The 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea was held at the headquarters building of the WPK Central Committee from December 28 to 31, Juche 108(2019).

Kim Jong Un , Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea, guided the plenary meeting.

Attending the meeting were members and alternate members of the C.C., WPK and members of the Central Auditing Commission of the WPK.

Present as observers were officials of the WPK Central Committee, officials of ministries and national institutions, chairpersons of the provincial people’s committees, chairpersons of the provincial rural economy committees, chairpersons of the city and county Party committees and officials of major fields and units and the armed forces organs.

Kim Jong Un presided over the meeting upon authorization of the Political Bureau of the C.C., WPK.

The plenary meeting dealt with the following agenda items:

On the orientation of our immediate struggle under the present internal and external situation

On an organizational matter

On modifying and supplementing the collection of the slogans set forth by the Party Central Committee

On celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of the WPK with splendor.

The first agenda was discussed.

Kim Jong Un made a report on the first agenda.

Saying that the period of the past eight months since the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK was a continuity of great intensified struggle and courageous advance, he referred to the fact that the WPK has always established and maintained correct internal and external political lines centered on the urgent demand, rights and interests of our people and the sovereignty and security of the state and has constantly struggled for them.

He noted that the Party Central Committee convened the present plenary meeting for the purport of comprehensively and deeply analyzing and assessing the subjective and objective obstacles and difficulties faced in the course of the great and dynamic advance of our revolution and of taking a decisive measure for further promoting the socialist construction.

Kim Jong Un advanced the revolutionary line on launching an offensive for frontal breakthrough as required by the present situation and the developing revolution.

Noting that our Juche-based might with self-sufficiency and self-reliance as the motive power has been further strengthened in the tense struggle for carrying out the decision of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK, he referred to the fact that our state and people greatly demonstrated the strong spirit and tremendous potentiality while proudly advancing and leaping in the difficult situation true to the appeal of the Party to open up a great period of surge in the socialist construction under the uplifted banner of self-reliance.

He said that the challenges faced by us for the past several months were harsh and dangerous, which others would not withstand even a single day but give up, but no difficulties can ever stop or delay the rush of our people advancing as an integral whole, undaunted by whatever hardships.

He added that great successes have ceaselessly been made in bolstering up the strength of the state and in increasing defence capabilities.

He noted that the huge and complicated work of developing the ultra-modern weapon system possessed only by the countries with advanced defence science and technology presupposed our own innovative solution in terms of the scientific and technical aspect without anyone’s help, and all the research tasks were perfectly carried out by the driving force, i.e. our reliable scientists, designers and workers in the field of the munitions industry.

This means a great victory, and our possession of promising strategic weapon system planned by the Party one by one serves as a great event in developing the armed forces of the Republic and defending and guaranteeing our sovereignty and right to existence, he noted.

He stressed that such a leap in developing the ultra-modern national defence science would make our great military and technical power irreversible, greatly promote the increase of our great national power, raise the power of putting the political situation around us under control and give the enemies the blow of big uneasiness and horror.

In the future, the more the U.S. stalls for time and hesitates in the settlement of the DPRK-U.S. relations, the more helpless it will find itself before the might of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea getting stronger beyond prediction and the deeper it will fall into an impasse, he noted.

He referred to a series of successes achieved in the economic construction.

Analyzing the trend of the prevailing present situation, he said the U.S. real intention is to seek its own political and diplomatic interests while wasting time away under the signboard of dialogue and negotiations and at the same time keep sanctions upon the latter so as to weaken the latter. He stressed that we further hardened our resolution never to barter the security and dignity of the state and the safety of its future for anything else.

