A ceremony for starting the march took place before the Victorious Battle of Pochonbo Memorial Tower in Hyesan City, Ryanggang Province, on June 8.

The participants made bows before the statue of President Kim Il Sung standing at the tower.

Ham Kwang Chol, secretary of the C.C., the Kim Il Sung Socialist Youth League, made a report at the ceremony which was followed by speeches.

The reporter and speakers said that Kim Jong Il's exploration of the road of study tour of revolutionary battle sites in the area of Mt. Paektu at the head of ranks of participants in the study tour marked a historic event that occasioned an epochal turn in upholding and glorifying the revolutionary traditions of the Workers' Party of Korea, they stressed.

They underscored the need to eternally glorify the immortal feats performed by Kim Jong Il in carrying forward and developing the Juche-oriented revolutionary traditions and learn from the transparent spirit of devotedly defending the leader and the indomitable fighting spirit displayed by the anti-Japanese revolutionary forerunners.

At the end of the meeting, they started the march toward Pochonbo.