People of the DPRK commemorate passing of Great Leader, Dear Leader in rude health despite what western lackeys say

Last Wednesday the workers, soldiers and peasants of the indefatigable Democratic People’s Republic of Korea paid tribute to the peerless triumphs of the Great leader Kim il Sung on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of his passing from Great Leader to Eternal Leader.

The Great and then Eternal Leader happy after a successful day of purging imperialist running dogs

According to KCNA:

Senior officials of the party and state, leading officials of the party and power organs, working people's organizations, ministries and national institutions visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of demise of President Kim Il Sung. Blah, blah’ blah A floral basket in the joint name of Blah, blah, blah

Kimilsungia, a feature of many of the flower baskets

Servicepersons of the Korean People's Army, people from all walks of life and school youth and children blah, blah, blah floral baskets blah, blah, blah .

An endless stream of people visited the statue of the President on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang in boundless reverence and yearning for him, blah, blah blah, floral basket sent by Kim Jong Il, blah, blah, blah.

Kimjongillia, also a featured plant in many of the flower baskets

Blah.. Blah, blah, blah floral baskets in the name of blah, blah, blah. Also placed were floral baskets in the name blah, blah, blah. Overseas Koreans and foreigners. Servicepersons, working people and school youth and children from across the country visited the statues of the President in their residential areas. They laid floral baskets (and WOW), bouquets and flowers before the statues, blah, blah, blah.

Meanwhile President Kim Il Sung was lauded in the highest terms by Shawn Pikford, delegate of the British organization for the study of the Juche idea, which claims a membership of over 77 million students in England alone.

“The validity and vitality of the Juche idea blah, blah, blah,” he said. The great Juche idea blah, blah, blah independent life blah, blah, blah world progressives. Blah, blah, blah will shine more brightly blah, blah, blah Juche idea, blah, blah, blah. The President is always alive blah, blah, blah hearts of the Korean people blah, blah, blah immortal exploits blah, blah blahh, revolutionary cause, blah, blah; blah Kim Jong Il.”

But surprisingly not a single mention of floral baskets

As can be seen a lot of flowers sacrificed their lives to pay proper tribute to the colossus of the Songun ideal and enough hot air was generated to heat all of Pyongyang’s schools and hospitals for several months (pity the ceremony did not take place when it was cold...)

But what of General Secretary, the dear leader Kim Jong Il?

As painted just before his run up Mt Baedku

According to KCNA he visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace at 0:00 on Wednesday accompanied by Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Yong Chun, minister of the People's Armed Forces, General of the KPA Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff of the KPA, General of the KPA Kim Jong Gak, first vice-director of the General Political Department of the KPA, Vice Marshal of the KPA Kim Il Chol, first vice-minister of the People's Armed Forces, staff members of the Supreme Command of the KPA and other general officers of the KPA.

He together with the above-said commanding officers of the NDC and the KPA paid homage to President Kim Il Sung.

Of course it goes without saying that he was in the peak of health and indeed only the day before ran to the top of Mount Baedku on Tuesday although it must be stressed that it did leave hi a little tired the following day as can be seen in the following picture:

Dear Leader a little tired after running up Mt Baedku

The lackey press of the Capitalist lapdogs have had the temerity to claim that the Dear Leader may have Pancreatic Cancer.

The fascist South Korean government mouthpiece YTN television channel reported that Kim had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, citing unidentified intelligence officials.

It is in fact clear that the Dear Leader is still in charge and taking forward the peeless ideals of Juche, tirelessly working for the benefit of the freedom loving Korean people. The Dear leader has since rested and undertaken an intensive course of rejuvenation the effects of which can clearly be seen in the latest official photograph issued yesterday.

The Dear Leader (left) rejuvenated and ready to rule the DPRK for another 60 years

Long live Juche!

DPRK doggerel fest

The Korean Central News Agency is a treasure trove of news about the greatest nation on this planet and the most steadfast, fearless and peace loving leader.. and by far the fittest and healthiest too. Its convoluted, nay tortured, prose style is an utter delight to read. (long live Sorghum! death to the enemies of Touche! and so on and so forth – Wow, I managed to write this paragraph with a straight face!)

It is with, ahem, great pleasure to note that KCNA reported that an award ceremony was held as part of the DPRK’s 60th anniversary for international works books “praising the greatness of the three generals of Mt. Paektu and introducing and giving publicity to the greatness of the Songun politics of the Workers' Party of Korea and the true picture of the DPRK”. Apparenty 600 such works were created in more than 40 countries

Prize recipients included Alejandro Cao de Benos, chairman of the Korean Friendship Association and S. Surenjav, president of J. Sambuu Herders Development Fund of Mongolia. An appeal to the writers and progressive people of the world loving justice and conscience was adopted at the awarding ceremony.

I have previously posted examples of juche poetry from Cao de Benos and from Britain’s own Dermot Hudson. It is execrable stuff created by utter idiots (although the DPRK considers them useful idiots, I’m sure) but to give you a flavour of the sort of sheer rubbish that receives prizes here’s a poem by American Songum junkie John Paul Cupp in praise of Kim Il Sung

We are the masses.
You were the masses' leader.
We are the driving force of history.
You were the best in all of us.
You were the Father of Juche;
a reminder to the poor and wretched ones
that anything but unshakled (sic) independence is untolerable (sic).

Protecting the dignity with Guns!
A brilliant Iron-willed Supreme Commander.
A Guerrilla of Genius and Merit.
Japan will never rule Korea, again!
Even the US was forced to leave Korea in defeat!
An example for freedom fighters, everywhere.

