For epochal progress in socialist construction

It is an important task set forth by the Eighth Congress of the WPK to clearly decide on the correct orientation and mission of the struggle aimed at steadily achieving fresh victories in socialist construction and take substantial measures to this end.

In the second chapter of the report the Supreme Leader analysed and reviewed the work of the economic and cultural construction, defence building, state and social administration, and the working people's organizations during the period under review, mainly focusing on the mistakes and lessons, and advanced important tasks for making new progress and development in the future.

He, first of all, made a strict and detailed analysis of the implementation of the five-year strategy for the national economic development and a new long-term plan.

The report severely criticized that the objectives for the growth of the national economy fell a long way short of implementation and consequently the people's living standards could not be improved remarkably, owing to the failure in the revolutionary improvement of the economic work under the protracted severe external and internal situations and in the face of unexpected challenges. It also dealt with depression in different sectors and its causes.

Analysing the subjective and objective factors which affected the implementation of the five-year strategy for the national economic development, it pointed out the aftermath of the most barbarous sanctions and blockade by the US and other hostile forces as the first objective factor.

Besides, severe natural disasters that hit the country every year and the world health crisis that broke out last year and became protracted were severe obstacles to the economic work, it analysed.

The report said that due to such obstacles, state investment and supplies intended to bolster the major economic sectors in the five-year strategy for the national economic development could not be carried out properly.

It made an analysis and appraisal of the Party Central Committee on the cause of non-fulfillment of the five-year strategy for the national economic development during the period under review, seriously pointing out that it could but draw a conclusion that if one ascribes its failure to objective conditions, he can do nothing and the action and role of the driving force will be unnecessary, and it is impossible to accelerate the revolutionary struggle and construction work unless the unfavourable external factors are removed.

The Party Central Committee analysed the current situation, in which the 5-year strategy for national economic development had not been properly set on the basis of scientific calculation and grounds, science and technology failed to actually play the role of propelling the economic work of the country and the work of readjusting and reinforcing the irrational economic work system and discipline was not properly done.

The report referred to the conclusive lesson that the economy of the country can never be boosted without breaking with the wrong ideological viewpoint, irresponsible working attitude, incompetence and obsolete working manner that have been prevalent so far.

Stressing the need to take steps for decisively switching the overall work of the Party and the state to be oriented to and encouraging fresh innovation, bold creation and steady advance and resolutely getting rid of the outdated work system, unreasonable and inefficient way of work and obstacles disturbing our advance, the report noted that only by doing so, is it possible to turn our struggle for socialist construction, including the one for attaining the future long-term goals of the national economy, into a great revolutionary undertaking aimed at bringing substantial well-being to the people.

The report clarified the strategy for the struggle in the economic field in the coming five years.

It stressed that our Party's economic strategy at the present stage is the one for readjustment and reinforcement aimed at putting our economy on a normal track to run smoothly without being affected by any external influence by restoring and readjusting the economic work and the organic relations among sectors and pushing ahead with the work for cementing the self-supporting foundations.

The general orientation of the five-year plan for the national economic development is to lay solid foundations for reenergizing the overall national economy and improving the people's standard of living by concentrating efforts on the main links in the whole chain of economic development.

The major tasks of the new five-year plan aim at focussing investment with the metal industry and chemical industry as key links so as to normalize production in all sectors of the national economy, consolidate the material and technical foundations of the agricultural field and supply enough raw and other materials to light industry for increased production of consumer goods.

The report brought for discussion the new five-year plan which had it as its goal to advance toward sustained economic growth and vivid improvement of the people's standard of living on the basis of the present situation and potentiality of the national economy.

The new five-year plan mainly presupposes that the Cabinet, as the economic headquarters of the country, properly enforces the Cabinet-responsibility system, Cabinet-centred system, for economic work, vigorously accelerates the work of strengthening the essential lifeline and integrity of the country's economy, definitely improves its economic management, actively promotes the normalization of production, renovation and local provision of raw and other materials by dint of science and technology and orientates the external economic activities toward reinforcing the foundations and potentiality of the self-supporting economy.

