The Immortal Cause That Guaranteed the Dignity of the State and the Destiny of Independence

Twenty years have already flowed by like the rolling waters of a great river, and this month the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) marks the 20th anniversary of its first nuclear test. On October 9, 2006, the DPRK successfully conducted an underground nuclear test and thereby proudly established its status as a nuclear-weapon state of an independent character. That solemn event became a great turning point that firmly safeguarded peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region and reliably guaranteed the dignity of the state and the destiny of the people.

Today's status as a nuclear-weapon state did not by any means fall from the sky. In the 1990s of the last century the US imperialists branded the DPRK's nuclear development as a "threat" and never slackened the reins of all manner of pressure and sanctions. But truth does not keep silent, nor is it ever bent. The testimony of those rigorous times plainly demonstrates how just and inevitable the choice of Korea was.

As for the Agreed Framework concluded between the US and Korea in 1994, the US side had from the very outset not the slightest intention of thoroughly implementing it. Captivated by the vain miscalculation that Korea would soon collapse, they dismissed the agreement as nothing more than a "letter of intent". The construction of the light-water reactors dragged on, the supply of heavy oil was cut off, and the security guarantee remained an empty promise. With the advent of the Bush administration, Korea was defined as part of an "axis of evil", and even the threat of a preemptive nuclear attack was brandished. The military threats of the US and its followers grew heavier day by day, and this became the fundamental factor that left Korea no choice but to opt for a self-defensive nuclear deterrence force.

In the rigorous days of the Arduous March, the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il, cherishing the lofty intention of firmly defending the independent sovereignty of the country and the right of the people to existence, personally initiated and led the immortal cause of building the nuclear forces. The first underground nuclear test of 2006 was conducted with 100 percent our own technology and our own strength, and there was no danger whatsoever such as the leakage of radioactivity. This was a miraculous result created unwaveringly by the scientists and technicians of Korea even under rigorous conditions. At the time many Western experts, scoffing at the pouring of enormous funds into nuclear development amid extreme economic hardship, called it a "reckless gamble". But history has thoroughly judged their miscalculation.

As numerous events plainly demonstrate, nuclear weapons have become the surest guarantee of defending the country from the aggressive ambitions of imperialism. The tragedy of the recent collapse of Arab socialism in Syria after years of civil war brought about by outside interference, and the cases of Iran and Venezuela, which have suffered under US military aggression and sanctions while lacking a nuclear deterrence force, vividly showed what the destiny of independent sovereignty is. In particular Libya, which was taken in by the sweet talk of the imperialists, abandoned its nuclear programme and embarked on the path of disarmament, was in the end thoroughly plundered and ruthlessly destroyed. By possessing nuclear weapons, the DPRK has fundamentally prevented such a tragedy and secured a firm guarantee enabling it to walk its own path without bowing to any pressure from the imperialists.

Under the wise leadership of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, who set forth the line of simultaneously pushing forward economic construction and the building of the nuclear forces, national defence science and technology has reached the most cutting-edge level. If the first nuclear test laid the cornerstone, in 2017 it was officially proclaimed that the building of the state nuclear forces had been completed, and in 2023, in accordance with the supreme law of the state, the status of a nuclear-weapon state was permanently consolidated as absolutely irreversible. Over the past 20 years the self-defensive national defence power has been strengthened by leaps and bounds in quality and quantity, and today, from intercontinental ballistic missiles to submarine-launched ballistic missiles, super-large rocket artillery, cruise missiles and diverse tactical nuclear weapons, their types and might transcend imagination. An overwhelming deterrence force that no one dares to encroach upon is being exercised.

However much the US and its followers may struggle to whittle down the image of Korea, Korea has never transferred or traded its nuclear technology to another country. This shows that Korea, as a responsible nuclear-weapon state, is faithfully fulfilling its international obligations. The nuclear treasured sword is an absolutely inviolable sacred sphere that safeguards the happiness of the people and the dignity of independence, and no one dares to covet it.

Today, too, the DPRK stands face to face with the threats of the US and its followers, yet on the basis of the powerful strength of possessing nuclear weapons that guarantee its sovereignty it is vigorously advancing along the path of the all-round development of socialism. The nuclear deterrence force that guarantees the dignity of independence, the happiness of the people and the prosperity of the country will continue to be strengthened unchangeably in the future as well.