DPRK Sets Line of March to Further the Cause of Peace and National Development in 2024
The 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) held its 9th Enlarged Plenum from December 26 to 30, 2023, presided over by the WPK's General Secretary Kim Jong Un, where the achievements of 2023 were summed up and the course set for 2024. Also present as observers were various officials of departments of the WPK Central Committee, leading officials of various government ministries, national institutions, major industrial establishments and regional and municipal management committees. The Plenum was convened in an enthusiastic atmosphere where the WPK under the leadership of General Secretary Kim Jong Un could look back with pride on the achievements of 2023 while making a sober assessment of what lies ahead and laying down plans to continue the nation-building project of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Measures to Enhance Peace and Security
Kim Jong Un stated that actions of the U.S. military and its puppets in the Republic of Korea (ROK) have escalated tensions and have brought the Korean Peninsula closer to the brink of a nuclear war. Kim Jong Un noted that during 2023 the U.S. introduced all manner of nuclear assets into the south of the Korean Peninsula including, for the first time in more than 40 years, a nuclear submarine, for the first time ever a nuclear strategic bomber and the frequent dispatch of nuclear-powered carrier task forces.
Meanwhile, a record number of U.S.-led joint military exercises of varying scales were staged throughout 2023, including ones involving the ROK and Japan. Kim Jong Un noted that the U.S. threats against the DPRK have escalated and he warned that the level of provocations by hostile forces is aggravating the dangerous security environment on the Korean Peninsula, making the possibility of war a distinct reality, not some mere abstract concept. The prevailing grave situation requires the DPRK to steadily step up the work to mount an overwhelming response, with full military combat readiness, to deter any form of provocation or hostile action at a moment's notice.
In his report the General Secretary noted that with the election of the Yoon Suk-Yeol puppet government in the ROK which took office in 2022, relations between the DPRK and the ROK have steadily deteriorated. As a result the DPRK withdrew from the September 19 North-South Military Agreement as it was no longer serving any purpose as an instrument to promote peace between the two sides. This is particularly the case in light of provocative acts by the ROK along the Military Demarcation Line. He also noted that the whole ROK military is being strengthened.
In that vein, measures to be taken in 2024 by the Korean People's Army (KPA) were also elaborated by Kim Jong Un, including that the KPA should closely monitor the dynamic and acute security situation on the Korean Peninsula and take more thorough military measures to firmly safeguard the security of the state. It was made clear that in the event of any possible nuclear crisis, the KPA must act with resolve including being fully prepared to disarm the whole territory of the ROK by mobilizing all physical means and forces including its nuclear forces.
Kim Jong Un called on the munitions and armaments manufacturers to step up production, including production of nuclear weapons. He also set forth the main targets and tasks for the field of missile development and production. Regarding the field of space development, its work is to launch three additional reconnaissance satellites in 2024. On the front of shipbuilding the plan is to enhance the underwater and surface combat strength of the navy. He also set forth the tasks for those overseeing national defence to complete combat preparations. These preparations include enhancing the operational control level of the Worker-Peasant Red Guards (the DPRK's largest civil defence force) by commanding officers, as well as raising the combat capabilities of its members by steadily improving the content and methods of training to keep pace with those that threaten the DPRK.
The remarks by Kim Jong Un underscore the grave security threats to the DPRK and the region as a whole posed by the U.S. and its aggressive nuclear weapons policy. The current situation is an escalation of the constant provocations by the U.S. over the past 70 years, as the U.S. becomes more and more desperate in the face of its domestic crises and its failures internationally, including its inability to undermine the steadfastness of the DPRK through unjust and illegal sanctions and other forms of aggression.
The U.S. has consistently refused to sign a peace treaty with the DPRK to end the Korean war and normalize relations which would be to the benefit of both countries. In the face of this reality, the DPRK is exercising its right as a sovereign country to defend itself by all means at its disposal.
Putting the Goal of National Reunification on Hold
Relations between the DPRK and ROK have suffered significant setbacks in recent years with the U.S.-engineered election of the anti-communist Yoon Suk-Yeol as President of the ROK in 2022. Yoon's kowtowing to the demands of the U.S. imperialists on the Korean Peninsula has caused the ongoing work to fulfil the ardent desire of the Korean people for the peaceful independent reunification of Korea to be put on the back burner because the DPRK does not have a sincere interlocutor with which it can make headway on this crucial work.
Under these conditions, in his report to the 9th Enlarged Plenum of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK, Kim Jong Un remarked: "The general conclusion drawn by our Party, looking back upon the longstanding north-south relations is that reunification can never be achieved with ROK authorities who declare 'unification by absorption' and 'unification under liberal democracy' as their state policy, which is in sharp contradiction with our line of national reunification based on one nation and one state with two systems."[1]
He also pointed out that it is a mistake to try to work with
those who publicly define the DPRK as the "principal enemy" and are
seeking only to collaborate with foreign hostile forces to engineer a
"collapse of power" in the DPRK and enforce "unification by absorption"
between the two Koreas. It
is a disservice to the dignity and stature of the DPRK to discuss the
issue of reunification with those who are mere colonial stooges of the
U.S., Kim Jong Un noted. He called for a readjusting and reforming of
the organizations responsible for relations with the ROK in the face of
this reality. In a later speech on January 15 at the 14th Supreme
People's Assembly, Kim Jong Un further elaborated on this readjustment,
including the proposal that the "Monument to the Three Charters for
National Reunification" standing at the southern gateway to the capital
city of Pyongyang be removed. The monument was taken down not long
after.
Strengthening DPRK's Nation-Building Project
Hwanghae Steel and Iron Complex
In his report to the 9th Plenum, Secretary General Kim Jong Un outlined the fact that in every sector of the economy, the 2023 targets were over-fulfilled thanks to the leadership of the WPK and the resolve and mettle of the people who demonstrated a high level of political resolve across the country.
The report of the 9th Plenum noted that the 12 goals for national economic development were all attained for the year including 103 per cent of grain production, 102 per cent of rolled steel, 131 per cent of ferrous metals, 105 per cent of marine products and 109 per cent in housing construction, among other sectors. It was noted as well that in comparison with 2020, the year the COVID 19 pandemic set in globally, the production of rolled steel went up 1.9 times, machine tools 5.1 times, cement 1.4 times and fertilizer 1.3 times. It was noted that the GDP grew 1.4 times as compared to 2020.
Thermal power plant
The report emphasized that the over-fulfillment of grain production thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the farmers and agricultural workers was the most significant achievement of the economy in 2023. Based on these successes, the goal of 2024 is to further raise the standard of living of the people and revolutionize socialist construction by applying the conclusions and spirit of the 9th Enlarged Plenum in a scientific and practical way.
The achievement of these nation-building goals in the economy are all the more admirable given that the DPRK has had to face decades of unjust and brutal economic sanctions engineered by the U.S. to effect regime change in that country and impose a liberal-democratic system where foreign oligarchs can plunder the nation. The people of the DPRK have chosen their system and, as the architects of their own future, show that a people who have taken their destiny into their own hands and are defending it against great odds, can achieve miracles.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 13 - February 23, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS541323.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca