80th Anniversary of Founding of Workers’ Party of Korea
October 10, 1945

Health Care Needs of the People Given Priority

Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and President of State Affairs of the DPRK, visited the newly built Pyongyang General Hospital on February 27, 2025.
The hospital was officially inaugurated on October 7, 2025.

During the pandemic five years ago, the Workers’ Party of Korea and its General Secretary Kim Jong Un made plans to modernize the entire health care system in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). One of the key developments in this regard was the building of the state-of-the-art Pyongyang General Hospital which was inaugurated by Kim Jong Un on October 7, 2025, to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

At the inauguration Kim Jong Un said, amongst other things:

“Comrades,

“The long-awaited moment has come at last, when we are proclaiming the inauguration of this hospital. I am proud that we have achieved the first result of the public health revolution, which our Party decided to launch in order to protect our valuable lives and inject vigour into our precious living. I also find it intensely moving that we have managed to translate into reality something that was one of our ideals some years ago.

“Modern medical facilities are indispensable in ensuring that the working people enjoy the rights granted by the state.

“Our country’s public health system is most advantageous and people-oriented in that it values the people’s lives most and the state takes responsibility for the health of the entire population. Yet, in terms of material and technical foundations, the public health sector is weaker than any other sector; hospital facilities in particular are outdated.

“That is why, long ago, I conceived a plan of building a first-rate general hospital that would perform the functions and role of the backbone in our country’s public health sector, and I ensured that necessary preparations were made for several years.

“The Pyongyang General Hospital is a modern medical centre, whose architectural style, components and space environment are designed to help patients remain stable both mentally and psychologically, and which meets the general requirements of modern architecture. The specialized facilities and equipment of all its systems meet all health and hygienic standards, and they help ensure the scientific accuracy and smoothness of medical service.

“The construction of the hospital was costly, but I am really pleased that we now have a perfect hospital that can provide our people with an excellent environment for medical treatment and advanced medical service. And my pride in waging the revolution is greater than ever before. […]

“I would like to affirm that the vitality of the policies pursued by the Workers’ Party of Korea lies in their absolutely people-oriented character. Availing myself of this happy opportunity, I would like to express my special thanks to the officers and soldiers of our Guards Unit, all the construction workers and the staff of design institutions, who have made devoted, sincere efforts to build this excellent hospital, true to the Party’s policy and decision on the development of the public health sector. Also, I would like to congratulate the officials, doctors, nurses and other employees of the hospital, who are present here … in getting posted to work at this excellent hospital and with an ennobling mission of serving the people. […]

“I expect that standard-bearers and dedicated personnel who will play the major role in modernizing the public health sector will be trained here, and that new models and fine experience in treatment, scientific research, service and management will be created here and will spread across the country.”

Kim Jong Un called on the medical staff selected to work at the Pyongyang General Hospital to care for the state-of-the-art equipment and to constantly upgrade their knowledge and skills as they are not only entrusted to serve the people with the highest quality care but, as the Pyongyang General Hospital is a teaching hospital, to pass on their training and knowledge.

“As I mentioned before, all the duties of the Pyongyang General Hospital are of key importance in carrying out the public health revolution, many of which are pioneering projects involving new research, application, introduction and formulation. Currently, our projects are progressing slowly and inadequately, being bound by unrealistic methods of management and old-fashioned laws,” Kim Jong Un added.

“We should go full steam ahead, without any further delay, with the work of fundamentally improving the established institutional mechanisms which, though remaining in force for several decades, have lost their vitality and bring no substantial benefit to the people, as well as the structural systems and irrational methods of operation which are not in keeping with the changing reality and hinder the development of the public health sector. […] The word revolution itself means a struggle to replace everything old and backward with something new and advanced, and it inevitably goes with qualitative change.

“We must solve this problem without fail if we are to ensure that the results of the public health revolution, which we achieve with so much effort, make a substantial contribution to protecting the people’s lives and promoting their health, and to provide a guarantee for the sustained and long-term development of our socialist public health sector which is responsible for the health of the entire population.”

Kim Jong Un noted that the overall public health sector in the DPRK is weaker than other sectors because of wrong ways of thinking and methods of work that have been prevalent in health care and that solving this problem is part of the mission and responsibility of the public health law which is “designed to maintain the people-oriented character of our socialist public health care system and accelerate its development.”

He said that “Hospitals should preferentially be prepared in both material and technological terms to introduce the latest achievements of medical science and technology into clinical work. This alone will provide the basis on which to develop the public health law of the country and advance its medical science and technology quickly.”

He called on the Party central leadership to ensure that the Pyongyang General Hospital fully performs its mission as the central base in facilitating the development of the country’s medical and other public health organs so as to realize the Party’s intention of putting the public health care sector onto the most advanced level by strongly pushing ahead with its renovation.

In the course of his speech Kim Jong Un explained that in the architectural design of the hospital and the surrounding areas, down to the smallest detail, nothing had been left to chance in order to enhance the comfort and recovery of the patients and ensure their mental and physical well-being.

At the end of his speech to the hospital personnel and guests he noted:

“Today we have made a huge step forward in the journey for the public health revolution. Yet, this is only a new landmark and another starting point for us. Building modern health care facilities should be continued and steadily promoted until all the people in the country have full access to beneficial medical service.”

“Comrades, let us work as hard as we can for a more beautiful future, when our people will enjoy a rich and cultured life in happiness maintaining their good health. I hope that the Pyongyang General Hospital will remain forever a facility that injects the vigour of life and inexhaustible vitality into our people, a place that defends their health and laughter.” Kim Jong Un concluded.

(With files from KCNA. Photos: KCNA.)

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