Key Industrial Sectors Which Form Lifeline of National Economy
Metal Industry
The Report to the 8th Congress of the Workers'
Party of Korea (WPK)
stressed the need to better grasp the science and
technology of the
metal industry "to perfect our own system of
iron making, expand its capacity and radically
increase iron and steel
production."
Existing metal production must be renovated
through the building of
new energy-saving blast furnaces in the major iron
works and steel
plants, and "to invigorate the production of iron
ore and the use of brown coal in the northern
areas for the production
of pig iron."
Chemical Industry
Sunchon Phosphate Fertilizer Factory opened May 1,
2020 as part of the construction of a
new chemical
industry base.
The chemical sector is considered a "core
industry" and "lifeline
for the construction of the self-supporting
economy and the improvement
of the people's standard of living."
The central task of the chemical industry "is to
give precedence to
building up our own technical forces, step up the
improvement of its
structure, and drastically increase the production
of chemical goods necessary for the national
economy and the
improvement of the people's standard of living."
The chemical industry
must rely "on our own raw materials" and raise its
scientific level to ensure it serves the aim of
self-reliance.
Electricity Generation
Ryongson Youth Power Station
The production of electricity is key to economic
self-reliance and
to guarantee the stable development and growth of
the national economy
and the material and cultured standard of
living for all. The electric power industry needs
"to readjust and
reinforce its production foundations as a whole
and expand them." This
includes "the construction of tidal power stations
under long-term and medium-term strategies and
launching in real
earnest the founding of the nuclear power
industry."
Mining
The Report "stressed the need to attach
importance to the mining
industry and shore it up for the sake of the
normal development of the
national economy. The basic task of the mining
industry is to reinforce and expand production to
meet the needs of the
national economy for nonferrous metal and
non-metallic minerals during
the new five-year plan period."
Coal Industry
Due to the suffocating U.S. killer sanctions and
blockade, the coal
industry has become an important outpost of
self-reliance in the DPRK,
as it has plentiful internal supplies and
extensive knowledge and experience of coal mining.
The Report outlined
a plan to propel forward "the work of intensively
supplying equipment,
materials, labour and funds to the coal
industry, securing more coal faces by giving
precedence to prospecting
and tunnelling, putting efforts into the
development of the soft coal
industry, pushing forward the work of improving
the working and living conditions of coal miners
as a priority task for
increased coal production and taking measures for
the effective use of
coal."
Machine Industry
Display of DPRK-produced farm equipment
The Report defined the machine industry as an
important sector
leading and propelling forward the overall economy
and its many
sectors. It demanded an intense examination of the
current state and orientation of the machine
industry. The aim is to
change its direction to the creation and
development of "modern and
high-performance machine products including
machine tools, vehicles, building machines,
electric machines, mining
machines and hydraulic machines."
Agriculture
Large-scale greenhouse production of produce
"The main targets set forth for the agricultural
sector are matters
of paramount importance for the state that must be
attained whatever
the cost in order to ensure self-sufficiency in
food
supply."
Samjiyon Potato Flour Factory
Kosan Fruit Processing Factory
Forestry
The Report underlined the need for the forestry
sector to strengthen
its own material and technological foundations and
satisfactorily meet
the need of the national economy for timber
while keeping in mind the balance of timber
production and
afforestation.
Tree nursery
Transportation
The
Report outlined targets to improve and modernize
rail transport
throughout the country ensuring its safe
operation. The Pyongyang Metro
received special attention with projects to
update its operations and renovate its stations. A
necessity exists
throughout the country "to produce a larger number
of means of public
transport, including new-type subway trains,
trolley
buses, tramcars and buses" to make travel more
convenient for people.
Pyongyang subway
Construction Sector
New housing built to replace areas damaged by
typhoons
The construction sector is tasked with building
more and better
housing for the people to meet modern cultured
living standards and
"radically change the appearance of the
country."
Two fronts exist simultaneously in the
construction sector:
"industrial construction for strengthening the
economic foundations of
the country, and construction to meet the material
and
cultural needs of the people."
Specifically, a goal is to construct 10,000 new
flats a year in
Pyongyang alone during each of the coming five
years to meet the needs
of its citizens. Another is immediately to build
25,000 houses in the Komdok mining area in the
east. Komdok is a
leading nonferrous mineral producer where a large
contingent of workers
lives. Last September 3, Typhoon Maysak hit
Komdok causing catastrophic damage with floods and
landslides. The plan
is "to build Komdok into a mining city with no
comparison in the world."
"The basic tasks facing the building materials
industry during the
new five-year plan period is to attain the goal of
producing 8 million
tons of cement and ensure self-sufficiency in
finishing materials."
To achieve this goal the existing cement
factories need renovation
and "new large-capacity, up-to-date cement
factories" must be built "in
areas with favourable conditions for materials
and electricity supply and transport."
Self-reliance in finishing materials is
imperative to meet the large
demand. Paints using locally available raw
materials have to become
more available along with roofing materials.
On the front of producing building materials, the
plan is "to
construct more zero-carbon and zero-energy
buildings in keeping with
the world trend in architectural development." The
"provinces should produce various building
materials in large
quantities" that "rely on their locally available
raw materials" giving
rise to sizeable new value for reinvestment.
Fishing
"The Report defined the fishing industry as one
of the three fields
directly related to the people's diet. The fishing
industry should
modernize fishing vessels and implements, put
fishing
on a scientific basis and build up fishery
stations and ship repair
yards. It is necessary to systematically increase
seafood production by
substantially conserving and propagating the
nation's
aquatic resources in a planned way and launching a
mass drive for
aquaculture."
