Opening and Closing Speeches at Sixth Conference of WPK Cell Secretaries

Text of the opening and closing speeches delivered by Kim Jong Un to the Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Korean Workers' Party, as translated and published by the Korean Central News Agency. The opening speech was reported on April 7, 2021, and the closing speech on April 9, 2021.

Opening Speech

Dear comrade cell secretaries,

The Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea is being held when the whole country is in a remarkably high spirit in the efforts for implementing the decisions adopted at the Eighth Congress of the WPK and the Second Plenary Meeting of its Eighth Central Committee.

Availing myself of this opportunity of seeing you here, you comrade cell secretaries who always live and work with all the Party's members and the other working people boundlessly faithful to the Party and the revolution, I would like to extend, in the name of the Party Central Committee as well as mine, warm thanks and greetings to you, participants in this Conference, and all other cell secretaries and members of the Party for working with devotion for the strengthening of our Party and the prosperity and development of our country.

Dear comrade cell secretaries,

Really heavy are the duties you have assumed in this pivotal period, an important phase in the strengthening of our Party and the development of our revolution.

This is because the implementation of the decisions of the Party congress aimed at advancing our style of the socialist cause on a higher stage by achieving a tangible change and development in the economic work, in improving the people's living standards and in all other fields even in the worst-ever situation in which we have to overcome unprecedentedly numerous challenges depends on the role played by the cells, the grass-roots organizations of the Party; it is also because the fighting efficiency of the Party cells depends on their secretaries.

The fighting programmes and policies set forth by the Party congress and the plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee can be executed to the letter and bear rich fruits only when all the organizations of the Party, its cells to be concrete, accept them correctly and turn out in a fierce struggle for implementing them.

Cell secretaries are replaced by other persons more often than not across the Party, and there are many cell secretaries who have just assumed their position.

Given the situation, it is the intention of our Party Central Committee to meet the cell secretaries across the Party at a regular interval, so as to discuss the cell work, guide and assist them and thereby consistently strive to strengthen the Party cells.

Proceeding from this, the Party congress prioritized the work of politically and practically preparing the cell secretaries who are in charge of the grass-roots combat units for executing the Party's lines and policies, and stipulated in the Party Rules that a conference of cell secretaries shall be held every five years in keeping with a Party congress.

There are many Communist and Workers' parties in the world, but it is only our Party that holds a conference of leaders of its grass-roots organizations on a regular basis so that its Central Committee can discuss work with them face to face.

To consolidate itself as a whole by strengthening grass-roots organizations is a principle of its building inherent and unique to our Party and its proud tradition.

Our Party Central Committee frequently meets the cell secretaries, who are always among the Party's members, listens to their opinions and teaches them in order to communicate with the broad sections of the Party's members and the other working people in this course and lead the revolution and construction in conformity with their opinions and requirements.

The work of thoroughly preparing the cell secretaries who are in the position of linking it with the masses by the same bond of blood relationship and organizing and enlisting the Party's members and the other working people to implement its lines and policies is the most important activity of the Central Committee of our Party.

This is why the Party Central Committee regards a conference of cell secretaries as important as a Party congress and directs much effort to ensuring it a success.

Although some successes have been achieved in the work of strengthening the Party cells and increasing their role since the Fifth Conference of the Cell Chairpersons of the Workers' Party of Korea, there are quite a few shortcomings as well.

To immediately correct the shortcomings latent in the work of Party cells is an inevitable process that should be followed by our Party for its healthy and sustainable development; and only then can our Party creditably carry out its mission as the militant General Staff that leads the revolution and construction with its roots struck deep among the masses of the people.

Even though the shortcomings may be partial and small, they should never be neglected.

To identify a practical means for turning all the Party cells, its grass-roots organizations, into united and militant collectives and apply it actively to their work so as to make the short cut to strengthening the whole Party even shorter and dynamically advance socialist construction–this is the important objective of convening this conference in a grand manner. You must be well aware of this.

Comrades,

Cell secretaries are hard-core members of our Party and standard bearers in implementing Party policy.

The Party Central Committee expects that you will work in a more proactive and responsible way to strengthen the Party cells.

This conference will comprehensively review and analyze work of the cell secretaries since the Fifth Conference of Cell Chairpersons of the Workers' Party of Korea, and discuss the tasks and ways for decisively improving and intensifying the work of its cells at present.

You should participate in this conference with a high level of political consciousness and enthusiasm, so as to study in real earnest how you are supposed to do if you are to inspire the Party's members and the other working people to the implementation of the decisions of the Party congress and possess the qualities befitting the primary political officials of the Workers' Party.

It is important that, while looking back on your work in combination with the issues to be discussed at this conference and your past achievements, experiences, shortcomings and lessons, you find a methodology for turning the work of Party cells decisively into the work of understanding people's minds, feelings and emotions and uniting the members of Party cells and other working people with different personalities and qualifications as firmly as your own family members are.

Participating in this conference are 10 000 persons including Party cell secretaries in various sectors, mainly the exemplary ones working at production sites, senior officials of provincial Party committees and other Party committees performing equivalent functions to them, chief secretaries of the Party committees of cities, counties and industrial complexes and relevant officials of the Party Central Committee.

Fully convinced that this conference will mark a significant occasion in further consolidating the foundations of the Party, building our revolutionary ranks into more invincible ones and bringing about a remarkable progress in implementing the decisions of the Party congress and in socialist construction, I declare the Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea open. 

Closing Speech

Comrade cell secretaries,

The Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea, which has been held to bring about a radical turn in strengthening the cells, the cornerstones and bases in consolidating and uniting the entire Party, is to wind up its work after achieving its objectives amidst the soaring political enthusiasm of all the participants.

