백지장도 맞들면 낫다

It is better to lift even a sheet of paper together.

Chung-guyok, Pyongyang, April 2nd, 1950

With the return of the Korean Volunteer Army from abroad, bringing with it thousands and thousands of experienced combat veterans and fresh equipment - the time had come to formalize the power of the north, evolving from the Korean Constabulary of years past into a formal Korean Army - a Korean People's Army, dedicated to the defense and liberation of the entire peninsula.

Choe Yong-gon glimmered with pride upon the speaking platform outside the new government quarter under construction in Pyongyang. A token of some of the most well-equipped troops in the north stood alongside him, with their heavy tanks and modern submachine guns.

"The Korean People's Army," he proclaimed, "stands with one goal at its heart: Korea! Korea for one and for all, Korea for the worker, the farmer, the peasant, the laborer, and the soldier. The soldier of the north sweeps his opponents aside with the utmost ease, with the utmost experience and confidence in his abilities, his weaponry, and the comrades he has at his side."

While they had no state yet to defend, it was clear that their mandate was the entire Korean peninsula. The People's Committee bowed in reverence to the power of the People's Army as they marched past the new government quarter along streets pointing south...

To be continued...