By Otis Grotewohl
October 11, 2024

For 79 years, the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) has been a revolutionary socialist party dedicated to representing the interests and aspirations of the Korean working class. The WPK developed through an intense struggle for liberation and independence, and it is the leading party within the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

WPK as it exists today was founded in 1949 from a merger between the Workers’ Party of North Korea (WPNK) and Workers’ Party of South Korea (WPSK). In 1945, the Workers’ Party of North Korea was established through a unification of the Communist Party (CP) and the New Democratic Party (CP). The South Korean Workers’ Party, on the other hand, was created as a combination of both the South Korean CP and NDP, as well as another smaller tendency known as the People’s Party.

At the time of their formation, the Great Leader (Suryong) Kim Il Sung praised the consolidation of different revolutionary parties into the two Workers’ Parties as a significant social gain for the Korean working class.

Kim Il Sung wrote: “The foundation of the Workers’ Party representing and defending the interests of the laboring masses of Korea through the merger of the Communist Party and the New Democratic Party is the greatest event in the political life of our people at the present time. This great event has aroused profound social interest and focused the attention of the entire people. We have triumphantly completed the foundation of a unified party of the laboring masses in north Korea.” (Kim Il Sung: Selected Works, Vol. I, pp. 102-120, 9/26/46)

Establishment of Workers’ Party of Korea

Japanese imperialism ruled Korea from 1910 until 1945, and U.S. war hawks decided they wanted to replace the Japanese rulers as the colonial power. Under the leadership of Kim Il Sung, Korean revolutionaries defeated Japanese occupiers in 1945.

U.S. imperialists meddled in the Korean elections in 1947 to prevent Korean reunification. Through their influence in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. forced the passage of a “resolution” to hold separate elections in South Korea under U.S. supervision. In what was known as the “U.N. Little Assembly,” the U.S. illegally divided Korea in half, installing its own puppet regime in the southern peninsula. The U.S. made sure right-wing dictator Syngman Rhee was elected as president in July 1948.

In response to Washington’s arbitrary annexation, Korean communists and revolutionaries regrouped. The WPNK held its 2nd Congress in March 1948, and a special session of the Supreme People’s Assembly was conducted the next month in April. Both meetings resulted in a prevalent demand for a peaceful reunification of Korea.

Recognized as the most popular revolutionary both during and after the successful war against Japan, Kim Il Sung was declared the Supreme Leader by the Korean working class.

During the WPNK’s Second Congress, Kim Il Sung confirmed the Party’s demand for independence and sovereignty against the U.S. aggressors and their puppet allies. During that meeting, he proclaimed, “Our Party holds that a supreme legislative body for all Korea should be elected by secret ballot on the principle of universal, equal and direct suffrage.” (History of the Revolutionary Activities of President Kim Il Sung, page 214)

The WPK was created in June of 1949. The U.S. and its puppet government in South Korea have been hostile towards the WPK since its inception. Upon taking state power in 1948, the Syngman Rhee regime banned the WPSK through a “National Security Act,” and that prohibition also applies to the courageous WPK to this day.

Workers’ Party of Korea is a workers’ organization

U.S. imperialists, along with their capitalist lackeys in South Korea and Japan, have been attacking the Korean people ever since the U.S. carried out an open invasion of the DPRK on July 1, 1950. The U.S. tried to wipe out the whole population of the capital city of Pyongyang through various bombing campaigns between 1951 and 1953, during what was called the “Korean War” in the U.S.

The WPK stood defiant against the imperialists every time they carried out an assault, and the Korean people have not forgotten the Party’s dedication and perseverance in carrying out self-defense.

The WPK has refused to be intimidated by imperialist saber-rattling. The WPK and the DPRK have always rejected the illusion of “peaceful coexistence” with capitalism and imperialism. When Western powers attempted to divide the world socialist camp, pitting socialist countries against one another, the WPK and the DPRK unconditionally stood on the side of socialism against capitalist appeasement.

The WPK has carefully applied revolutionary socialism to the material conditions and unique culture of the Korean working class. In December 1955, Kim Il Sung presented an important speech to the Party Propaganda and Agitation Department entitled, “On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work.” In that speech, Kim Il Sung emphasized the significance of “Juche” theory as an implementation of “self-reliance” to achieve political, economic and military independence.

Juche theory has helped both the WPK and DPRK resist the type of counterrevolutions that other socialist countries and political parties have experienced. While many socialist governments were overthrown following the fall of the former Soviet Union, the WPK and the DPRK remained intact.

Furthermore, the WPK never conceded to class collaborative ideologies of “social democracy” or “Eurocommunism” and has instead endured vibrantly as a communist party of the working class.

The WPK applies its revolutionary essence dialectically. Kim Jong Un has been the DPRK’s Supreme Leader since 2011, and he maintains the same revolutionary legacy as his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father, Kim Jong Il. Kim Jong Un strengthened and advanced Juche theory in 2021 by devising the concept of a “People-First Principle.”

Imperialist provocations have forced the WPK and the DPRK to respond with strength in recent years. The WPK and the DPRK have both stood the test of time in maintaining independence, sovereignty and a socialist economy, in spite of imperialist attacks. Unlike capitalist parties that govern most countries, the WPK is a party that is made up of both working-class leadership and rank-and-file membership.

Throughout its tenure of challenges and tribulations, one optimistic slogan of solidarity that has traditionally been raised at worksites throughout the DPRK is “Forward! Workers’ Party members!” The WPK is a party that represents the class interests of all workers and oppressed.