The Report discussed other sectors such as
communications with plans
to update its infrastructure and "turn mobile
communications into a
next-generation one" to develop the conditions
so "people in all parts of the country, ranging
from cities to remote
mountain villages can enjoy a better cultural and
emotional life."
The discussion also dealt with problems and
actions to be taken in
state-run commerce, public catering and welfare
services, and the tasks
necessary to support the people and promote
their material and spiritual well-being. The aim
is to create "a new
socialist service culture of our own style."
"The Report presented land management and
ecological environment
protection as important affairs for protecting the
lives and health of
the people and improving the landscape of the
country." The plan is to make decisive progress in
land development to
preserve and protect the environment. Of
importance is to grasp
"through surveys the overall situation of the
environment including forests; to deal with their
seasonal and annual
changes correctly and promptly; to enact laws and
regulations for the
protection of the land and environment and
implement them strictly to prevent natural
disasters through an
intensified campaign of afforestation and water
conservation; to make
great efforts for road construction and
management,
and push ahead with eastern and western coastal
improvement projects in
a big way through national mobilization to protect
the lives and safety
of the people, conserve land, and spruce up
the country's coastal areas as befits a maritime
nation."
Fish farms are being developed throughout the
country
Fish processing plant
Building City Infrastructure
Redevelopment of Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang
The Report stressed the importance of city
management, which is
directly related to the life of the people, and
set forth relevant
tasks dealing with housing, water, sewage
treatment
plants, and the prevention of environmental
pollution, and to enhance
landscaping of the cities and their parks and
recreation grounds.
Tourism
Yangdok Hotsprings resort
The Report raised the issue of boosting tourism
so that people
around the world can become better acquainted with
Koreans and vice
versa. Specifically it referenced the Mt Kumgang
area, the Port of Kosong, the Pirobong
mountaineering tourist area, and
the Haegumgang coastal park and the necessity for
new construction "in
harmony with the beautiful scenery," which
expresses "the emotional and aesthetic feelings of
our people."
In sum, "the fundamental requirement and
direction in improving the
management of the socialist economy are to put the
masses of the
people, the masters of society, at the centre of
all considerations and give priority to their
demands and interests."
Dealing with the Relation Between Urban and
Rural Life
Samjiyon has been redeveloped as a model city in
the mountains
The Report discussed the necessity "to eliminate
disparities between
the working class and the peasantry, the gaps
between industry and
agriculture and differences between the urban
and rural areas."
The general goal as defined in the Report is not
to eliminate the
distinct qualities of counties but in fact retain
and develop their
"inherent characteristics." The local economy is
encouraged to use "the raw and other materials
available to it in
accordance with the regional characteristics" and
for the people
through "the Party committees and People's
committees to
become a powerful engine propelling the
development of their regions,
the master of the local economy and administrator
responsible for the
livelihood of the people in their regions."
National Defence
Soldiers assist in reconstruction of housing after
recent natural disasters
The discussion on the economy dealt with the
reality that investment
must be set aside for national defence. "As long
as imperialism remains
on the earth and the danger of war of
aggression by the hostile forces against our state
remains, the
historic mission of our revolutionary armed forces
can never be changed
and our national defence capability must be
steadily
bolstered along the track of new development."
The Report makes the sober assessment that the
armed forces of the
U.S. imperialists still occupy the south of their
country and have
numerous military bases throughout Japan and the
Pacific Ocean armed with the most advanced
weaponry including nuclear
bombs. Within this situation the defence industry
must reaffirm its
great tradition of self-reliance and capability
and "rapidly advance the Korean People's Army from
a conventional type
into an elite hi-tech one by developing military
science and technology
and inventing more advanced weapons and
combat equipment." The primary target of the
defence sector must be to
make "military equipment intelligent,
high-performing, precise,
unmanned and light."
As always, the task of defence of the country can
only be
accomplished with the mass mobilization of the
people to prepare to
resist the invaders and drive them from Korea. The
"all-people resistance" is "a matter of crucial
importance that should
never be neglected in firmly consolidating the
national defence
capability." The Report stresses that
strengthening
national defence is crucial "until the vicious
cycle of the brink of
war and detente, tension and dialogue is removed
once and for all and
such words as threat and blackmail by the hostile
forces disappear from this land."
Science and Technology
Myohyangsan Medical Appliances Centre
The Report underscores the importance of
developing "science and
technology as a crucial task and an optimum policy
in socialist
construction." Goals have been set to advance
science
and technology in each sector of the economy "as
well as the relevant
ways and means to achieve that goal." Within this
aim, all sectors will
"share scientific research findings and
vigorously push forward with the work of making
all the people well
versed in science and technology."
The Report raised the general goal to develop
mass education to turn
the people and country "into an educational power,
a talent power, by
bringing about radical improvement in
education." Increased investments in education
must be made at all
levels including enhancing the abilities and level
of teachers and
furnishing the material requirements of education
including new schools.
Increased investments must also be directed to
public health to
improve the quality of medical care and treatment.
Again, self-reliance
is key in providing the material means of
health care including pharmaceuticals and hospital
supplies and to
"build up the ranks of medical workers and create
a reliable
anti-epidemic basis for coping with whatever world
health
crisis may erupt."
The Report also made serious analysis of the work
in the field of
art and literature, the media and sports, and set
forth tasks to usher
in a new era of efflorescence of all fronts in
culture, sports and recreation.
Ryugyong Ophthalmic Hospital
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 5 - February 21, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/MS51055.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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