Kim Jong Un (3rd L) sits on the platform (rostrum) during the national meeting of light industry workers in Pyongyang on 18 March 2013. Also on the platform are Kim Ki Nam (L), Choe Yong Rim (2nd L), Kim Kyong Hui (4th L) and Tae Jong Su (5th L) (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)
DPRK state media reported on 18 March (Monday) that a national meeting of light industry workers was held in Pyongyang. Attending the meeting from the central leadership were Kim Jong Un, Choe Yong Rim (DPRK Cabinet Premier), Kim Kyong Hui (Korean Workers’ Party [KWP] Secretary and Department Director), Kim Ki Nam [KWP Secretary], Mun Kyong Dok (Chief Secretary of the Pyongyang City [municipal] KWP Committee), Ro Tu Chol (DPRK Cabinet Vice Premier and Chairman of the State Planning Commission) and Tae Jong Su (Chief Secretary of the South Hamgyo’ng KWP Provincial Committee) along with “officials of the units taking the lead in carrying out the Party’s policy of light industry and labor innovators, leading officials here and in local areas, officials of economic guidance organs, affiliated fields and working people.” KJU’s last reported public appearance was his observation and guidance of live fire artillery exercises in the West (Yellow) Sea.
A view of the national meeting of light industry workers in Pyongyang on 18 March 2013 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)
Choe Yong Rim delivered the national meeting’s report. According to KCNA Choe said in his report “that the history of the development of light industry in the DPRK is a history associated with President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il’s Juche-oriented idea on building light industry, their outstanding leadership and tireless devotion and efforts. Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il regarded it as the supreme principle of the party and state activities to improve the standard of people’s living, regarding it as their maxim to believe in people as in Heaven. The great Generalissimos’ idea of building the Juche-based light industry and their undying leadership feats are being successfully carried forward by Marshal Kim Jong Un.” Choe also “referred to the successes achieved in the light industrial field under the leadership of the WPK in the past” and “called for making great innovations and leap forward in producing consumer goods, steadily pushing forward the modernization of equipment and production processes and producing consumer goods as an all-people movement.”
Choe was followed by other speakers from the party, government and the country’s light industrial sector. Kim Jong Un then delivered his speech in which he said “that the light industrial front along with the agricultural front are the main fronts on which efforts should be focused in the drive for building an economic power and improving the people’s living standard. To rapidly develop the nation’s light industry is as worthwhile work not only for improving the people’s material and cultural living standards but an important political work for demonstrating the advantages and vitality of the socialist system in the DPRK, consolidating the single-minded unity of the Party and people as firm as a rock and bringing earlier the revolutionary great event of national reunification,” and KJU “set forth main tasks and ways to be held fast to by the field of light industry at present.”
Kim Jong Un (L) speaks at the national meeting of light industry workers in Pyongyang on 18 March 2013 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)
Kim Jong Un addresses the national meeting of light industry workers in Pyongyang on 18 March 2013 (Photo: Rodong Sinmun)
According to a gist published by KCNA, Kim Jong Un also remarked:
It is necessary to make the most effective use of the existing production potential to radically increase the production of consumer goods and push forward the modernization and scientification of light industry and thus put it on the world’s advanced level.
The light industry should keep production going at a high rate to massively produce varieties of quality consumer goods.
The industrial establishments in the field of light industry should wage a widespread campaign to improve the quality of consumer goods in order to produce daily necessities favored by people and ones symbolic of their units and impeccable on foreign markets.
In order to solve the issue of raw and other materials for light industry the units tasked to provide funds for the people’s living should increase their roles for the present.
A basic way of solving the issue is to locally produce raw and other materials.
The chemical industry has a big role to play for locally producing those materials.
It is very important to develop the local industry for boosting the production of consumer goods.
The field of light industry should regard it as important task to put light industry on a modern and scientific basis and dynamically push forward it at a high level.
The industrial establishments should have scientists and technicians positively involved in production as required by the trend of developing modern light industry so that they may scientifically analyze all the issues arising in producing goods, improving quality, managing equipment and conducting business activities and solve them by dint of science and technology.
It is important to wage the drive for radically increasing the production of consumer goods through a movement involving all masses and the whole society.
It is necessary to boost the production of varieties of quality consumer goods by waging a widespread August 3 Consumer Goods Production Movement as it was done in the 1980s.
If the field of light industry makes rapid progress ahead of other fields, displaying its vitality, and the whole country intensifies the drive for the production of consumer goods, keeping pace with it, the Party’s plan to radically improve the people’s living standard in near future will be translated into a reality.
Great efforts should be channeled into improving public service while increasing the production of consumer goods.
In order to quickly improve the people’s living standard by bringing about a new turn in the development of light industry the officials in the field of light industry should increase their responsibility and role.
Officials of the ministries and national institutions in the field of light industry should learn about and grasp in detail the overall situation of light industry and actual conditions of the units under them. On this basis they should command in a responsible manner the operations for solving knotty problems and bringing about a new turn in the development of light industry.
The officials in the field of light industry should reject stiffness, schema, stagnation and depression, work in a unique and resilient manner and shape reasonable management and business strategies to ensure expanded reproduction and reenergize production by their own efforts.
The officials should have ardent patriotism, value their own things and make positive efforts to develop them to be better than others’.
Scientists and technicians should solve scientific and technological issues arising in the on-going production in good time and, at the same time, study and round off innovative plans for producing raw materials for light industry locally and putting machines and equipment and production processes on a CNC and automation basis and develop more new varieties of light industrial products and functional goods.
The whole state should attach importance to light industry and channel great efforts into its development.
Various sectors and units of national economy should render positive help to the field of light industry, bearing in mind the Party’s intention to effect a turn in the people’s living in the shortest possible span of time.
The Party organizations should increase their roles in order to rapidly develop light industry.
We have not a few difficulties and bottlenecks at present but light industry has a bright prospect of its development.
As long as there are a solid foundation of light industry provided by President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il through all their lives’ dedication and the people intensely loyal to the Party’s leadership, a turn is sure to be effected in the development of the light industry and our people will fully enjoy wealth and glory under socialism without fail.
The Party Central Committee firmly believes that the officials and workers in the field of light industry will turn out with confidence of victory and bring about a new turn in its development.
Filed under: 2013 National Meeting of Light Industry Workers, 2013 Strategic Rhetoric, Central Committee, Central Military Committee, central party life, chemical facilities, Choe Yong Rim, critical infrastructure, DPRK Cabinet, DPRK External Relations, DPRK Premier, Education Commission, Events Management Section, Finance and Accounting, Financial Planning Department, food production, General Affairs, Guard Command, Kim Family, Kim Jong Un Visits, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Kim Ki Nam, Kim Sol Song (Kim Sul Song), KJI Personal Secretariat, KKH, Korean Workers' Party (KWP), KWP Science and Education Department, Light Industry Department, local people's committees, Mangyo'ngdae Revolutionary School Alumni, Ministry of Capital Construction, Ministry of Chemical Industry, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Electric Power, Ministry of Extractive Industries, Ministry of Food and Procurement, Ministry of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Light Industry, ministry of people's security, Ministry of State Security, Mun Kyong Dok, National Defense Commission (NDC), North Korean press, Organization and Guidance Department, Pak Pong Ju, Party elders, party life, Political Bureau, Propaganda and Agitation Department, Provincial Party Committees, Provinicial People's Committee, Pyongyang Defense Command, Secretariat, State Academy of Sciences, State Planning Commission (SPC), State Science and Technology Commission, State Security Department, Tae Jong Su, water facilities, Working Organizations