Third Party Congress of the Korean Workers Party held from 24 to 30 April 1956

SAPMO-BA, Berlin

SED Central Committee

Information

Third Party Congress of the Korean Workers Party

held from 24 to 30 April 1956

[...]

5. Kim Du-bong [Kim Tu Bong], Chairman of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly

Marxism-Leninism is teaching us that inner ideological purity and organizational unity has to be the highest principle of the party. Our party has always observed this principle and led a permanent struggle against all forms of factionalism, localism, and liberalism. At the 3^rd expanded session of North Korea's Organization Committee in December 1945 the Communist Party of Korea had already begun this struggle. This path leads towards the unmasking and disciplining of the agents of American imperialism and enemies of the Korean people, Pak Heon-yeong [Pak Hon Yong] and Ri Seung-yeop [Ri Sung Yop] and their clique.

The clique of Pak Heon-yeong infiltrated our party already early on. It was hiding its evil intentions and thus inflicted great damage on our revolutionary movement. Through its criminal activity and its factional struggle it completely destroyed the organization of our party in South Korea. It split the party in many parts, facilitated the establishment of small groups, and propagated its approach by making much loud noise on “tradition.” They called their “fan[?]group” “light of the lamp in dark night” and “clear water in a murky stream” while invoking the tradition of the Korean revolution. By supporting all groups within the party in South Korea, they succeeded in camouflaging and hiding their criminal intentions. Thus they led the party organization in South Korea onto the path of decline.

When the clique then came to North Korea, they continued with their criminal activities. During the hard times of the war they activated their measures, destroyed the revolutionary forces in South Korea and attempted to do the same in the North. They tried to weaken our party from within and separate it from the people's masses. Yet our firmly welded and strong party unmasked their splittist and destructive activities and smashed the clique. During the course of this struggle, our party repulsed the attacks by the American imperialists and the Syngman Rhee clique. It was highly important for gaining this victory and the successes in the peaceful period [after the end of the war] that our party strictly adhered to ideological and organizational principles of Marxism-Leninism and followed the guideline of collective leadership.

In its struggle, our party always listened to the people's masses, followed their wishes and demands, and did everything in order to provide a happy life for the people's masses.

During the war, the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th plenum of the Central Committee of our party played major roles. If we had not convened these meetings, we could not have overcome the difficulties of the war. We also could not have in time unmasked and liquidated the influence of the treasonous group of Fe On I [?] and the clique of Pak Heon-yeong and Ri Seung-yeop.

After the war, our party continued its struggle in the same way. Mistakes that were made in the process of buying up grain were quickly discovered and corrected. The law on agricultural tributes was improved. Proposals coming from the working people were thoroughly reviewed and examined. During all those measures the collectivity of the leadership was always maintained.

Then Kim Du-bong talked about role and character of the people's power [i.e., the government] in North Korea. He referred to democratic reforms it implemented, the democratization of the laws, the creation of the people's army, and the struggle against capitalist and other reactionary forces during the course of implementing all those measures. He talked about the education of the people's masses in this struggle and stressed that, with the establishment of the DPRK, a solid base was created on democratic foundation for Korea's unification in a peaceful manner.

Due to the party's correct economic policy, it became possible to grow in 1949 overall production in industry by 3.4 times compared to 1946. During the same period the grain harvest increased by 139.9 percent. This improved living standards of the population significantly.

During the three hard years of the war our people's democracy system proved its viability. In the countryside, in industry, and in administration our people brilliantly fulfilled also during the war their destiny as masters of the country. [Kim Du-bong] also praised the achievements of the heroic Korean people's army.

During reconstruction of the destroyed economy after the war, our people fought in the same heroic manner as they did during the war.

For instance, 307 large and small factories were rebuilt, expanded, or newly constructed until the end of 1955. By January of the current year [1956] already, the nationalized and cooperative industry had already surpassed pre-war levels as outlined in the 3-year-plan. Today 63.6 percent of farms and 62.1 percent of farmland are organized in agricultural collectives. In order to increase grain production there are extensive irrigation works conducted. Care is taken to provide the agricultural sector with sufficient amounts of fertilizer. Due to four markdowns of state-fixed prices, the real wages of workers and all employees increased. Today our party has become a strong force, which leads the Korean people to victory in fulfillment of its main mission, namely the peaceful unification of the fatherland and the building of the foundations of socialism.

Then [Kim Du-bong] referred to the situation in South Korea under the rule of the United States and the reactionary treasonous Syngman Rhee clique (only in general terms). Party and government of the DPRK have fought a continuous struggle for Korean unification but did not succeed because of South Korean policy.

It is really indispensable, in order to fulfill future revolutionary tasks, to solidify the government, strengthen the alliance between workers and peasants and connect the government even closer to the people's masses. In order to improve the work of the government, the administration has to strengthen the democratic way of conducting its work. This also includes the improvement of performance by elected local councils. The main requirement in this regard lies in a close connection to the people's masses and in preservation of a democratic character. However, there exist mistakes and tendencies to deviate from democratic principles in the work of local councils. Many local councils are not convened on a regular basis, and delegates do not give an account of their work to their voters. The reason for this is not just the fact that many people's representative councils are badly composed due to consequences of the war. It is also that party organizations are not interested in this kind of work. This has to change in the future.

After the elections of 1949 deputies were frequently changed during the war. Often the work of councils was just conducted in a formal manner. The new deputies were frequently not elected by the people in a democratic fashion. Instead they were selected in deputy meetings or in part just simply appointed. This is a grave violation of our democratic laws and does not represent the principles of our constitution.

Furthermore, in order to improve our administrative work it is also necessary to strengthen democratic legality. The latter has to be respected in particular in interior, law enforcement, and police organs. All decisions to be made there have to be approached from class-based positions. Organs of people's representations must never forget that they represent the working people, and that they cannot resolve any question without listening to the opinion of the people's masses. The organs have to fight continuously to improve the life of the people and to fulfill their demands. They must always observe the teachings of Marxism-Leninism that the people's masses are the true creators of history. Under the guidance of the party our government saw as its first task, from the first day of its foundation, to strengthen the connection with the people's masses and never let it be broken. Functionaries of party and administrative organs always fought against all signs of bureaucratism, according to the guidelines provided by Kim Il Sung in his February speech and by the 4^th plenum of the Central Committee.

Yet nonetheless, some of our functionaries have elevated themselves above the masses and developed a bureaucratic style of working. Another part of the functionaries appropriated state property.

If the functionaries and the administrations do not liquidate such phenomena immediately, they will drift ever further apart from the people's masses and thus inflict major damage to our revolution. We will solidify our governing power through a permanent struggle against bureaucratism, against poor work, and against waste.