[Page 2] Rodong Sinmun - June 20, 2025, Friday   

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   Let Us Thoroughly Arm Ourselves with the Revolutionary Ideology of the Great Comrade Kim Jong Un!   

The Criterion for Evaluating National Strength and the Decisive Factor in Its Enhancement

The construction of a powerful socialist nation is a struggle to complete the great cause of building a mighty socialist state, conceived and laid by the Great Leader Kim Il Sung and the Great General Kim Jong Il.

The revolutionary ideology of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un provides original answers to the criterion for evaluating national strength and the decisive factor in its enhancement.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"A powerful socialist nation is one with strong national power, endless prosperity, and where the people enjoy a happy life without envy in the world—the strongest nation under heaven."

Living and developing as citizens of a powerful nation is the common aspiration of all peoples. However, methodologies for defining the criterion and factors of national strength vary.

Generally, national strength is the totality of political-military and economic-technological power, as well as cultural standards, that ensure a nation’s existence and development.

Until now, people have evaluated the strength of nations primarily based on territorial size, population, military power, scientific-technological capability, natural resources, and geopolitical position, recognizing military and economic-technological power as the basic factors for strengthening national strength.

The question is whether surpassing others in military and economic-technological power alone makes a nation strong. If these were the criteria, any nation leading in certain indicators would qualify as strong.

But reality proves otherwise. The fact that nations once boasting greatness have fallen behind due to internal contradictions and political-moral decline shows that objective, material-economic factors or superiority in specific fields cannot be absolute criteria or fundamental factors for national strength.

While objective, material-economic factors cannot be ignored in evaluating national strength, they are not absolute criteria or basic factors.

Just as there can be no state without the people, national strength cannot be discussed apart from the people’s interests. The purpose of strengthening national strength is solely for the people, and the aim of evaluating it is not to satisfy vanity but to better the people’s lives and inspire their pride and patriotic fervor.

This shows that the criterion for evaluating national strength and the factors for its enhancement lie not in objective or material-economic elements but in internal factors—the masses themselves.

The Absolute Criterion for Evaluating National Strength Is the People’s Smiles

The criterion for evaluating national strength being the people’s smiles means that the strength of a nation is determined by how brightly its people smile and how abundantly their laughter resounds.

The masses are the basic evaluators of national strength, and their smiles reflect the fairest and clearest assessment.

The people’s bright and cheerful laughter is, in essence, an emotional response to a happy life—free from worries, healthy, affluent, civilized, and harmonious—and an outpouring of pride and self-confidence in the state and social system that guarantees their dignified lives.

The people’s smiles carry profound gratitude for the state’s policies, pride as citizens of a strong nation, joy as creators and enjoyers of mighty national strength, and conscious will to actively contribute to the nation’s revival.

Smiles cannot be faked, hidden, or bought by temptation or coercion—they are genuine.

While imperialists and their spokesmen boast of "welfare for all" or "economic power," the "national strength" accumulated through the sweat and blood of the working masses serves only the privileged, leaving the absolute majority with misery, pain, and despair. This proves that national strength is the state’s actual power guaranteeing the people’s dignified and happy lives, and the criterion for its evaluation is the people’s bright smiles.

Even in remote mountain villages, where the Party’s agricultural policies bring abundant harvests, in factories where the sounds of creation never cease, and across the land where laughter and songs of happiness resound—this is the true national strength of a socialist state and the criterion for its evaluation.

The Decisive Factor in Strengthening National Strength Lies in the Great Leader’s Outstanding Ideology and Leadership

The competition in national strength is, in essence, a contest of ideology, ideals, leadership, practical ability, faith, and will among political leaders guiding nations.

Only political leaders with outstanding ideology, exceptional embrace and guidance, burning love for the people, bold courage, and unwavering will can correctly align the demands of the times with the people’s aspirations and confidently lead the competition in national strength.

Meeting the wrong leader can lead even a once-great nation to decline, while a weak nation can become strong under an outstanding leader.

In the past, our homeland and people, once a weak nation and ethnic group fading from the world map, rose to dignity as citizens of a self-reliant, independent, and self-defensive socialist state and heroic people under the leadership of the Great Leader Kim Il Sung and the Great General Kim Jong Il.

Today, our people, holding high the most outstanding ideologist and politician of our era, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, proudly uphold the dignity of a strong nation’s citizens, and our country’s overall national strength and strategic status have reached the highest level.

History and reality clearly attest that the decisive factor in strengthening national strength lies in holding the great leader as the state’s guide and receiving his outstanding leadership.

