opinion

General Secretary Kim Jong Un put forward the “regional development 20×10 policy”, apart from the line for rural development, in the historic policy speech he made at the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly of the DPRK, reflecting the plan of the Workers’ Party of Korea to develop onto a higher stage the basic material and cultural living standards of regional people across the country at the earliest date possible by pushing forward with regional industrial development.

The policy is aimed at building modern regional industry factories in 20 counties every year without fail so as to complete it in ten years.

The supreme task, to which the DPRK government should give top priority and direct great efforts at present, is to stabilize and improve the people’s livelihood as early as possible.

What is important here is to address the differences between the capital and the provinces and the imbalance between regions.

It is the immutable principle of the WPK and the DPRK government that there may be differences between regions in their geographical setting, resources, economic potentials and living environment, but there should be no backward region in the aspect of the people’s living in the national territory.

An example was already set in an area of the DPRK dozens of years ago.

The area is Changsong County in North Phyongan Province, a remote mountainous region, 95 percent of which is taken up by mountains.

In order to bring happiness to the county people, President Kim Il Sung made a  history of “gold mountain” in the county while climbing up steep mountains and pushing his way through creepers in valleys and led it to develop its regional industry to suit its features as a mountainous county.

Thus the county underwent a great change and the song in praise of the era “Changsong Today” was created.

In order to generalize the experience of the county across the country, the President called the Changsong Joint Conference of local Party and economic officials in August 1962, in which he made an important speech constituting the guidelines for enhancing the role of counties as the regional centres of socialist construction, developing the regional economy and improving the people’s living standards.

After the conference, there mushroomed regional industry factories relying on local sources of raw materials in all parts of the country and all regions developed their economy in accordance with their characteristics by making good use of the mountains in mountainous areas and the sea in coastal areas.

Chairman Kim Jong Il visited Changsong County more than 80 times to lead it to implement the instructions of the President.

Today, the spirit of the conference still displays its great viability.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the conference, General Secretary Kim Jong Un made public the work “Let Us Turn All Counties into a Place That Is Good to Live In by Applying the Spirit of the Historic Changsong Joint Conference” to provide guidelines to be followed in strengthening counties and enhancing their role as required by the new century. In June 2013, he visited the county to specify the tasks to be tackled in modernizing regional industry factories.

At the Eighth Congress of the WPK, he put forward the self-reliant and multifaceted development of cities and counties as a major task and set it as the general goal in building up cities and counties to turn every city and county into a strategic base of a highly civilized and prosperous socialist state, into a developed region retaining their inherent characteristics.

His leadership is bringing about substantial results.

The City of Samjiyon underwent a great change as an ideal city of people, a model socialist mountain city of culture, the Jungphyong and Ryonpho greenhouse farms were built in succession and regional industry factories of Kimhwa County were completely renovated. In addition, rural house construction has been pushed in earnest across the country.

This shows well the steadfast decision of the WPK to develop the regional economy and bring about a remarkable change in the people’s standard of living by decisively eliminating the difference between the capital and the provinces, and between urban and rural areas.  

Local construction and regional development lead to the overall prosperity of the state and the happy laughter of the people and younger generation is a symbol of the socialist system and the mightiness of Korean-style socialism.

The policy of developing the regional industry newly clarified by the General Secretary serves as a motive force which enables the Party and the state to take responsibility for the development of the regional industry, bring about a radical change in the level of provincial people’s life and promote the comprehensive development of socialism faster and more vigorously. And its steady and thorough implementation is firmly guaranteed.

In the aforementioned policy speech, he noted that the Party would responsibly provide funds, labour force and materials continuously, annually and compulsorily to each county and referred to the measures to establish a state guidance work system. 

Until now, all policies of the WPK and the DPRK government have always been realized, regardless of the advantages and disadvantages of the condition, further strengthening the people’s trust in the Party and the state.

As they have keenly felt the benevolence of the Party and the state, gratitude to them and advantages of the socialist policies through their life experience, not through words or writing, the Korean people enthusiastically responded to the new regional industrial development policy mentioned in the policy speech of the General Secretary and turned out to implement it full of confidence in their life and optimism about their better future.

The “regional development 20×10 policy” will bring about excellent entities every year, as it reflects the aspirations of all the people and there are their concerted efforts to support the policies of the Party and the state by dint of thorough actions and a precious example and rich experience in developing the regional economy.