Independence is an attribute of man, the social being; it should not be viewed as the development to perfection of a natural, biological attribute of living matter.
All exploiting classes, after all, constitute a reaction against history; they are the target of revolution.
The core in the Juche outlook on the revolution is loyalty to the party and the leader. The cause of socialism and communism is started by the leader and is carried out under the guidance of the party and the leader.
Nothing is impossible for a man with a strong will. The possible is in store only for a man who loves the future. There is no word "impossible" in the Korean language.
Although the Great Leader told us that we have to let the people eat rice with meat soup, wear silk clothes and live in a tiled roof house, we have not accomplished his will.… We have already reached the status of a strong country in the military field, let alone politics and ideology, but there are still quite a number of things lacking in people's lives. I am trying to implement his will by solving these problems.

Kim Jong-il (16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from 1994 until his death, holding the offices of Chairman of the National Defense Commission, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Quotes

  • Independence is an attribute of man, the social being; it should not be viewed as the development to perfection of a natural, biological attribute of living matter. This is, in essence, an evolutionary viewpoint. Of course, we do not deny evolutionism itself. Science has long established the fact that man is a product of ages of evolution. Man is a product of evolution, but not his independence. Independence is a social product. Independence is an attribute given to man by society, not nature; it is not a natural gift, but has been formed and developed socially and historically.
  • Nothing is impossible for a man with a strong will. The possible is in store only for a man who loves the future. There is no word "impossible" in the Korean language.
    • "Unification of the fatherland is an act of supreme patriotism" (1970s), quoted in Kim Jong Il Handbook (2011) by International Business Publications USA
  • All exploiting classes, after all, constitute a reaction against history; they are the target of revolution.
    • On the Juche Idea, treatise submitted to the National Seminar on the Juche Idea held to mark the 70th birthday of the Great Leader Comrade Kim II Sung (31 March 1982)
  • The core in the Juche outlook on the revolution is loyalty to the party and the leader. The cause of socialism and communism is started by the leader and is carried out under the guidance of the party and the leader.
    • On the Juche Idea, treatise submitted to the National Seminar on the Juche Idea (31 March 1982)
  • It's all a lie. They're just pretending to praise me.
    • Remark to kidnapped South Korean director Shin Sang-ok (7 March 1983); quoted in Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader
  • The physical life of an individual person is limited, but the life of the masses united as an independent social-political organism is immortal.… Only when an individual becomes a member of this community can he acquire the immortal social-political life.
    • "Theory of the Immortal Social-Political Body" (1986)
  • Glory to the heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army!
    • Military review on the 60th anniversary of the KPA (25 April 1992), the only occasion of Kim's voice being broadcast in the DPRK
  • The "human rights" advertised by the imperialists are privileges of the rich, privileges to do anything on the strength of money. The imperialists do not recognize the right of unemployed people to work, or the right of orphans or people without support to eat and survive, for instance, as human rights. As they do not grant working people elementary rights to existence and as they pursue anti-popular policies and policies of racial and national discrimination and colonialism, the imperialists have no right to speak about human rights. The imperialists are the most heinous enemy of human rights.
  • I am the object of criticism around the world. But I think that since I am being discussed, then I am on the right track.
    • Conversation with Konstantin Pulikovsky (Summer 2001), quoted in his book Orient Express
    • Variant: I know I'm an object of criticism in the world, but if I am being talked about, I must be doing the right things.
  • Our Party’s Songun-based revolutionary leadership, Songun-based politics, is a revolutionary mode of leadership and socialist mode of politics that gives top priority to military affairs, and defends the country, the revolution and socialism and dynamically pushes ahead with overall socialist construction by dint of the revolutionary mettle and combat capabilities of the People’s Army.
    • "The Songun-based revolutionary line is a great revolutionary line of our era and an ever-victorious banner of our revolution", address to the senior officials of the Central Committee of the Worker's Party (29 January 2003)
  • Although the Great Leader told us that we have to let the people eat rice with meat soup, wear silk clothes and live in a tiled roof house, we have not accomplished his will.… We have already reached the status of a strong country in the military field, let alone politics and ideology, but there are still quite a number of things lacking in people's lives. I am trying to implement his will by solving these problems.
    • Rodung Sinmun (9 January 2010)
  • To make the whole Korean peninsula nuclear-free was the behest of the great President Kim Il-sung, and it is the consistent stand of the government of our Republic. The nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula arose as a result of the United States constantly threatening the sovereignty and security of our people. Sovereignty is the lifeline of a country and nation. We have possessed nuclear deterrent to protect our sovereignty from the blatant nuclear threat of the United States and its increasingly hostile policy.
    • Response to questions from Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency (13 October 2011)
  • It is my greatest wish to enable our people to live with nothing to envy at the earliest possible date, and it is my greatest pleasure to work energetically, sharing my joys and sorrows with our people, on the road of translating my wish into reality.
    • Response to questions from Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency (13 October 2011)

Quotes about Kim Jong-il

You pushed away the severe storm.
You made us believe, Comrade Kim Jong-il.
We cannot live without you.
Our country cannot exist without you!
  • You pushed away the severe storm.
    You made us believe, Comrade Kim Jong-il.
    We cannot live without you.
    Our country cannot exist without you!
  • When General Kim Jong Il shouts to the mountains / Lightning strikes and valleys shatter! …
    With General Kim Jong Il's wondrous strategy / Enemy lines collapse and our foes wail! …
    Under General Kim Jong Il's amazing leadership / Korea goes forth and Juche goes forth!
    • North Korean military anthem, "Thunder Over Jong Il Peak"
  • Chukjibeop! Chukjibeop!
    The Dear General uses it! …
    Once the Great Leader also used chukjibeop.
    Today the Dear General does it for him.
    • North Korean popular song, "The Dear General Uses Chukjibeop [Distance-Shrinking Magic]"
  • He kills our people, arrests people who are against his administration. He produces drugs. It's a national industry. He kidnaps other people from South Korea, or other democratic countries. He is doing all sorts of bad things, like the devil. Do not trust him, never, ever.
  • When it comes to the orchestration of terror, Kim Jong-il is a natural born genius.
This article is issued from Wikiquote. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.