By Mang Jiuchen
Kim Jong-un, chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), called on all party members to concentrate all the efforts on socialist economic construction at the Third Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK. It indicated that DPRK’s socialist construction has entered a new stage.
During the past year since the DPRK assumed the new strategy, Kim frequently inspected factories, construction sites, nursing homes and power stations.
At the same time, the DPRK launched a campaign to increase production, encouraging the whole society to actively engage in economic construction and strive to overfulfil its annual production target. The campaign achieved satisfactory results.
“When we strive hard with an indefatigable spirit on the principle of self-reliance by adhering to the Party’s new strategic line, our country’s strength will redouble and our people’s dreams and ideals will come true,” Kim said in his 2019 New Year’s speech, emphasizing that the might of the independent socialist economy should be further strengthened.
At the First Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK held in April, Kim said that the major task facing the DPRK in the struggle of the present stage for building a powerful socialist country is to firmly consolidate the material foundation of socialism by concentrating all the efforts of the country on the economic construction, and the trend of present political situation demands that the DPRK hold higher the banner of self-supporting and self-reliance.
In the streets of Pyongyang, publicity posters calling for self-reliance and self-support of the people’s economy and improvement of the people’s living standards are seen everywhere, showing the country’s determination and will to develop its economy.
This year, the DPRK has reached important outcomes in infrastructure construction and national economic development, the Korean Central News Agency reported in May.
From January to April, the country rebuilt and repaired more than 370 kilometers of roads and over 120 bridges, constructed river dams that can hold 523,400 cubic meters of water, renovated dams that can retain 989,000 cubic meters of water, and dredged more than 760 kilometers of watercourses.
The country’s power sector organized power plants to renovate production equipment, accelerate technological transformation and step up the construction of hydroelectric power stations, including Orangchon and Tanchon power stations.
In addition, Sunchon, Tokchon, and Bukchang districts stepped up efforts to secure new coal beds with rich reserves and favorable mining conditions and worked hard to increase production, in a bid to provide large amounts of coal for various sectors of the national economy.
Metallurgical plants such as the Kim Chaek iron and steel complex took dynamic efforts to improve iron-making, steel-making, and steel rolling technologies, continuously enhancing iron production.
The DPRK has also taken a series of measures to improve the living standards of urban and rural residents.
In mid-April this year, the Taesong department store officially opened in Pyongyang after more than a year of renovation and expansion, becoming the largest integrated store in the eastern part of the city.
With a basement and five floors above the ground, the department store enables citizens to purchase a wide variety of supplies ranging from food, clothing, cosmetics, furniture and home appliances.
In late May, the 22nd Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair was held in Pyongyang’s Three Revolution Exhibition hall, attracting 450 companies from China, Russia, Pakistan, Poland, as well as other countries and regions.
A Chinese businessman who had come to Pyongyang many times for the exhibition told People’s Daily that the scale of this year’s exhibition was the largest in history, and the number of exhibitors was about twice that of the last year. The booth in the exhibition hall was booked up very soon, and many booths were arranged outside the exhibition hall.
Electronics, food, and products of the light industry were displayed for exhibition and purchase.
Nowadays in Pyongyang, workers are busy constructing, and new residential buildings are sprouting up. Shops and retail outlets have been opened one after another, putting new products on the shelves. The people are wearing bright-colored clothes. The implementation of the new strategic path is bringing gratifying changes to North Korea’s economic and social development.
