Programme Director,
Your Excellency, the Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK/North Korea), Mr Jo Yong Man, and your Wife,
Our South African Government Representatives present here,
Dignified Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your Excellency Ambassador, on behalf of our South African Government under the leadership of His Excellency Mr Jacob Zuma, and on behalf of the South African Police Service, we thank you for this invitation, and congratulations on this day to your country. And a special congratulatory note goes to His Excellency Kim Jong Un, the Supreme Leader of DPRK, who has been now elected as the First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
We particularly present our sincere compliments to your country for this occasion because of the fundamental and historic similarities we have as a people, in our respective sovereignty States, DPRK and the Republic of South Africa. Your country is celebrating the 100th birthday of your late great Leader, President Kim IL Sung, who was born on 15th April 1912 and passed on in 1994. And, because this great leader was the founding President of the nation that is today called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, you and your fellow countrymen rightly so regard him as the Father of the Nation, and you will thus forever revered him as your President.
As you probably know, we also have our own Father of the Nation, the first democratically elected President of a democratic Republic of South Africa, Mr Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela. And, as a South African nation, we also joined the ruling party of South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), when it held its inaugural centenary celebrations this year in January.
Like your great Leader, this Great Liberation Movement was born in January 8th, 1912. Like your great leader who passed on in 1994, but left his eternal legacy for the DPRK, our democratic legacy was born in 1994.
I am pleased to say proudly though that these similarities I have just mentioned of these two great nations, extend beyond symbolic boundaries or gestures. They go in-depth to our existence and our history as respective nations. South Africans will be forever indebted to DPRK, because it was under the leadership of Kim IL Sung when your country provided us, the ANC, with all possible material and mental support during our struggle for freedom, to overturn and overcome the tyranny of the Apartheid regime.
Therefore, it must never come as a surprise to antagonists and ill-informed critics when they question the relationship the democratic South Africa has with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Both RSA and DPRK share fundamental values of revolutionary principles for liberation, people’s welfare and sovereignty of people and country.
And, without any fear or favour from anyone, the democratic South Africa chose to establish diplomatic relations with DPRK in August 1998. Thus currently, South Africa’s Ambassador to China is also accredited to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Capital, Pyongyang, whilst DPRK has now its Embassy here in Pretoria since 2002.
As a country, South Africa is thus hopeful that the newly elected First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, His Excellency Kim Jong Un, will continue in partnership with our Government leaders to build on these diplomatic relations started by the Great Leader President Kim IL Sung, and to expand and strengthen on the Agreements that DPRK has with other RSA Government Departments such as Sport & Recreation and Cultural Affairs.
As our respective countries are both member-states of the United Nations, South Africa and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea must continue with vigour using that platform to reach out to each other and to the other countries to defend global peace for the social and economic common good of all humanity.
As Government of South Africa we will thus always support any genuine endeavour for the favourable and sustainable inter-relations between north and South Korea, which in turn will benefit South Africa tremendously in the construction of socio-economic development, and to help bring about our country’s respective UN Millennium Development Goals in genuine reality.
In cognisance that co-existence can never be imposed on any sovereign country, thus genuine peace can only be derived from a sincere respect of diversity in culture, history, ideology and governance systems.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me re-affirm on behalf of our ANC-led Government, that South Africa continues to avail herself the opportunity to renew to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the assurance of our highest consideration to cooperate and partner for the sake of all our peoples’ livelihood and our countries’ prosperity, respectively.
A Hearty Congratulations on the occasion of the Centenary of Birth of the Great Leader President KIM IL SUNG.
I thank you all.
Enquiries:
Nomsa Hani
Tel: 012 3934469 or 021 4677023
Fax: 012 3934614 or 021 4614174
Cell: 082 772 2053
E-mail: HaniNomsa@saps.org.za
