economy

The Thosong Pharmaceutical Factory, which was selected as one of the top ten enterprises of the DPRK for 2025, is a medicine manufacturer widely known both at home and abroad.

From scratch to the world level

The factory was built in Phyongchon District, Pyongyang, 30 years ago.

At the outset, it was in a poor situation as it was organized at the hardest time for the country.

“At that time the factory had no proper building, its employees numbered only eight and that girls fresh from middle schools,” recalled Manager Kim Yong Gwon.

But the manager had a burning ambition to make the factory a world-level enterprise.

The small number of employees set about constructing a not-so-large production building to complete it in 70-odd days and then produced five kinds of Koryo medicines bearing the factory’s name by using two production facilities.

Though raw and other materials and everything were in short supply, Kim and his employees persistently pushed ahead with production.

As the factory’s foundation gradually grew strong, he initiated the expansion of production capacity and organized work in a bold way.

He turned the factory into the one where all production conditions are put on an intensive basis with the cubic metre as a unit, not the square metre.

The factory increased the varieties of products by setting itself the goal of making every single medicine a popular one favoured by people.

It has now developed into a GMP-certified modern enterprise which produces highly-effective traditional medicines as it wants with more than 60 employees.

All employees into technicians

The factory has made steady efforts to modernize its equipment and expand its production capacity while overfulfilling its national economic plan every year.

“The secret of success is that all the employees have become masters of science and technology, regarding technical innovation as a matter of vital importance,” said Kim Yong Sim, a staffer of the factory.

The factory has established a system whereby each employee annually presents over one profitable technical innovation proposal for introduction, and enrolled its employees in the study-while-you-work system.

As a result, last year alone, it newly made or upgraded equipment and production processes to further increase productivity. In particular, it made an automatic vacuum low-temperature extractor, which can produce five times more than before and maximize the extraction rate of medicinal herbs while reducing labour by half, and automated the feeding process of the liquid medicine production room.

From development to sales by factory’s efforts

The products of the factory were highly appreciated at several national sci-tech festivals and awarded the best prizes and trophies at international commodity expos and trade fairs held in Russia, China, Malaysia, Mongolia and Vietnam.

The medicines of the factory enjoy popularity thanks to the unusual enthusiasm of the officials and employees to do everything from development to production and sale by their own efforts.

“It is not easy for the factory to undertake all the processes of research, development and production of medicines. However, only the developer who has studied medicines can become the competent producer of them and steadily improve their effectiveness to meet the opinions and needs of users,” said Kim Yong Gwon.

Workers of the factory take an active part in the development of new products.

In the past, the officials developed the medicines favoured by people, and now the workers are increasing the varieties of Koryo medicines in cooperation with the technicians.

“When all the employees devote their sincerity to the development of the factory, it will be further vitalized,” said the manager.