He said that the stalemate between the DPRK and the U.S. cannot but assume protracted nature as the U.S. is raising demands contrary to the fundamental interests of our state and is adopting brigandish attitude. He added that recently the U.S. is talking about continued dialogue while peddling the issue of the resumption of the dialogue here and there but this is just aimed to pass without trouble the year-end time-limit set by us and stall for the time for evading a lethal attack as it now finds itself in a tight corner, not out of the intention to withdraw the hostile policy towards the DPRK and solve issues through improved relations. On the other hand, the U.S. has openly revealed its provocative political, military and economic maneuvers to completely strangle and stifle the DPRK. This is the double-dealing behavior of the brigandish U.S., he added.

He said that we will never allow the impudent U.S. to abuse the DPRK-U.S. dialogue for meeting its sordid aim but will shift to a shocking actual action to make it pay for the pains sustained by our people so far and for the development so far restrained.

He continued:

It is true that we urgently need external environment favorable for the economic construction but we can never sell our dignity which we have so far defended as valuable as our own life, in the hope for brilliant transformation.

The DPRK-U.S. stand-off which has lasted century after century has now been compressed to clear stand-off between self-reliance and sanctions.

If there were not the nuclear issue, the U.S. would find fault with us under another issue, and the U.S. military and political threats would not end.

The present situation warning of long confrontation with the U.S. urgently requires us to make it a fait accompli that we have to live under the sanctions by the hostile forces in the future, too, and to strengthen the internal power from all aspects.

He said there are not a few problems that need to be set right in state management, economy and other fields from the viewpoint of strengthening our might.

He analyzed the present situation including state management and economic performance which are insufficient for pulling and spurring the great cause of self-reliance and self-development and which fail to bring about a bold renovation but stay stagnant.

The victory of the revolution is inevitable but it is not achieved without any difficulties and hardships, he said, and continues:

If we do not put spur to the struggle for bolstering the power for self-development while waiting for the lifting of sanctions, the enemies’ reactionary offensive will get fiercer to check our advance.

The more we bolster our own strength and create valuable wealth on the strength of self-reliance and self-sufficiency, the deeper the enemies will be driven into greater agony and the earlier the day of the victory of socialism will come.

All the Party organizations and officials have to shoulder upon themselves the important duties entrusted to them by the times and turn out in the offensive for frontal breakthrough to foil the enemies’ sanctions and blockade by dint of self-reliance.

“Let Us Break through Head-on All the Barriers to Our Advance!” – this is the fighting slogan the entire Party and all the people should put up today.

The key front in the offensive for frontal breakthrough today is economic front, he said, setting forth it as an immediate task for the economic field at present to rearrange the economic foundation of the country and fully tap all the possible production potential and to fully meet the demand needed for the economic development and people’s life.

He advanced important tasks for putting in order the economic work system and order.

He set forth the fundamental ways for strengthening the Cabinet responsibility system, Cabinet center system as the Cabinet is the nucleus of the state economic work system.

He advanced crucial issues in finding out the correct way for improving the planning to meet the actual requirements, keeping the overall balance between production and supply and decisively raising the confidence of the national economic plan.

Emphasizing that the Cabinet work is precisely the work of the Party Central Committee and the execution of the decision of the Party Central Committee is the Cabinet work, he made an anatomical analysis of the serious issues that need urgent solution in strengthening the state unified guidance and management of the economic work after the plenary meeting.

After setting forth the innovative measures and detailed plans for adjusting the overall state machinery to spur the economic development and to enhance the role of officials, he specified realistic ways for pushing forward the improvement of economic management based on them.

He specified the orientation of solving crucial issues for economic growth which should be pushed forward by the whole Party and state.

He set forth tasks faced by the major industrial sectors of the national economy.

He made the overall analysis of the evil practices and stagnation found in metal, chemical, power, coal, machine and building materials industrial fields, railway transport and light industrial field, and set forth one by one scientific and substantial measures to bring about a giant stride forward in the economic work.

He said that we have to correctly set up index-wise plans of ten long-term goals through scientific calculation to develop the country’s economy on a stable and long-term basis and consolidate one by one the economic foundation of the country through the struggle to carry them out.

He stressed the need to drastically increase the agricultural production.

