Kim Jong Un, chairperson of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, reaffirmed his will to continue possessing nuclear forces on the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the regime's founding (Sept. 9), saying that its "extraordinary status is irreversible."
The Korean Central News Agency said on the 10th that Chairperson Kim delivered a commemorative speech at a national flag-raising ceremony and a central oath-taking meeting held the previous day at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang.
He said, "The 77-year-long feat of building a powerful country since the founding of the new Joseon is now crystallized as the 'extraordinary status' our state has attained," and added, "Now no one can undermine our state's absolute status and security. The current of the era of prosperity we have created with our own hands cannot be reversed by any force." The "extraordinary status" Kim mentioned appears to allude to being a nuclear-armed state.
Chairperson Kim stressed, "Socialism, that path is the one and only right road," adding, "We greet today's glory thanks to having a strong political system and national power that will not entrust our homeland's fate to external forces." Defining socialism as "the permanent cornerstone and inexhaustible driving force for the republic's existence and development," he again emphasized the line of self-reliance.
In his speech that day, Chairperson Kim also openly mentioned troops dispatched to Russia, saying, "I send a warm, combat salute to our military's generals, officers, and soldiers who have been投入 into overseas military operations."
Senior party and government officials, including members of the Politburo Presidium, joined the event, and attendees held up red scarves, took an oath, and pledged loyalty to the system and the regime. Chairperson Kim also attended a banquet at the People's Palace of Culture for "labor innovators" from industrial worksites and took commemorative photos with workers. By contrast, party officials including Pak Thae-song, Choe Ryong Hae, and Jo Yong-won visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to pay their respects, but Chairperson Kim did not appear.
Residents laid flowers and renewed their loyalty at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, the Taesongsan Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery, the Sinmi-ri Patriotic Martyrs' Cemetery, the cemetery for war veterans, and statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il across the country.
This Sept. 9 saw a succession of congratulatory messages from abroad as well. The presidents of Venezuela, Palestine, and Mongolia, and the king of Sweden, sent congratulatory messages to Chairperson Kim. In North Korea, large-scale commemorative events heightened the celebratory mood, including performances by art troupes, a congratulatory show by ice sports athletes, and a women's union ball at the Arch of Triumph square.