- by Graham Holton
- The Guardian
- Issue #2158
Dancers celebrate DPRK–China friendship. Photo: Roman Harak – flickr.com (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Upcoming historic anniversaries are very important to the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) and its people. On 15 August the DPRK celebrates its 80th National Liberation Day (Jogukhaebangui Nal), marking Korea’s liberation from Imperial Japanese rule in 1945. It is celebrated with mass dances, cultural events, park gatherings, and sometimes military parades. This is the country’s biggest national holiday as it commemorates the end of 35 years of Imperial Japan’s brutal colonial rule.
25 August, the Day of Songun, is a state holiday that commemorates the leadership of the former leader, Kim Jong Il, of the revolutionary armed forces. In 1960 Kim Jong Il began his leadership of the Korean People’s Army, which the DPRK government regards as the ‘start of the Songun revolutionary leadership.’ The day is observed with flag displays, concerts, dancing parties, and visits to historic sites. The Day of Songun was promoted under Kim Jong Un to reinforce continuity and legitimacy in military leadership.
10 October marks the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), which boasts a long history of socialism. The WPK has made great contributions to global independence, and is regarded as a beacon of hope amongst the world’s progressive peoples. There will be a month of celebration from 15 August to 10 October during which the DPRK says celebrations will be on a “world-wide scale.”
An important event last month was 27 July, which marks the anniversary of the signing of the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War. There was a nationwide homage to war veterans and military honour guards, marked by State ceremonies at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Memorial in Pyongyang.
On 11 July the DPRK celebrated the important 64th anniversary of its Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance with China. This was marked with diplomatic receptions at the Chinese embassy in Pyongyang, attended by senior DPRK officials. On 11 July 1961, Premier Zhou Enlai and Prime Minister Kim Il Sung jointly signed the Sino-DPRK Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Beijing. This important document laid the political and legal foundation for the development of friendship and cooperative relations between the two socialist countries and embodies their common desire for regional peace. Xinhua News Agency has reported that the treaty embodies “the friendship the two peoples built with their blood in the process of resisting foreign aggression and striving for national independence and liberation and lays a solid legal and political foundation for the long-term development of bilateral relations.”
