The North Korean authorities have revised the “Ten Principles for the Establishment of the One-Ideology System” (hereafter the “Ten Principles”). The phrase “General Kim Jong Il” has been added to the revised version, whose core structure remains in place.
The Ten Principles, each of which has a number of sub-sections, reflect the demand that all North Korean citizens be guided by the thoughts and deeds of Kim Il Sung. They were formulated in the 1970s by Kim Jong Il during the process of his anointment as successor, and act as guidelines that both underwrite Kim family rule over North Korea and facilitate the mass repression of the country’s populace. They are memorized by every citizen.
A source from North Hamkyung Province revealed the breaking news on the 9th, telling Daily NK by phone, “They announced the new Ten Principles in a provincial Party meeting last week. Study of the new Ten Principles was launched in factory and enterprise cell lectures last weekend; we expect them to start study sessions on the new version in people’s units this coming weekend.” Given the timing, it is likely that study of the new Ten Principles will begin in schools when students return in September.
“They have not produced a formal pamphlet outlining the new Ten Principles, so cadres have been disseminating them from their own official documents,” the source explained. “There are no huge differences from the old Ten Principles; they have just added the words ‘the General’ after the name of the Suryeong.”
“The second principle, which used to state that ‘We must honor the Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung with all our loyalty’ has been amended to state ‘We must honor the Great Leader comrade Kim Il Sung and General Kim Jong Il with all our loyalty’,” the source explained. “They’ve inserted the phrase ‘General Kim Jong Il’ because Kim Jong Il is Kim Jong Eun’s father, and to help make the idolization of Kim Jong Il permanent.”
In North Korean dictionaries of philosophy, the Ten Principles are defined as follows: “The ideological system by which the whole party and people is firmly armed with the revolutionary ideology of the Suryeong and united solidly around him, carrying out the revolutionary battle and construction battle under the sole leadership of the Suryeong.”