Xiaohaerbaling Conference

Pyongyang, August 10 (KCNA) -- In the glorious history of the anti-Japanese revolutionary struggle Xiaohaerbaling conference has been recorded as a historic gathering of weighty significance in making preparations to actively meet the great event of the liberation of the country.

In the 1940s the Japanese imperialists ignited aggressive wars in Southeast Asia while carrying out the large-scale "punitive operations" against the Korean People's Revolutionary Army (KPRA) and oppressing the Korean people more viciously than ever before.

President Kim Il Sung was sanguine about victory in the revolution even in the grave situation and convened a conference of military and political cadres of the KPRA in Xiaohaerbaling, Dunhua County on August 10 and 11, 1940.

The President set it as a new strategic task to preserve and build up the forces of the KPRA, the pivotal hard core of the Korean revolution, and to train them into competent political and military cadres as part of preparations to actively meet the liberation of the country.

In order to carry out the strategic task, the President adopted the policy of switching over from large-unit operations to small-unit actions.

In line with the said policy, the small units and groups of the KPRA delivered a telling political and military blow to Japanese imperialists everywhere through brave mobile warfare and inspired the people to the anti-Japanese struggle. In this way, they created a favorable condition to launch final offensive operations for the liberation of the country.

Looking back on the conference, the President said, "If we had continued with large-unit operations in pursuit of only immediate successes, unable to see the trend of developments at the opportune moments, it would have been impossible to preserve our force and we would have been wiped out, to be remembered by history as mere martyrs." -0-