KIM IL SUNG REMINISCENCES With the Century 6 KIM IL SUNG With the Century 6 FOREIGN LANGUAGES PUBLISHING HOUSE PYONGYANG, KOREA 1995 Part I THE ANTI-JAPANESE REVOLUTION 6 Translation from the preceding page: The gunshots sounded by the heroic anti- Japanese fighters in the homeland in the dark years when the country’s destiny was at stake stirred up the suppressed nation’s spirit and heralded the victory of the revolution against Japanese imperialism. Kim Il Sung With Choe Hyon The extension of the network across Korea of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland A street in Hamhung Chongjin Port A street in Seoul Thakyol Pavilion in Haeju A part of Pyongyang A street in Sinuiju A market in Taegu Mokpho Port Pusan Port With guardsmen This photo was taken at the secret camp in Wudaogou, Linjiang County, in the autumn of 1937. I often wore spectacles in those days. The soldiers of the Guard Company Ri Tal Gyong Commander of the KPRA Guard Company Ri Ul Sol Jon Mun Sop March towards Fusong Mt. Hongtou Donggang A mountain behind Manjiang Xiaotanghe Yangmudingzi Mountains over 2,000 metres above sea-level, a biting cold of 40 degrees centigrade below zero, the unbearable grain shortage, the dogged pursuit and encirclement by the enemy’s “punitive” troops—it was literally a march across the death-line Homeland in distress Slash-and-burn peasants in the northern region Unemployed workers wandering Caricature showing the exploitation by Japanese imperialism and the landlord class Contemporary newspapers dealing with the repressive rule of Japanese imperialism Operation of thrust in the homeland by a large unit The speech I delivered at the Xigang meeting The venue for the Xigang meeting, at Yangmudingzi, Fusong County The site of the battle of Pulgunbawi Joson Ilbo dated May 20, 1937 reports the battle of Pulgunbawi The Battle of Pochonbo Monument to the Victorious Battle of Pochonbo The Japanese imperialists guard the north of Korea just before the Battle of Pochonbo Japanese troops doing special exercises on the frozen River Tuman Border crossing control Border guard’s families doing target practice The old town of Pochonbo The site where I commanded the Battle of Pochonbo The plateau on Konjang Hill, where my unit bivouacked the day before the Battle of Pochonbo Korea is alive! The proclamation which was plastered on Pochonbo’s streets at the time of the battle Japanese imperialist buildings in Pochonbo on fire The police substation in Pochonbo attacked by the KPRA (Holes caused by machine-gun bullets can be seen on the walls.) The fort at Pochonbo’s police substation Foreign papers reported our attack on the homeland The battles of Kouyushuishan and Jiansanfeng Site of the battle of Kouyushuishan The headquarters building of the 19th Division of the Japanese army in Ranam The special garrison from Hyesan police station that was called out for the battle of Kouyushuishan Site of the battle of Jiansanfeng Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War Japanese troops crossing Lugou Bridge Engagement near Tianjin Railway Station Japanese troops entering Beijing through Guangan Gate Second Movement for Kuomintang- Communist Coopertion The Chinese Communist Party’s declaration on the second Movement for Kuomintang- Communist Cooperation and Song Qing-ling’s statement Newspapers reporting the Lushan talks between Zhou En-lai and Jiang Jie-shi in July 1937 Chinese soldiers shooting at Japanese troops Caricature suggesting that Japanese imperialist aggression of China would expand into a Soviet-Japanese war Operations to harass the enemy at their rear Pak Jang Chun Japanese imperialists’ secret document on the Caoshuitan meeting Contemporary newspaper Ri Tu Chan reporting the KPRA’s campaigns to harass the enemy at their rear Japanese troops on guard day and Kim Man Ik night on the fronzen River Tuman Children’s Company A soldier of the Children’s Company Jon Hui with a rifle on his shoulder O Il Nam Kim Ik Hyon Kim Chol Man September Appeal Appeal to all Koreans, issued in September 1937 To the Sinhung area Site of Headquarters at the Tongogol Secret Camp in the Sinhung area The house where I stayed late in September 1937 when I went to Mt. Sambat in the Sinhung area A pithead in Sinhung Coalmine Intensification of the anti-Japanese struggle in the homeland Under the banner of the ARF Ri Ju Yon Ri Yong Pak U Hyon Choe Won Bong Ri In Mo with young workers at the Hwangsuwon dam project (Second from right in the front row) Wi In Chan Kwon Yong Byok, a KPRA political operative and chief of Changbai County Party Committee, and the secret base of his activities A support camp Jang Chol Gu Member of the cooking unit Part of the Paektusan Secret Camp Kim Ju Hyon A KPRA regimental commander A Japanese imperialist document on the raid of Kim Ju Hyon’s samll unit on Jungphyong Mine In the flames of the anti-Japanese revolution (1) Rim Chun Chu Ryu Kyong Su Kim Kyong Sok Kim Un Sin Ri Kye Sun Ji Pyong Hak Hwang Sun Hui Kim Song Guk Thae Pyong Ryol Kim Ja Rin Pak Jong Suk CONTENTS CHAPTER 16. CROSSING AND RECROSSING THE RIVER AMNOK 1. Expedition to Fusong ...........................................................2 2. Hundreds of Miles from Xiaotanghe at One Go........................................................................... 20 3. Guardsmen ......................................................................... 