I continue to be mystified by why on earth left parties would celebrate the DPRK and its ruling party as “socialist”.

There’s plenty of evidence of political assassination, execution for watching music videos, completely captive, state-controlled media: I’ve posted some screenshots about these.

But quite apart from the grim and murderous nature of the Kim Jong-un regime, the state’s and party’s official communications read like a dark parody of socialist language.

To take a random instance - the set of documents of the Workers Party’s 2016 party congress documents is as follows:

• Kim Jong Un Makes Opening Address at Seventh Congress of WPK
• Kim Jong Un Makes Report on Work of WPK Central Committee at Its 7^th Congress
• Kim Jong Un Refers to Achievements Made in Strengthening Party
• Kim Jong Un Reviews Successes Made by WPK in Period under Review
• Kim Jong Un Calls for Global Independence
• Kim Jong Un on WPK’s Tasks for National Reunification
• Kim Jong Un Sets Forth Tasks for Completing Socialist Cause
• Kim Jong Un Makes Closing Address at Seventh Congress of WPK

I read the above list out to my mother, and she promptly said it reminded her of this priceless bit from Wodehouse’s Jeeves story ‘The Metropolitan Touch’:

Twing Village Hall,
Friday, December 23^rd,
Richard Little
presents
A New and Original Revue
Entitled
What Ho, Twing!!

Book by
Richard Little

Lyrics by
Richard Little

Music by
Richard Little.

With the Full Twing Juvenile
Company and Chorus.
Scenic Effects by
Richard Little

Produced by
Richard Little.

(The difference of course is that Bingo Little is a fictional ass, not a sinister dictator who enjoys assassination and repression, and who takes himself entirely seriously as he talks of himself in the third person, monarch-style.)

Here’s another small segment from those “party congress documents” of the DPRK’s ruling party:

“He (Kim Jong-un) said that in the period under review the WPK has developed into a pure ideological entity and an integral organization remaining loyal to the idea and guidance of the leader. He went on:

Leader Kim Jong Il, faithfully carrying forward the revolutionary idea of President Kim Il Sung, developed and enriched it with new ideas and theories including the theory of Songun politics as required by the times and the developing revolution and thus provided a sure guarantee for imbuing the whole party with the monolithic ideology of the Party.

The WPK has regarded it as the core task to absolutize and devotedly defend the leadership authority of the leader in party building and activities and waged an uncompromising struggle against phenomena contrary to it so that the center of unity and leadership is firmly ensured.

It has established strict discipline of focusing all issues arising in party work and activities on the Party Central Committee and implementing them according to its unitary conclusion and thoroughly established throughout the entire party the party organizational discipline based on the high degree of political awareness of the party members and democratic centralism.

It has waged an uncompromising struggle against acts and elements of breaking the party’s organizational unity and challenging the monolithic leadership of the Party Central Committee.

The WPK has developed into a promising revolutionary party carrying forward the idea and guidance of the leader generation after generation.

It has laid a solid organizational and ideological basis and leadership system capable of carrying forward the cause of the leader generation after generation and thus inherited the idea and guidance of the leader for decades without slight turns and twists and deviation and firmly preserved the revolutionary character of the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist party.”

In the above para, only one sentence lacks the word “leader”; and to make up for that omission, several sentences invoke the word several times.

“be loyal to the idea and guidance of the leader”

“to absolutize and devotedly defend the leadership authority of the leader”

“monolithic leadership”

“the idea and guidance of the leader generation after generation”

“carrying forward the cause of the leader generation after generation”

“inherited the idea and guidance of the leader for decades without slight turns and twists and deviation”

How can anyone - anyone - possibly read this robotic chant of “the leader generation after generation”? The references to “generation” and “inherited” are repeated in a transparent effort to drive home the idea that Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is descended from a long line of Leaders - his father and grandfather before him? I mean, it’s really the biggest joke of all that monarchy (complete with the tradition of assassinating one’s brother to become King) can pass for “socialism” for any serious party!

I know the trolls will hit this post with comments about “western propaganda” and so on. But what can do more to make the Workers Party of Korea (as it is called now) appear ridiculous than its own language?

Kavita Krishnan

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