He called for improving science, education and public health.

The inexhaustible strategic asset which we should rely on today is science and technology, he said, stressing that science and technology should become the light that brightens the way ahead and pioneer the development at a time like now when there are manifold hardships in the economic work.

He set forth the tasks and ways for fundamentally improving the education of the country as required by the era of the revolution in education.

Kim Jong Un set forth the important matters arising in the work for our socialist public health system, best in the world, provided by President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il to preserve its original character and intensify the material and technological foundation of public health and train all the medical workers as loyal health workers of the WPK with great human love and high medical qualifications.

He called for dynamically conducting the movement for increased production, ensuring economy and raising quality and protecting ecological environment and taking thorough-going measures for preventing natural disasters.

He called for guaranteeing the offensive for frontal breakthrough politically, diplomatically and militarily.

There have to be powerful political, diplomatic and military guarantee for sure victory in the offensive for frontal breakthrough to brave unprecedented harsh challenge and difficulties, he said, and advanced the policy for strengthening the diplomatic front under the prevailing situation.

With comprehensive and deep analysis of the stern situation created on the Korean peninsula and complicated structure of the current international relations, he set forth important tasks of taking offensive measures to reliably ensure the sovereignty and security of our state.

He said that the U.S. labeled our state as its enemy, “axis of evil” and “target of its preemptive nuclear strike” and applied the most brutal and inhuman sanctions against and posed the persistent nuclear threat to the latter over the past seven decades, and the current situation on the Korean peninsula is getting more dangerous and reaching serious phase, owing to the former’s hostile policy towards the latter.

In the past two years alone when the DPRK took preemptive and crucial measures of halting its nuclear test and ICBM test-fire and shutting down the nucleartest ground for building confidence between the DPRK and the U.S., the U.S., far from responding to the former with appropriate measures, conducted tens of big and small joint military drills which its President personally promised to stop and threatened the former militarily through the shipment of ultra-modern warfare equipment into south Korea, he said. The U.S. also took more than ten independent sanctions measures only to show before the world once again that it remained unchanged in its ambition to stifle the former, he said.

He stressed that under such condition, there is no ground for us to get unilaterally bound to the commitment any longer, the commitment to which there is no opposite party, and this is chilling our efforts for worldwide nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Saying that the prevailing situation goes to prove that the road of defending ourselves by bolstering up our power sufficiently enough to keep the hostile forces at bay so that they would not dare provoke our sovereignty and security as already clarified by us is the one to be covered by us without any halt and hesitation, he clarified the policy of the WPK towards the U.S.

Noting that it is the WPK’s firm goal of building national defence to possess the matchless military muscle and steadily bolster it, he stressed that it is the core design in building defence power and firm will of the WPK to make any force dare not to use its armed force against us.

Saying that we should more actively push forward the project for developing strategic weapons, he confirmed that the world will witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by the DPRK in the near future, declaring that we cannot give up the security of our future just for the visible economic results and happiness and comfort in reality now that hostile acts and nuclear threat against us are increasing and nothing has changed between the days when we maintained the line of simultaneously pushing forward the economic construction and the building of nuclear force and now when we struggle to direct our efforts to the economic construction owing to the U.S. gangster-like acts.

He solemnly declared that there is no need to hesitate with any expectation of the U.S. lifting of sanctions even now that we had close look into the real intention of the U.S., adding if the U.S. persists in its hostile policy towards the DPRK, there will never be the denuclearization on the Korean peninsula and the DPRK will steadily develop necessary and prerequisite strategic weapons for the security of the state until the U.S. rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK and lasting and durable peace-keeping mechanism is built.

He said that we will reliably put on constant alert the powerful nuclear deterrent capable of containing the nuclear threats from the U.S. and guaranteeing our long-term security, noting that the scope and depth of bolstering our deterrent will be properly coordinated depending on the U.S. future attitude towards the DPRK.