40 4. Across the Whole of Korea................................................ 59 5. Kwon Yong Byok .............................................................. 83 6. Events to Which I Could Not Remain Indifferent ........... 106 7. The Mother of the Guerrilla Army................................... 121 CHAPTER 17. KOREA IS ALIVE 1. Flames of Pochonbo (1) ................................................... 141 2. Flames of Pochonbo (2) ................................................... 159 3. Joint Celebration of Army and People at Diyangxi ......... 173 4. Photographs and Memory ................................................ 188 5. The Battle of Jiansanfeng................................................. 202 6. The Boys Who Took Up Arms ........................................ 216 7. My Thought about Revolutionary Obligation.................. 248 CHAPTER 18. IN THE FLAMES OF THE SINO-JAPANESE WAR 1. To Meet a New Situation ................................................. 276 2. Kim Ju Hyon .................................................................... 296 3. Getting the Peasantry Prepared ........................................ 312 4. Choe Chun Guk in His Days in the Independent Brigade........................................................ 336 5. The September Appeal..................................................... 358 6. My Experience of the “Hyesan Incident” ........................ 378 CHAPTER 16 Crossing and Recrossing the River Amnok Expedition to Fusong … 2 Hundreds of Miles from Xiaotanghe at One Go … 20 Guardsmen … 40 Across the Whole of Korea … 59 Kwon Yong Byok … 83 Events to Which I Could Not Remain Indifferent … 106 The Mother of the Guerrilla Army … 121 March–May 1937 1 1. Expedition to Fusong After delivering a crushing blow at the enemy, who had been rampaging on large-scale winter “punitive” expeditions in Taoquanli and Limingshui, I made the decision to march north again across the Changbai mountains in command of the main force. My entire unit was surprised when I announced my plan for an expedition to Fusong: Why this sudden march northward at a time when everyone was eagerly waiting for orders to advance into the homeland to destroy the enemy? Why should they move north, leaving behind West Jiandao and Mt. Paektu, which they had secured at such great effort? I read these questions in their faces. They could see no reason for an expedition to Fusong when everything was going so well. And in fact it was not unreasonable for them to think so. At that time the spirits of both our soldiers and our people were soaring, for we were defeating the enemy in one battle after another. Despite the enemy’s frantic “punitive” attacks and their political, economic and military blockades, the ranks of our guerrilla army were swelling daily with fresh volunteers, and the army’s combat power was increasing considerably as it armed itself with better weapons and equipment. The area around Mt. Paektu and on the River Amnok was completely under our influence, and the initiative of the war was securely in our hands. Our underground organizations were stretching a ramified network throughout West Jiandao. The objective we had initially set for ourselves at the time of 2 our departure from Nanhutou had been successfully attained. The final objective of our operations was to advance to the homeland. In order to give a strong impetus to the anti-Japanese national united-front movement there and to speed up the struggle to found a new type of party, it was imperative to extend the fighting to our native land. Our most cherished dream was to whip the enemy on our own soil, and this was also the burning desire of every one of our compatriots. Just how eager the people back home were for our advance can be seen in the following episodes. In Diyangxi there was a village called Nande or Nahade. Ryu Ho, headman of the village and a special member of the Association for the Restoration of the Fatherland, was an enthusiastic supporter of the guerrilla army. Once he and his villagers brought aid supplies to our secret camp. His company included three peasants from Kapsan. These peasants arrived at our secret camp with full loads of foxtail millet, scorched-oat flour and hempen shoes on their backs. They had crossed the Amnok, slipping through a tight police cordon. We were surprised at the large amount of supplies they had carried on their backs. We were even more amazed at the fact that they had not touched a single morsel of the food they had brought us, even though they had been roaming about with empty stomachs for some days, as they had lost their way in the primeval forest of Mt. Paektu. We were also no less moved by the effort they had put into making the hempen shoes for us: there were at least 200 pairs.