The Korean people are now stepping up the building of a powerful socialist country under the banner of self-reliance.

President Kim Il Sung achieved the great cause of national liberation by leading the anti-Japanese war to victory under the banner of independence and strictly applied the principle of self-reliance to state building and activities in the whole course of his leadership of the DPRK.

In the postwar years when the country experienced severe hardships some socialist countries demanded it join the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.

The President strongly rejected the demand, saying that as the country had no machine-building industry, if it joined the “international division of labour”, it would only have to supply raw materials to the member nations, that would leave it nothing but empty caves and the country would have to travel to other nations empty-handed to beg for everything and the Koreans knew what they had to do and which way to follow.

By dint of self-reliance the DPRK laid the foundations for building a new Korea in a short time, performed a miracle in the reconstruction from scratch after the Korean war and built a socialist industrial state in a matter of 14 years.

The President’s line and fighting mode of independence were faithfully carried on by Chairman Kim Jong Il.

He built unique Korean-style socialism on the principle of the Juche idea which demands “Live our own way, fight our own way and create our own way”.

The country overcame extreme difficulties during the Arduous March and forced march and built a solid groundwork for the building of a thriving nation in the spirit of self-reliance.

The DPRK can grow stronger only when it consolidates the power of its self-supporting economy under the unfurled banner of self-reliance—this is the truth its past history has proven in practice.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un said in his report to the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea that it is important to advance socialist construction more dynamically under the banner of self-reliance on the basis of the independent national economy which suits the specific conditions of the country and relies on its own efforts, technology and resources and that self-reliance and independent national economy are the basis of existence of Korean socialism, dynamics of its advance and development and the eternal lifeline of the Korean revolution.

Today the Korean people are increasing production and stepping up construction flying high the banner of self-reliance.

They continue to produce creative wealth in order to promote economic growth and improve the people’s living standards by their own efforts and technology.