p Comrade Surjeet,

p I am very happy to note that the current international seminar is already achieving great successes.

p Since the frustration of socialism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the concern of the world’s progressive people has been focused on the future of socialism.

p The current seminar in Calcutta is a great historic significance in that the Communist and Workers’ parties have come together and discussed important questions related to the future of the socialism for the first time since the publications in April last year of the Pyong Yang Declaration which demonstrated that socialism remains very much alive and that advance of human history towards socialism is an irreversible process.

p As an old Korean saying goes, ’beginning is half done’. The fact that the first major international meeting is going to be a success is something that we should be proud of in view of the development of the international communist movement.

p Undoubtedly, our coming together this time will occupy a permanent place in the history of the international communist movement as the Calcutta Meeting.

p I would like to express my thanks to Comrade Surjit, the General Secretary of CPJ.(M), Com. Basu, Chief Minister of W. Bengal and the organisers for their high organisational abilities and leadership which have been instrumental in making this seminar success.

p As many comrades unanimously emphasised in their 312 presentations, the future of the socialism depends on how the communist and workers’ parties rally the working class and other toiling masses around the party and how they strengthen international solidarity and unity among themselves.

p In many cases, we ha ve tried to explain the essence of socialism with the state system at the centre of our way of thinking. Hence, it was maintained that Capitalism can be born from the womb of the feudal society, but socialism cannot emerge from capitalism. However, if we look at the essence of the socialism from the mancentered point of view, we can see the socialist idea can grow under capitalism, that Communist and workers’ party, which are the groups of people to support the idea can be formed. Therefore, we can say that the basis of socialism can be built in the womb of Capitalism. The success or failure in the struggle for socialism depends entirely on how the Communist and Workers’ parties organise and awaken the popular masses to the socialist idea.

p The man capable of making an aircraft is not trained after the aircraft is produced. Only when there is the man capable of producing an aircraft, the aircraft can be made. Likewise, the socialist person is not made after the socialist system is established. Only when there is the socialist man, can the socialist society be built. TheWorkers’ Parry of Korea believes that the basic to socialism is not the social system but the popular masses who have the socialist idea. Therefore, the success and failure of socialism in each country depends, first and foremost, how the Communist & Workers’ party of that country arm the popular masses with the socialist idea.

p In equipping the people with the socialist idea, the revolutionary principles of Marxism should be preserved and the socialist ideologies and theories be applied creatively to suit the specific conditions of the countries concerned. In this regard, it is important for the Communist and Workers’ parties to have frequent contacts and exchange of view, be it bilateral or multilateral. Such an international gathering is a good opportunity to pool our resources and further develop the socialist idea in keeping with the new situation.

p Proceeding from the specific conditions of Korea, the Workers’ party of Korea is developing Marxism - Leninism on the basis of the position and the role of the popular masses in the evolution of 313 history. We regard the popular masses as the motive force capable of shaping their own destinies independently and creatively. And we define it as the basic strategy of the Revolution and Construction to strengthen the position and role of the masses incessantly.

p Herein lies the reason why we call our socialist idea, the Juche idea. The parry and the masses form the subject or the motive force of me revolution. The leader is the centre of unity and leadership. And the party is the core political organisation which can be likened to the backbone of the human-body.

p Under the present circumstances where the country is divided into North-South in direct confrontation with the US, our party is fighting for socialist construction and the reunification of the country.

p Our enemies are resorting to every scheme to strangle the socialist system in Korea. Our people have formed into a strong motive force of the revolution with the Great Leader Kim II Sung and Dear Leader Kim Jong n at the centre and the principles of the independence in politics, self-sufficiency in economy and selfreliance in defence have been fully implemented. That is why I can say confidently that any economic blockade, military threat, ideological-cultural infiltration by our enemy do not work as far as we are concerned.

p I would like to express my deepest thanks to delegates of various countries represented here for their support expressed for the cause of the Korean people.

I can assure you that our party is firmly committed to strengthening the unity and solidarity in the international communist movement!