The statement said that December 17 marks the 1st anniversary of the demise of Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and chairman of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK.

It said that Kim Jong Il, a great successor to the revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered by President Kim Il Sung, performed great exploits for the Korean revolution and the world revolution in his lifetime.

He was a prominent thinker and theoretician who comprehensively systemized the Juche idea and steadily developed it.

He led the Korean revolution along the road of victory at the end of the last century when the imperialists became evermore undisguised in their anti-socialist moves, taking advantage of the collapse of the east European socialist countries.

The U.S. moves to stifle the DPRK, the fortress of socialism, could not escape frustration due to his Songun revolutionary leadership.

The Korean people are now dynamically advancing toward a bright future of building a thriving nation under the leadership of the dear respected Marshal Kim Jong Un, always holding Kim Jong Il in high esteem.

We call upon the world followers of the Juche idea and Songun idea to remember Kim Jong Il with deep reverence and hold diverse events on the occasion of December 17.