And the new plan reflects the demands for perfecting the self-supporting structure of the national economy, lowering the proportion of dependence on imports and stabilizing the people's living by taking the actual possibilities into consideration.

The main seed and theme of the plan are, as always, self-reliance and self-sufficiency.

From the requirements of our developing revolution and from the urgent requirements of socialist construction, self-reliance during the period of the new long-term plan should develop into nationwide, planned and scientific self-reliance.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un in his report referred in detail to the present conditions in the major economic sectors, and the issues related with their readjustment and development.

The report presented the situation of the key industrial fields which form the lifeline of the national economy and which must be propped up on a priority basis for the overall economic development and the improvement of people's standard of living, and ways of their readjustment and development.

The report stressed that the metal industry should technologically perfect our own system of iron making, expand its capacity and radically increase iron and steel production.

It was noted that in order to attain the goal of iron and steel production mentioned in the new five-year plan, scientific and technological problems must be solved to expand production capacity by renovating the existing production lines with advanced technology and building new energy-saving iron blast furnaces in major iron works and steel plants, to invigorate the production of iron ore and to use brown coal in the northern areas for the production of pig iron.

The report also referred to the direction of the development of the core industry of the country, the chemical industry, which can be likened to the lifeline for the construction of the self-supporting economy and the improvement of people's standard of living.

The central task of the chemical industry in the new five-year plan period 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 economic construction and the improvement of the people's standard of living.

The chemical industry should make sure that the whole process of the struggle for founding a Juche-based chemical industry becomes the process of holding a firm grasp on the know-how of the up-to-date technology and push forward the work of transforming the structure of the country's chemical industry into that of a Juche-based industry relying on our own raw materials.

The report set it as a precondition for stepping up economic construction and improving the people's standard of living to increase the generation of electricity, key power of the self-supporting economy.

The major task facing the electric power industry during the new five-year plan period is to readjust and reinforce its production foundations as a whole and expand them on a long-term basis while waging an increased production drive for meeting the immediate demand for electricity so as to reliably guarantee the stable development of the national economy and the material and cultured living of the people.

The report mentioned the plans for concentrating the efforts of the state on the construction of tidal power stations under long-term and medium-term strategies and launching in real earnest into the founding of the nuclear power industry to cope with the long-range demands and the subjective and objective changes in the future.

It put an emphasis on important issues for developing the coal industry, an outpost for the development of the self-supporting economy.

Referred to were the issues of boldly unfolding and powerfully propelling the work of intensively supplying equipment, materials, labour and funds to the coal industry, securing more coalfaces by giving precedence to prospecting and tunnelling in the coal industry, 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.

The report defined the machine industry as an important sector leading and hauling the overall economic sectors, and set forth the immediate orientation of its development after examining the present situation facing the machine industry of the country and its causes.

The basic task facing the machine industry during the new five-year plan period is to make it an industry with solid foundations and switch to a development- and creation-oriented industry.

The machine industry should positively develop and produce modern and high-performance machine products including machine tools, vehicles, building machines, electric machines, mining machines and hydraulic machines.

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 its production foundations and meet the needs of the national economy for nonferrous metal and non-metallic minerals in the main during the new five-year plan period.

To this end, it is necessary to realistically promote the work of building up the geological prospecting forces and effectively developing and using the underground natural resources of the country in a unified way, and to expand the production capacity of the mines, smelteries and factories in the mining industry.

The report underlined the need for the forestry sector to strengthen its own material and technological foundations and satisfactorily meet the need for timber of the national economy while keeping the balance of timber production and afforestation.

The orientation of development of the sectors of the key industries mentioned in the report indicates the scientific and innovative way to powerfully leading the overall economic construction by further strengthening the potential and might of the self-supporting economy, and it also provided a firm policy guarantee for promoting the sustained development of the economy whatever the conditions and environments.