The Path to Blossoming the Motherland’s Future

Benevolent Measures

One day in May 2019, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Students and Children’s Palace of Learning. Upon entering the accordion practice room, he noticed the students wearing uniforms during training and thoughtfully remarked that summer attire should be short-sleeved T-shirts and winter wear unified as sweaters.

The officials were deeply moved. They had been satisfied seeing the children in neat uniforms but had not considered their discomfort.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un further emphasized that sports uniforms for physical training should also be standardized, instructing relevant departments to discuss providing unified attire and shoes for the palace’s students.

The leader’s meticulous care for the students’ clothing reflects the boundless love of a parent who attends to every detail of their children’s lives.

Thoughtful Guidance

In October 2014, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the newly built Pyongyang Nursery and Kindergarten. Pleased with the children’s haven by the picturesque Taedong River, he inspected the playrooms and dormitories.

Noticing the room temperatures, he advised officials that nursery dormitories should maintain 23–24°C, and playrooms should be similarly warm to prevent colds among the young children.

The officials reflected deeply. They had considered the facilities excellent but had never thought about temperature differences.

The leader’s attention to such details stemmed from his profound love for children.

The world’s only haven for our children is the embrace of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, who cares for them with parental warmth, shielding them from cold and heat.

By Ri Yu Jong

Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK

No. 1946, June 16, 2025

On Conferring the Title of Model Law-Abiding District (County) to Pyongchon District of Pyongyang and Kwail County of South Hwanghae Province

The Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK confers the title of Model Law-Abiding District (County) to Pyongchon District of Pyongyang and Kwail County of South Hwanghae Province for their efforts in upholding the revolutionary ideology of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, strengthening socialist legal life, establishing revolutionary law-abiding practices across society, and contributing to consolidating and developing the state and social system.

Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK

The World of Longing Conveyed by the "Big Dipper"

Under the direct initiative of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, the May 27 Fisheries Complex, a modern oceanic enterprise creating new history, features a unique ceiling light shaped like the Big Dipper in its revolutionary history room—a touching story that resonates with all.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un said:

"No force in the world can match the power of our single-hearted unity, where the Party and the masses, the leader and millions of soldiers, are united in one ideology and purpose, bound by warm blood ties."

Stars evoke longing and aspirations in people, especially those far from home.

The fishermen of the May 27 Fisheries Complex, reflecting their emotions when away on distant seas, shaped the ceiling light as the Big Dipper.

One day in November 2016, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the complex and gazed at the ceiling light, which embodied the fishermen’s pure hearts. Officials explained that the fishermen, gazing at the Big Dipper on the vast ocean, longed for the respected leader, drawing strength to continue their work day and night.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, with deep emotion, said he had never forgotten the fishermen braving stormy seas, whom he cherished as his own.

Tears welled in the officials’ eyes, overwhelmed by the leader’s profound affection.

The Big Dipper—more than a star of longing—symbolized a mother’s sleepless worry for her children.

The Leader continued:

"The fishermen of the distant fleet must remember that the Party always awaits their return. They must sound the horns of full catches and return home healthy."

Truly, the leader always holds his soldiers in his heart, and the soldiers, longing for him, fulfill his will—this seamless unity has forged the new history of golden seas.

The "Big Dipper" at the May 27 Fisheries Complex continues to shine, symbolizing the unbreakable unity between the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un and our people.

By Chae Bun Yi

Banquet Marks 1st Anniversary of DPRK-Russia Summit and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty

A banquet jointly hosted by the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Embassy commemorated the 1st anniversary of the historic DPRK-Russia summit and the signing of the treaty on comprehensive strategic partnership on June 19.

Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, Secretaries of the WPK Central Committee Jo Yong Won and Ri Hi Yong, Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam, and other senior officials attended.

Russian Ambassador Alexander Matsegora and embassy staff were present.

Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui highlighted that the new treaty, born amid global upheaval, is a shining outcome of the two leaders’ foresight, decisive resolve, and seasoned leadership.

She emphasized that the treaty has elevated traditional friendly relations into an unbreakable alliance and comradely bond, providing a powerful legal foundation to steadfastly safeguard bilateral ties despite challenges.

Ambassador Matsegora noted that the treaty has brought the two nations closer than ever in decades, rooted in shared struggles against common enemies.

He affirmed that no one doubts the DPRK and Russia are closest allies, united in building a new, just world order based on equality and respect for sovereignty.

The banquet, filled with comradely friendship, concluded with toasts to the health of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the DPRK, and Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, and to the enduring alliance between the two peoples.

[KCNA]