Juche

PYONGYANG, DPRK (Analysis) — If there is any country on the list of U.S. adversaries about which almost everyone lacks critical understanding, it is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Unlike most countries, the DPRK has managed to stay fairly closed to U.S. interference and intelligence-gathering — whether by embassies and consulates, or other channels of soft-power such as NGOs (although some have gotten through).

As China makes no effort to hide its growing exasperation with both Washington and Pyongyang, now is perhaps a good moment to discuss the complex relationship between China and North Korea.

North Korea is a country that wants to be thought of for its original state ideology, what North Korea’s founder Kim Il-Sung called Juche. North Korea also wants to be thought of for its ability to unite both the non-Aligned movement and workers movements throughout the world, even though at times the country seems isolated. These sentiments are not novel, North Korea says openly what they think its greatest achievements are in multiple films and news clips.

North Korea has marked the anniversary of the passing of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung. In addition to being the modern founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Kim Il-sung is also widely regarded as the philosophical and spiritual founder of the nation and a war hero.
It was Kim Il-Sung who developed North Korea’s guiding ideology of Juche which combines Marxist-Leninism with traditional and modern Korean values.

Yesterday, the North Korean Ambassador to the UN gave a tense press conference in which he issued a statement promising that his nation would exercise the full right to self-defence in the event of an attack from the US.
He also affirmed that in his view, the threats from the US justify North Korea’s weapons programmes as it has shown that such things are necessary in order to both deter and defend against an attack.