The report referred to the present situation in transport and the tasks for bringing about obvious improvement in it.

The basic target of rail transport during the new five-year plan period is to positively promote the modernization of railways, improve transport in a revolutionary way and thus satisfactorily meet the need for rail transport.

The field of railway transport should push ahead in a planned way and staunchly with the work of ensuring the safety of railways, making them heavy-duty, increasing the sections of standardized railways and, furthermore, renovating all the railways.

At the same time, the projects for updating the Pyongyang Metro and renovating its stations should be pushed forward, and the level of its management and operation decisively raised.

The land and maritime transport was presented with the tasks of continuing to build large cargo vessels suited to the world trend of development of ship-building technology, building an integrated management system of automotive transport and putting transport command on an IT basis so as to ease the strain on transport.

It is necessary to produce a larger number of means of public transport, including new-type subway trains, trolley buses, tramcars and buses, to promote people's conveniences.

The report evaluated the remarkable development and achievements made in the construction field during the period under review, pointed out a series of deviations and raised new tasks and targets.

The basic tasks facing the construction field during the new five-year plan period is to massively carry out the capital construction including housing construction so as to provide the people with a higher civilized living conditions and radically change the appearances of the country.

The construction field should powerfully push forward the two fronts simultaneously−industrial construction for strengthening the economic foundations of the country and construction for meeting the material and cultural needs of the people.

By concentrating efforts on the construction of 50 000 flats in Pyongyang, it should set the annual plans for building 10 000 flats every year, starting from this year, scrupulously organize the construction operation and guidance for implementing the plans and thus basically settle the issue of dwelling houses for the Pyongyang citizens.

25 000 houses should be built in the Komdok area, a leading nonferrous mineral producer where a large contingent of workers live, and thus build it into a mining city with no comparison in the world.

It is imperative to build strong professional construction units and actively develop and produce equipment, gears and tools necessary for construction at the building machinery factories.

The report raised the tasks for further developing the building materials industry in keeping with the demand of the practical situation in which construction is progressing at an unprecedented speed.

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 of the finishing materials.

It is necessary to renovate the existing cement factories and, at the same time, build new large-capacity, up-to-date cement factories in the areas with favorable conditions for materials and electricity supply and transport, and thus further expand the cement production capacity of the country.

It is imperative to work hard to meet the demand for finishing materials determining the appearance of buildings through home production, build up the bases for producing outdoor and other paints with locally available raw materials, raise their quality and develop the technology for producing roofing materials.

It is necessary to steadily push ahead with the preparations for producing building materials under a well-thought-out plan to construct more zero-carbon and zero-energy buildings in keeping with the world trend of architectural development, and provinces should produce various building materials in large quantities by constructing various profitable building material production bases that rely on their locally available raw materials.

The report set forth the tasks for the communications field to make uninterrupted leaps forward and innovations in positive response to the demand of the times.

The field should step up technical updating of its infrastructure and turn mobile communications into a next-generation one as early as possible by developing the relevant technology.

It is needed to readjust the wire broadcasting and cable TV networks, put the relevant technology on a higher level and provide full conditions for the people in all parts of the country, ranging from cities to remote mountain villages, to enjoy a better cultural and emotional life.

The report raised it as a very urgent issue at present to develop the state-run commerce and preserve the socialist nature of public catering and welfare service, and set forth the tasks for restoring our commerce, true to its name, to public service activities for supporting the people's life and promoting their material well-being.

The important tasks to be carried out by our commerce without fail at present is to restore the state's leading role and control in the overall commerce service activities and preserve the nature of socialist commerce of serving the people.

Commercial service units should put their service activities on a people-oriented, cultural, modern and diversified basis with a correct management strategy, and thus 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 and a work of strategic weight for the future of the country.

