North Korea 30 Years After Kim Il-sung's Death: Past, Present, and Future (1)
North Korea's Soviet Beginnings: Kim Il-sung's Execution of Stalinism
Kang In-deok
Former Minister of Unification of the Republic of Korea
It's been 30 years since Kim Il-sung's death. For 80 years, we've viewed inter-Korean relations as a "special relationship aimed at reunification." We've examined his political legacy and prepared for reunification. Now, it's time to question this approach. We aim to review his 49 years of political actions, see how they've been inherited, and forecast North Korea's future.
Kim Il-sung: Appointed North Korea's Leader by Joseph Stalin
Kim Il-sung wasn't well-known right after liberation. He didn't play a significant role in the Korean independence movement during Japanese colonial rule or in the communist movement of the 1920s. His sudden rise as an anti-Japanese hero two months after liberation was orchestrated by the Soviet Union, which had taken control of Manchuria and northern Korea after World War II. Joseph Stalin saw this as a chance to fulfill Russia's long-held goal of securing an ice-free port in the Far East and dominating the Asia-Pacific region.
At the Moscow Conference in September 1945, held in London to discuss post-war compensation, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov requested "half of Hokkaido and participation in the military administration of Japan." Recognizing Stalin's ambitions, the United States and the United Kingdom immediately rejected this. In response, Stalin ordered Terenty Fomich Shtykov, the political commissar of the Soviet 25th Army headquarters in Pyongyang and the first Soviet ambassador to North Korea, to establish a Soviet satellite state in North Korea.
Kim Il-sung at the "Pyongyang Mass Rally to Welcome the Soviet Liberation Army" on October 14, 1945.
This Soviet-directed event was his first introduction to the citizens of Pyongyang. /Media Korean Studies
On September 19, Shtykov, part of the 88th Special Brigade under the Soviet Far East Commandarrived at Wonsan Harbor on the freighter 'Vochakovo' on September 19. He then gathered Kim Il-sung and his entourage of about 60, who had been involved in anti-Japanese intelligence operations, along with 400 Soviet Koreans who had come as civil administration officials, to begin executing Joseph Stalin's orders.
The Soviet strategy for establishing a satellite state was based on the "Theses on Revolutionary Movements in Colonies and Semi-Colonies," adopted at the 6th Congress of the Communist International (Comintern) founded by Vladimir Lenin in July and September 1928. This plan aimed to create a satellite state led by Koreans, using methods similar to those in Eastern Europe for establishing people's governments.
Starting on October 10, they held a three-day "Conference of Korean Communist Party North Korean Responsible Persons and Enthusiastic Party Members" to reorganize the Communist Party and pursue a "bourgeois democratic revolution." After confirming the party organization, Shtykov introduced Kim Il-sung (real name Kim Sung-ju) as the hero of the anti-Japanese struggle at the "Pyongyang Mass Rally to Welcome the Soviet Liberation Army" on October 14 at Pyongyang Moranbong Stadium. Kim then delivered a speech expressing his beliefs, written by Soviet Koreans affiliated with the occupation forces, marking the first time Pyongyang citizens learned of Kim Il-sung's existence.
On October 28, the Soviet army established the North Korean Administrative Committee as a transitional united front government with local communists to seize power. In November, they set up the "railroad guards" and a "security training center" under Soviet command. On November 1, they founded the "Pyongyang Institute" under the 88th Separate Rifle Brigade to train Communist Party cadres and future military commanders.
However, the North Korean people and youth, angered by the Soviet army's brutality and their Korean communist collaborators, fiercely resisted. This resistance included the Yongampo Student Incident in Pyonganbuk-do on November 18, 1945, and the Sinuiju Incident, which saw 35,000 participants on November 23. The Soviet army and communists crushed these protests using aircraft and tanks, resulting in 23 deaths and over 700 injuries. This crackdown extended to church ministers and nationalist-democratic figures, with many young protesters being exiled to Siberia.
To make matters worse, when news arrived that the Moscow Conference held on December 27, 1945, by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, had decided on a four-year trusteeship over Korea, fierce opposition arose from nationalist forces led by Cho Man-sik. As a result, Cho Man-sik was imprisoned, and other democratic figures fled to South Korea, leading to the collapse of anti-communist democratic forces in North Korea.
On February 8, 1946, Kim Il-sung and his group, following the Kremlin's strategy, organized the Soviet puppet regime 'Provisional People's Committee of North Korea,' formally led by Koreans. On the same day, the Korean People's Army, the Communist Party's armed force, was established. Under the name of this People's Committee, Kim Il-sung announced several laws, including the land reform law (March 5), labor law (June 24), gender equality law (July 30), and nationalization of industry law (August 10), to strengthen the Communist Party's power base. On November 3, they held "elections for people's committees of provinces, cities, and counties" and established a legislative body.
The following year, on February 17, 1947, the 'Provisional People's Committee of North Korea' became the 'North Korea People's Committee,' the highest governing body, with Kim Il-sung as chairman. As Stalin's loyal follower, Kim Il-sung relentlessly carried out anti-national and oppressive actions, implementing the Kremlin's strategies for Soviet domination in East Asia.