On March 20 1985, 50 participants attended the first London seminar on the Juche Idea. In his keynote address, Keith Bennett said: “Today has been a historic occasion when the banner of the Juche Idea, the banner of the Age of Independence, has been raised in London, the heart of the old and dying word.”

Banner of Juche Raised in London. 20 March 1985.

The following Press Release was issued following the Seminar on the Juche Idea in London on 20 March 1985:

After three months of preparations,50 participants assembled amidst great enthusiasm on March 20 1985 for the first London seminar on the Juche Idea, held to study the immortal treatise The Workers Party of Korea is a Juche-type revolutionary party which inherited the glorious tradition of the Down-With-Imperialism Union by the dear leader comrade Kim Jong Il.

The keynote address to the Seminar was delivered by Comrade Keith Bennett, Political Director of Mosquito Press.

Organisations and individuals participating included Gerry MacLochlainn , a prominent Irish Republican and former Prisoner of War; Roddy Connolly, great-grandson of James Connolly, the Irish revolutionary leader; Zolile Hamilton Keke, Chief Representative in Britain of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania; Molephe Pheto, Representative in Britain of the Black Consciousness Movement 0f Azania; Gorkeh Nkrumah, son of Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana; the Workers’ Party of Nigeria; Morenga Bambata, Representative in Britain of the All-African People’s Revolutionary Party; Melville Fletcher, former South African political prisoner; an Indian Workers Association delegation headed by Harpal Brar; Dipak Basu, representative of the Asian Collective of East London; delegations of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Liberation Front, the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam, the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organisation and the National Liberation Front of Tamil Eelam; a delegation of the General Union of Palestinian Students; a representative of the British Anti-Zionist Organisation; Matt Lygate, Chairman of the Scottish Republican Socialist Party; Peter Berresford Ellis, anti- imperialist author and editor of James Connolly’s writings; representatives of the journal “islands war serving” and the Scottish communist Republican Party; anti-imperialist author and editor of James Connolly’s writings; Janet St.John-Austen, Joint Secretary of the Korea Friendship Committee; representatives of the Channel Islands war and the Scottish communist Republican Party; anti-imperialist personages including doctor A N May.

The Seminar chairman was Hugh Goodacre, member of the Executive Committee of Mosquito Press.

Besides those in attendance, many other organisations and individuals sent papers or messages of greetings. Among them were: Nan Milton, daughter of the great Scottish revolutionary leader John McLean; Tony Haq, Chairman of the Bangla Desh Workers’ Association; Malcolm Pitt, Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Supporters Group in Britain; the Welsh Socialist Republican Movement; the family of former South African political prisoner David Kitson; Ace Kelly, chairman of the Stoke Newington and Hackney Defence Campaign; the Irish Civil Rights Association; the cultural organisation African Dawn; The South West African Peoples Organisation; Irish republican Prisoner of War Vincent Donnelly; Sephora Davis, widow of former Member of Parliament and Korea solidarity campaigner S O Davis; Michael Sherringham, former English language teacher in China; anti-imperialist journalist Larry Jagan; Miriam James come, member of the Labour Committee on Ireland; Jacqueline Kay, Ireland solidarity activist and university lecturer; and others.

The meeting hall was decorated with brightly-coloured pictures of socialist construction in the fatherland of Juche, with Korean national flags and a red banner inscribed with words “Long live the immortal Juche Idea!”

Respectively respectfully displayed behind the rostrum were portraits of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and the dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il. The Song of General Kim Il Sung was played at the opening of each session of the seminar.

All the speakers praised the great leader, the dear leader and the Juche Idea and displayed a high estimation of the immortal achievements of the Korean revolution.

The meeting unanimously adopted a message to the great leader and a message to the dear leader. Both messages expressed the profound gratitude of the participants for the inestimable benefits of the Juche Idea as a guide to the world’s people who desire Chajusong/independence, and sent warmest salutations to the continued success of the Korean people’s struggle for socialist construction and reunification of their divided homeland under the banner of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung.

The keynote address to the Seminar was delivered by Comrade Keith Bennett, Political Director of Mosquito Press, who concluded with the words:

“Today has been a historic occasion when the banner of the Juche Idea, the banner of the Age of Independence, has been raised in London, the heart of the old and dying word. This is but a first step in our continuing work to hold high the banner of the New World, and to join the revolutionary struggle of the peoples of the world who are fighting against imperialism and for independence.”

Read the full text of the speech.

Following the conclusion of the Seminar a reception was held to celebrate its success. In a cordial and fraternal atmosphere, comrades from various countries proposed toasts to the good health and long life of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung and the dear leader Comrade Kim Jong Il.