The tasks facing the land management sector in the new five-year plan period are to make a decisive progress in land development and ecological environment protection, thus steadily pushing ahead with the work of transforming the whole country into a socialist fairyland, a beautiful land as befitting the era of the Workers' Party.

The report pointed out the matters of grasping through surveys the overall situation of the ecological environment including forests, dealing with their seasonal and annual changes correctly and promptly in accordance with the results of the relevant analysis, enacting right laws and regulations for the protection of land and environment and implementing them strictly, preventing natural disasters through an intensified campaign of afforestation and water conservation, continuously making great efforts for road construction and management, and pushing 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.

The report stressed the importance of city management which is directly related with the life of the people from A to Z, and set forth relevant tasks.

The field of city management should take stringent measures for repairing houses, expand the capacity for producing drinking water while improving its quality, and build more sewage treatment plants of a new type to prevent environmental pollution.

It is necessary to decisively enhance the level of landscaping designing, spruce up parks and recreation grounds and plant good species of trees, flowers and cover plants in good arrangement so as to give a facelift to cities.

The report, based on a detailed analysis of the external economic work and the subjective and objective conditions and environment of the country, raised directional issues including those of formulating a scientific strategy for the external economic field and implementing it purposefully.

It raised boosting tourism as an important undertaking for providing our people with a more civilized life and showing the world the ever-improving appearances of our country.

It is necessary to spruce up tourist attractions, improve methods of giving publicity to them and arrange diversified tourist courses and guidance.

Also important is to turn the Mt Kumgang area into a modern tourist resort of our own style.

The report advanced the tasks of removing all the facilities including the Haegumgang Hotel at a wharf of the Port of Kosong and constructing buildings of our own typical architectural style, which will go in harmony with the beautiful scenery of Mt Kumgang and suit the emotional and aesthetic feelings of our people.

According to the master plan for the development of the Mt Kumgang tourist area, the project to build the Kosong port coastal tourist area, the Pirobong mountaineering tourist area, the Haegumgang coastal park area and a sports and culture area−which will all be of original forms−should be carried out on an yearly basis and in a phased way during the new five-year plan period.

The report set it as an important task to improve economic management.

Our national economy is a self-supporting and planned one that serves the people.

The independent, planned and people-oriented characters of the national economy should be strengthened. To this end, it is necessary to raise the functions of the state that organizes economic affairs, and ensure unified management of products on the principle of making sure that the fruition of the economic activities is channelled into promoting the well-being of the people.

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.

The report also stressed the need to hold fast to reducing cost and improving quality as the key to improved economic management.

Basing themselves on the fundamental requirement and direction of improving the management of the socialist economy, the state economic guidance organs should readjust and reinforce the economy substantially.

The report underscored the need to tighten discipline in ensuring unified guidance of the state in the economic work, strengthen the national system of unified statistics, launch a proper project for boosting the mainstay of the national economy, and improve the conditions of industrial establishments to carry on their management activities.

Productive forces should be redistributed in a reasonable way so that economic efficiency may increase in the whole realm of the national economy, weak links in the chain of each economic sector identified, and the sectors that are essential for balanced development of the economy reinforced.

It is imperative to improve planning and make proper use of the economic leverages including financial, monetary and price administration so as to ensure rational management of the economy.

The scientific analysis and clear policies the report put forth with regard to the prevailing situation of the major economic sectors and their readjustment and development serve as a powerful weapon of practical importance in consolidating the material and technical foundations of the self-supporting economy and propelling economic construction in a planned and stable way irrespective of the change in the external environment.

The Supreme Leader declared in the report the unshakable determination of the Party to make a breakthrough in solving the people's food, clothing and housing problems at any cost and effect tangible changes and innovations, which will benefit the people in reality, in the new five-year plan period.

The report set forth proactive measures to increase agricultural production so as to decisively settle the problem of food supply for the people.

The central target in the agricultural field in the five-year plan is to unfailingly attain the goal of grain production the Party has already set and to consolidate the material and technical foundations for sustained development of agriculture.