Oh, how much we love and venerate you,
Great Leader KIM IL SUNG!!!
You will always be our red-glowing sun shining!

Heroic Communist who held the Party's flag aloof!
You truely (sic) loved the people,
and the people in turn rallied behind you!
This is the relationship of a new kind,
between the masses and their leader,
and without such a leader their will never be a revolution.
Great Leader, I only desire to be a Communist of the KIM IL SUNG-TYPE!

Compare Cupp’s dogshiterel with this poem by Osip Mandelstam.

We live, deaf to the land beneath us,
Ten steps away no one hears our speeches

All we hear is the Kremlin mountaineer,
The murderer and peasant-slayer.

His fingers are fat as grubs
And the words, final as lead weights, fall from his lips,

His cockroach whiskers leer
And his boot tops gleam.

Around him a rabble of thin-necked leaders -
fawning half-men for him to play with.

The whinny, purr or whine
As he prates and points a finger,

One by one forging his laws, to be flung
Like horseshoes at the head, to the eye or the groin.

And every killing is a treat
For the broad-chested Ossete.

The poem is about Stalin but change Kremlin for Baedku and Ossete for, let’s say, Korean and we have a far better description of the Dear and Great Leaders than Cupp’s (or cao de Benos’s or Hudson’s) propagandist rubbish.

Thanks to the comments section on this Portland Indymedia post for the comparison between Cupp and Mandelstam.

A Pome by Dermot Hudson (aged Twelve years and thirteen sixteenths)

(Scroll down for this week's Photo Hunt)

Writing in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, renowned Essex man Douglas Adams identified the worst poetry in the known universe. In third place is Vogon poetry. Bad as it was it paled in comparison to that of the Azgoths of Kria. It was fortunate that their poet master Grunthos the Flatulent was killed by his own intestine prior to a reading of his 12-book epic "My Favourite Bath time Gurgles". The very worst poetry of all was attributed to one Paul Neil Milne Johnstone of Redbridge.

Writing in the late 70s DNA would not have been aware of Dermot Hudson’s celebration of Kin Kong Il and the final victory of the Songun revolution. If he had, then the poor Vogons would surely have lost their podium place.

For the purpose of ridicule his poem is set out in full here ( it was found on a Korean Solidarity website).

The thundering crack of gunshots still does echo
over Korea, not only there but over the whole wide world
even though 70 long years have passed and flowed away
decades so long yet so short

Gunshots ringing out heralded the
new dawn of liberation,of a new Korea bright and free,
of the glorious Songun revolution. Ever victorious iron-willed
brilliant commander, heroic patriotic partisan
the illustrious General Kim Il Sung fired
the shot that tore Jap imperialism into
a million and one pieces

Oh worthy warrior of Mt Paekdu
leading the stout hearted partisans of
the mighty KPRA to shatter the chains
of Japanese imperialism, shock brigade of
world fascism, to dispatch
the murderous Japs to their doom

The flames of revolution burned brightly
at Pochonbo that night consuming
the oppression of Japanese imperialism
The crack of gunshots and roar
of flames merge into a mighty
thunderous sound of the Songun revolution

The banner of Pochonbo is today
raised ever higher, the echoes of gunshots
at Pochonbo reverberating ever loudly
signalling the final victory of the
Songun revolution

I would imagine that Hudson does not support the Monarchy. This is merciful as I get the feeling that there is little prospect of him becoming the next Poet Laureate or even deposing Andrew Motion. Then again the position has been filled by the likes of Alfred Austin who is best remembered for these lines in a poem concerning an illness of the Prince of Wales:

"Across the wires the electric message came: He is no better, he is much the same."

Perhaps there is hope for England’s champion of Juche after all!

And there was I wasting time with the Grauniad and the Indy

An agreement reached with North Korea for it to close its nuclear reactor in exchange for fuel or economic aid received widespread coverage in the world's press earlier this week. I was curious to see how North Korea ran the story. I would have expected some coverage showing it as a victory for the Great (or is still the Dear) Leader and Juche over the "imperialistic brigands" of the United States. The Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) has absolutely nothing to say on the agreement but I did find out that:

(15 February) symposia have been held to on Kim Jong Il’s undying feats. Apparently the speakers profoundly explained the imperishable feats performed by Kim Jong Il for the times and history. They said (no less!) Kim Jong Il, genius of thought and theory, scientifically formulated the revolutionary idea of President Kim Il Sung and steadily developed it in depth to meet the demand of the developing revolution, thus clearly indicating the road ahead of the times and humankind….. And so on and so forth.

(14 February) A collection of anecdotes about music saw the light. The first part of the book includes touching anecdotes dealing with the extraordinary wisdom and tireless leadership of Kim Jong Il who led the musicians to make songs lauding the brilliant revolutionary life, undying revolutionary exploits and noble virtues of President Kim Il Sung…. I will spare you the other four parts.

(12 February) Public presentation on greatness of Kim Jong Il held during which speakers said that Kim Jong Il had performed undying feats on behalf of the era and history by leading the Korean revolution and the cause of global independence to victory with his distinguished political ability and extraordinary Songun revolutionary leadership…. Well you get the message

It is heartening to see that Kim Jong Il is never short of floral baskets as this seems to be the thing every other head of state ever gives him…

As for the Korean Friendship Association it is also heartening to note that that splendid fellow Dermot Hudson organised a public meeting n West London last Saturday which was attended by more than 35 people (36 people?). A video "Faith of Korea" was shown which featured the advantages of socialism and carried coverage of the great leader comrade Kim Jong Il tirelessly giving on the spot guidance including late at night.

And there was me planning to watch Volver and Das Experiment this weekend when I could be watching this!