

At the VIII Plenum of the 5th convocation of the Central Committee of the WPK, the beginning of the campaign of “grandiose socialist construction” was announced. Kim Jong Il puts forward the initiative of “speed battle” - a program designed to intensify the economic policy pursued by the Central Committee of the WPK. Five "fronts" are organized: "capital construction front", "industrial front", "agricultural front", "transport front" and "fishing industry front".

In 1992, Kim Jong Il was appointed Marshal of the DPRK for his services, and in 1993 he became Chairman of the State Defense Committee.

It is impossible not to notice that the collapse of the USSR, which occurred during this period, could not but affect the DPRK, along with this shock, another, no less severe one occurs - the great leader of the DPRK Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Il becomes the head of the country. The 3rd period of his life begins.

After the death of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung, a three-year mourning period was declared, during which Kim Jong Il rarely appeared in public. However, one should not think that the new leader did nothing during this period, not at all, the country was in a crisis after the collapse of the USSR, was really going through difficult trials, Kim Jong Il concentrated all his efforts on developing economic reforms, the task of which was to reduce the impact of the crisis on the country.

Having weighed all the pros and cons, in the mid-1990s, economic reforms were carried out to alleviate the crisis in agriculture. Competent organization of reforms allowed to save the country from famine.

After the country recovered from the crisis of the 90s, there was a need to modernize the country and complete the nuclear program, for which, in fact, highly qualified personnel are needed. Kim Jong Il began to computerize the country, he paid special attention to the computerization of education, based on the previously mentioned goals.

Today, the Internet covers all universities and most schools - this is rightfully the legacy of Kim Jong Il.

Despite the essentially unfinished conflict between the DPRK and the Republic of Korea, Kim Jong Il sought to pursue a policy of softening relations: in 2000, Kim Jong Il met with the President of the Republic of Korea.

Kim Jong Il also visited Russia three times: 2000, 2002 and 2011.

Kim Jong Il died on December 17, 2011, on a train during his inspection trip.

To summarize, I will repeat my words from the beginning of the report: Kim Jong Il can rightfully be called an epochal figure, his policy, his activities undoubtedly determined the appearance of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. His course saved the country from the abyss of crisis and cemented the revolutionary transformations in the army and agriculture."

In her closing speech, the head of the Friendship Club with the DPRK at Chelyabinsk State University, Evgeniya Olskaya, addressed the audience with the words:

“This is where our event comes to an end. I thank you for your interest and time. We will be glad to see you at future meetings of our club!”

At the end of the event, all those present were invited to take a memorable group photo.