In order to increase agricultural production, it is important to put efforts into seed production, scientific farming, increased output in low-yielding fields, cultivation of new land and tideland reclamation, while developing farming, animal husbandry and fruit growing and pushing irrigation and mechanization of agriculture as an important strategic priority.

The report emphasized the policies of taking scientific and technical measures and laying material and technical foundations for securing agricultural increase even in unfavorable climatic and weather conditions, boosting the zeal of agricultural workers for production and strengthening state assistance to the rural economy.

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 and thus step up socialist construction.

The report referred to the importance of light industry which holds an absolute share in providing the people with an affluent and civilized life, and the direction of its development.

The light industrial field should step up its renovation while regarding it as the lifeline and main direction of development to tap locally available resources for raw and other materials and recycle used materials; it should also steadily build itself up by reinforcing the weak sectors and processes and setting up missing ones.

Also stressed were the issues of raising the quality of products on the principle of giving priority to quality over quantity, and directing efforts into developing new kinds of products.

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.

Raised in the report were important policy issues for self-reliant and multilateral development of cities and counties.

It is the consistent strategic policy our Party maintains in socialist construction to consolidate its revolutionary position and develop the rural economy and other sectors of the local economy and improve the people's living standards with cities and counties as bases.

Cities and counties constitute terminal units for the execution of our Party policies, regional bases guiding the rural economy and other sectors of the local economy, and strong pillars supporting the overall development of the country.

The general goal defined by the report to build up cities and counties is to turn every city and county into a strategic base of a highly civilized and prosperous socialist state and a developed region retaining their inherent characteristics.

Cities and counties should set their development strategies and long-term objectives in conformity with their regional characteristics in a realistic way and persistently carry them out purposefully in a planned way and on an annual basis.

It is necessary to channel efforts into development of the socialist rural communities, holding aloft the slogan "Forward towards fresh victory!" so as too achieve cultural progress peculiar to rural areas, a new development of our own style.

The long-term objective for rural construction is to eliminate disparities between the working class and the peasantry, the gaps between industry and agriculture and differences between the urban and rural areas by pushing ahead with the three revolutions in the rural areas and thoroughly implementing the thesis on the socialist rural question; and the immediate task is to give precedence to the work of transforming agricultural workers on a revolutionary and working class pattern, boost state support to the rural areas and build up the rural communities in a balanced way so that they have regional characteristics of their own.

The report stressed the need for the Party and the state to pay close attention to the effort for building up the positions of rural hardcore elements.

It raised it as a consistent political requirement to develop the local economy by using the raw and other materials available in relevant areas in accordance with the regional characteristics.

It is also necessary to push ahead with the work of changing the appearances of city and county seats and put great efforts to improving city management, afforestation, water conservation and environmental protection.

Mentioned in the report was a task for city and county Party committees and people's committees to become a powerful engine propelling the development of their regions, master of the local economy and administrator responsible for the livelihood of the people in their regions.

The Supreme Leader solemnly clarified the revolutionary standpoint that the national defence capability, the cornerstone for the existence of the state and a reliable guarantee for defending the dignity and security of the country and people and peace, should be strengthened continuously.

The report analyzed the fact that although our Party and the government of our Republic made well-meant efforts and displayed the greatest patience to prevent the aggravation of the regional tension out of sheer desire to ensure peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world, the hostile nature of the American policy towards the DPRK has gone to extreme, instead of becoming weakened.

Nothing is more foolish and dangerous than to idle our time away without steadily building up our strength while knowing well enough that the enemy's high-tech weapons aimed at our state are increasing in volume.

The reality shows that only when we bolster up our national defence capability without a moment's halt will we be able to contain the military threat from the US and achieve peace and prosperity of the Korean peninsula.

Stressing that the strong defence capability of the state never precludes diplomacy but serves as a powerful means to propel it along the right course and guarantee its success, the report gave the analytical conclusion that the reality in the prevailing situation proves once again that there can never be satisfaction in strengthening the military strength.