The conference made an in-depth review and analysis of the work of Party cells in the aspects of their merits and demerits and advanced major tasks they should carry out at present and the practical measures for improving the roles of their secretaries.

The conference reaffirmed the significance and importance of strengthening Party cells in making the ideological and volitional unity of the entire Party rock-solid and powerfully propelling socialist construction. Expressed at the conference were firm determinations to carry out our immediate struggle tasks by enhancing the fighting efficiency of Party cells.

This conference will be etched in the annals of building our Juche-oriented Party as a meaningful conference that further enriched its original ideology of building grass-roots organizations and set forth clear-cut action programmes for all of its cell secretaries.

Comrade cell secretaries,

Turning all Party cells into healthy and viable ones which are closely knitted in bonds of human feelings–this is the main idea of this conference.

Those that are not knitted in bonds of human feelings cannot become loyal cells.

Turning all Party cells into collectives closely knitted in bonds of human feelings is a prerequisite for strengthening the entire Party and an urgent problem that should be solved without fail at present.

To this end, the Party Central Committee has advanced at this conference ten major tasks that face Party cells and twelve major traits which their secretaries should possess.

You, Party cell secretaries, must become the mainstay in making the cells families closely knitted in bonds of human feelings and, in doing this, will have to suffer from mental pains alone for others and work harder than anybody else.

Just as mothers always concern themselves with the life and growth of their children and guide them along the right path, Party cell secretaries should patiently educate and lead Party members with warm affection and devotion. By doing so, they can train them into fighters boundlessly faithful to the Party and the revolution and into genuine revolutionary comrades-in-arms who share the same ideas and feelings

Only then can they turn Party cells under their charge into collectives closely knitted in bonds of human feelings and into vanguard organizations which share sweets and bitters and creditably carry out their revolutionary tasks, overcoming hardships.

They should efficiently lead the work of their cells in implementing the strategic tasks advanced by the Party congress.

When they rouse up the spiritual strength of the masses of the people with powerful political work and make breakthroughs in the vanguard, miraculous innovations can be created in all work places.

Since they are always among the masses, how they speak and behave act promptly on the latter's psychology and have a great impact on them.

Party cell secretaries should become skilful political activists who can move the hearts of the people by dint of tremendous strength, that is, undivided hearts.

They should always take the lead in tackling difficult and labour-consuming work and become forerunners who uninterruptedly create new things with an innovative way of thinking and style of work.

Comrade cell secretaries,

Through this conference, you must have realized once again how heavy is the responsibility you have assumed before the Party and the revolution.

Our Party remains powerful and unflinching not because there exist its General Secretary or the Political Bureau and Secretariat of its Central Committee but because there are its cells, combat units in direct charge of carrying out its lines and policies and grass-roots organizations, and its cell secretaries who have assumed responsibility for it.

While working together with the masses at the production sites at which the Party's intentions are being implemented, Party cell secretaries have stood in the vanguard of struggle when the Party advances, become bodyguards and a shock brigade in defending the Party at the cost of their lives when the Party undergoes trials and unyieldingly supported the Party with silent and unassuming efforts through their self-sacrificing endeavours and struggle at all times, wherever they are; but for them, the great changes our Party has achieved and the road of victory it has traversed is inconceivable.

Though they are not distinguishable from ordinary people in terms of position, special favour or reward, our Party cell secretaries who are cornerstones and reliable standard bearers and vanguard fighters in the great work unfolded by our Party are career revolutionaries with no special positions, as well as unknown heroes of unknown heroes who work with devotion for the Party without asking for any reward.

So, always feeling grateful to them, I have decided that I would request them, the hardcore of hardcore of our Party, to make greater efforts and struggle harder once more for our revolution and for our Party.

Comrade cell secretaries,

There are many obstacles and difficulties ahead of us, and so our struggle for carrying out the decisions of the Eighth Party Congress would not be all plain sailing.

Our Party never expects that there will be any fortuitous opportunity for us in paving the road for our people and in realizing their great aim and ideals to build socialism and communism.

There is nothing we could depend on or look to. We only believe in the hearts of the millions of WPK members, especially hundreds of thousands of its cell secretaries.

I made up my mind to ask the WPK organizations at all levels, including its Central Committee, and the cell secretaries of the entire Party to wage another more difficult "Arduous March" in order to relieve our people of the difficulty, even a little, as they have followed their Party as their mother and overcome all sorts of difficulties for several decades to defend it and to provide them with the optimum material and cultural wellbeing.

Our people are invariably following our Party calling it a motherly party in times of both happiness and difficulty.

This is a valuable title bestowed only on the Workers' Party of Korea in the world and the greatest honour and glory that can neither be bought for billions of tons of gold nor be bartered for anything.

Now our Party must, at all costs, prove itself worthy of the great trust of the people who unreservedly address it as "mother."

To this end, it must become a genuine "servant" party for them.

Comrade cell secretaries,

Availing myself of this opportunity, I make a militant appeal once again to all the Party officials and cell secretaries to redouble their efforts to live up to this great name given by our people, motherly Party, which is a source of its infinite strength, symbol of its invincibility and unique title and appellation of the Workers' Party of Korea and to safeguard and add eternal brilliance to this glorious honour.

When the hundreds of thousands of cell secretaries and officials across the Party unite its members firmly under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and give full play to their loyalty, patriotism and creative wisdom, our revolution will always emerge victorious in high spirits and the ideal of communism will surely come true.

Firmly convinced that the participants and all other cell secretaries across the Party, mindful of the main idea of this conference and the tasks advanced by it, will devote themselves to strengthening and developing Party cells and thus make an active contribution to consolidating and uniting the entire Party, I declare the Sixth Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers' Party of Korea closed.

Author: 
Kim Jong Un
Date: 
Friday, April 9, 2021