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N. Korean leader prefers 'socialism' to 'communism': official
MOUNT KUMGANG, North Korea, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has expressed his will to bolster socialism in his nation, explicitly referring to it over communism which he said was realistically difficult to attain, a North Korean official was quoted as saying Monday.
Kim said recently that he will "work on socialism in earnest," while characterizing communism as "hard to fulfill," according to the unidentified official. | | Data picture |
The official was talking to reporters from a South Korean press pool covering reunions of separated families at the North's Mount Kumgang resort. The pool report did not identify the official who was described as being involved in the reunion events.
When asked to elaborate, the North Korean official explained, "Communism is meant to have a one-class society which does not distinguish the class that exploits from the one that is exploited. But it is hard for the system to exist as long as American imperialism persists."
The official was responding to media reports that the communist state's constitution revised in April droped the use of the term "communism."
The Radio Free Asia, a Washington-based broadcaster, reported last week that the new constitution refers instead to the "songun (military-first)" policy of the leader Kim Jong-il, an apparent bid to give more legitimacy to Kim's rule.
South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, has said it obtained the revised version of the constitution and was analyzing its contents.
Academically, both socialism and communism are based on the principle of goods and services production controlled by a centralized organization and output owned publicly. But under socialism, the output would be distributed according to individuals' production capacity, whereas under a communist system, the output would be distributed according to individuals' needs.
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