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 set forth important tasks for the Korean People's Army to develop more firmly into a revolutionary army modelled on the Workers' Party of Korea, a sophisticated high-tech army and a reliable defender of our state and people by maintaining it as the general task for the army building to model itself on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.

The report mentioned the core plan and strategic tasks of crucial importance in rapidly developing and strengthening the national defence industry.

It is necessary to develop the nuclear technology to a higher level and make nuclear weapons smaller and lighter for more tactical uses. This will make it possible to develop tactical nuclear weapons to be used as various means according to the purposes of operational duty and targets of strike in modern warfare, and continuously push ahead with the production of super-sized nuclear warheads. In this way we will be able to thoroughly contain, control and handle on our own initiative various military threats on the Korean peninsula, which are inevitably accompanied the nuclear threat.

The report also set a goal of attaining an advanced capability for making a preemptive and retaliatory nuclear strike by further raising the rate of precision good enough to strike and annihilate any strategic targets within a range of 15 000 kilometres with pinpoint accuracy.

And the tasks were brought up to develop and introduce hypersonic gliding flight warheads in a short period, push ahead with the development of solid-fuel engine-propelled inter-continental underwater and ground ballistic rockets as scheduled, and possess a nuclear-powered submarine and an underwater-launch nuclear strategic weapon which will be of great importance in raising the long-range nuclear striking capability.

The report also referred to the need to secure the ability of reconnaissance and information gathering based on operation of a military reconnaissance satellite in the near future, and conduct in real earnest the most important research to develop reconnaissance drones and other means of reconnaissance capable of precisely reconnoitring up to 500 km deep into the front.

It defined it as the main task facing the sector of defence science at present to rapidly advance the Korean People's Army from the conventional type into an elite hi-tech one by developing the defence science and technology and inventing more advanced weapons and combat equipment.

Making the military equipment intelligent, precise, unmanned, high-performance and light should be set as the priority target of the munitions industry, and research and development be oriented to this end.

The report mentioned the profound tasks for completing the preparations for all-people resistance, the matter of crucial importance that should never be neglected in firmly consolidating the national defence capability.

The important tasks for strengthening the national defence capability put forward by the report are expressive of the iron will and determination to continuously strengthen the country's military capabilities 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 on this land, considering the situation in which the international balance of power is crumbling owing to the reckless arms buildup of the US and other hostile forces.

The Supreme Leader set forth in the report tasks for confidently opening an avenue for achieving prosperity by dint of self-reliance by promoting the development of science and technology.

Defining development of science and technology as a crucial task and an optimum policy in socialist construction, the report comprehensively analyzed the deviations revealed in the course of implementing the line of attaching importance to science and technology, and indicated the goals for the development of science and technology to be attained by each sector during the new five-year plan period, as well as the relevant ways and means for their achievement.

It is necessary to proactively solve urgent scientific and technical problems arising in implementing the new five-year plan for the national economic development and promote the development of core and advanced cutting-edge technology.

It is essential to establish a proper Party, state, administrative guidance and management system for the development of science and technology, share scientific research findings and vigorously push forward with the work of making all the people well versed in science and technology.

The Supreme Leader pointed out in the report the achievements, experience, mistakes and lessons made in developing socialist culture during the period under review.

It is our Party's far-reaching goal and ideal to lead our people to civilization of our own style in the new century by opening up a new era of efflorescence of socialist culture.

The report analyzed and assessed the performance of education, public health, art and literature, mass media and sports sectors in the period under review, which play an important role in developing all members of society into powerful beings, in invigorating the advancing revolution and in successfully stepping up socialist construction.

Earnestly reiterated in the report were the general goal of making education the one which can be fully entrusted with our future and the goals and detailed tasks for the development of education for turning our country into an educational power, a talent power, by bringing about radical improvement in education in the new century.

The sector of secondary and higher education should steadily update educational contents and methods and education management system to follow the current trend in the development of education and to meet the pedagogical demand, while methodologically enhancing the ability and qualifications of teachers who are responsible for bringing about a radical turn in education.

The state should increase its investment in and support for the educational field in order to powerfully conduct the work of renovating the educational conditions and environment including the building of schools.

The report dealt with detailed plans for providing people with better medical benefits by developing our socialist healthcare into the most advantageous and advanced public health.

The public health field should substantially carry out the work of renovating the treatment and prevention institutions and pharmaceutical and medical appliances factories, build up the ranks of medical workers and create a reliable anti-epidemic basis for coping with whatever world health crisis.

The report also made serious analysis of the work in the field of art and literature, and set forth tasks for ushering a new era of efflorescence of Juche-oriented art and literature by effecting a radical turn on all fronts of art and literature.

Creation guidance officials, creators and artistes in the field of art and literature should display an enterprising working spirit with high discernment to produce good works embodying the Juche character, national identity and modernity, stage characteristic performances, and purposefully carry out the training of reserves on a long-term basis by establishing a proper system and setting development strategy and clear goals.

Tasks were set forth for the mass media to raise the fierce flames of a new revolution in newspapers, news services, radio and TV broadcasting and publishing as required by the new period of drastic change and upsurge in socialist construction so as to wage a vigorous media campaign aimed at deeply instilling into all the people the core of the ideas, lines and policies of the Party Congress and inspiring them to the implementation of the decisions of the Party Congress, and for the field of physical culture and sports to redouble efforts for making our country join the ranks of advanced sports nations in line with the prestige and position of our dignified state.

The innovative orientations for building socialist culture are a reflection of the grandiose plan for creating a new, Korean style of civilization by bringing about a great revolution in all sectors of socialist culture with the successes, experiences, mistakes and lessons gained in the period under review as a springboard for advance and leap forward.

The report put an emphasis on effecting a revolutionary change in the mental and moral life of the people by pushing ahead with the eradication of non-socialist, anti-socialist practices and thorough establishment of the socialist lifestyle throughout the country as an undertaking involving the whole Party, state and society.

All the people should create and develop a noble and civilized new life of our own style and conduct a powerful mass campaign against the practices running counter to the socialist lifestyle, deeply bearing in mind the faith in socialism and love for and trust in things of their own.

In his report, the Supreme Leader set forth tasks for further consolidating the state social system in response to the reality that witnesses a radical rise of our Republic's position and the revolution entering a new stage.

The report underscored the need to strengthen the people-oriented nature of the state befitting the intrinsic character of our style of socialist system, realize its unified, scientific and strategic control and thoroughly establish a revolutionary spirit of law observance throughout society as required by the building of a socialist rule-of-law state, and called on judicial, procuratorial, public and state security organs to fulfill their sacred mission and duty they have assumed for defending the system, policy and people as reliable defenders of the socialist system.

The Supreme Leader in his report put forward the important tasks for strengthening the working people's organizations, the links between the Party and the masses and its fringe organizations, into powerful political ones, powerful forces for building socialism.

The report stressed the need for the working people's organizations to hold fast to their internal work in line with their duty as organizations in charge of ideological education to firmly arm all their members with the Party's revolutionary ideas and, in particular, the need to prepare the youth league as a reliable successor to and reserve of the Party.

The report, which indicated the road towards dramatic progress in socialist construction, serves as a militant banner powerfully inspiring the people to a new victory in the next stage by giving full play to the advantages and might of our style of socialism in the overall state affairs, including the building of the economy, national defence, culture and science and technology, in the prevailing situation.

(To be continued*)

(Pyongyang Times - January 9, 2021)

* Serialized posting thanks to the length of the KCNA text

Great Programme for Struggle Leading Korean-style Socialist Construction to Fresh Victory

On Report Made by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un at 8th Congress of WPK