He noted that our development of absolute weapons possessed by big powers is the great success but the big contingent of promising talents of science and technology in this course is more valuable result dear to the WPK.

He said that the field of scientific researches for national defence and the field of munitions industry should implement the WPK’s line of building national defence with loyalty and perfectly under the uplifted slogan of Higher and Faster in order to attain the already-set stage goals while maintaining the principle of self-reliance and Juche from A to Z.

He called on the officials and scientists in the field of munitions industry to strive hard for the sacred activities for bolstering up national defence capabilities in every way with invariable loyalty to the Party and revolution in the spirit and mettle with which they developed the nuclear war deterrent through three-year arduous struggle.

He tabled the issues of conducting an intensive Party-wide, nationwide and society-wide struggle against anti-socialist and non-socialist deeds and strengthening the work of the working people’s organizations and tightening the moral discipline throughout society.

He mentioned about the need to strengthen the Party, the General Staff of the revolution, and markedly raise its leadership role.

He proposed principled matters and practical measures for further strengthening the Party organizationally and ideologically and heightening the role of cadres as required by the era and the developing revolution.

Saying that our revolution is dynamically advancing but the hostile forces’ challenge to it gets more persistent, and current difficulties are never easy to deal with, he stressed that the WPK decided to wage another arduous and prolonged struggle in order to win the final victory of the revolution and make our great people lead a good life.

Saying that whether we will emerge victorious or not at the crossroads of the destiny of socialism only depends on the united might of the Party and its guiding role, he stressed that the WPK will firmly keep standing to steadily deal serious strikes at the U.S. and its followers and always share joy and sorrow with our people.

Saying that our people learned a way of self-sustenance, way of defeating enemy and overcoming difficulties and way of defending their dignity and right in the prolonged and harsh environment unknown by history, he clarified that it is our firm revolutionary faith to defend the country’s dignity and defeat imperialism through self-prosperity even though we tighten our belts.

Confirming that if we continue to make a dynamic struggle with the indomitable revolutionary faith, ardent patriotism and indefatigable struggle spirit, we will overcome every difficulty and greet the day of fresh victory when the song “We Are the Happiest in the World” becomes the real life of the whole people, he ardently appealed to all to break through head-on the grave difficulty faced in the revolution, and dynamically open a road of advance of victory to become a pioneer and standard-bearer in the current glorious struggle for realizing the aspiration and ideal of building a powerful socialist country.

Then, written speeches on the first agenda were presented at the plenary meeting.

The speakers fully supported and approved of the WPK Chairman’s outstanding idea and strategy of making frontal breakthrough and the programme for their materialization that call for accomplishing earlier the great cause of self-prosperity despite all challenges and difficulties in the way of advance in the socialist construction.

They made solemn pledges before the plenary meeting to uphold with proud practices the idea and intention of frontal breakthrough set forth by the Party Central Committee.

The plenary meeting had an in-depth and positive study and discussion of a draft resolution on the first agenda and adopted it with unanimous approval.

The resolution carries the following decisions:

First, we will rearrange the economic foundation of the country and enlist all possible production potentiality to fully meet the demand for economic development and people’s living.

Second, we will attach importance to science and technology and improve the education and healthcare representing the image of the socialist system.

Third, we will protect the ecological environment and set up the national crisis control system against natural disasters.

Fourth, we will guarantee the victory in the offensive for frontal breakthrough through powerful political, diplomatic and military offensive.

Fifth, we will intensify the struggle against anti-socialist and non-socialist deeds and tighten moral discipline, and the working people’s organizations will scrupulously carry out the ideological education.

Sixth, we will strengthen the Party, the General Staff of the revolution, and radically enhance its leadership role.

Seventh, officials, leading members of the revolution, will make strenuous efforts to fulfill their responsibility and duty before the Party, the revolution and the people in the offensive for frontal breakthrough to overcome difficulties in the advance of the socialist construction.

Eighth, Party organizations and political organs at all levels will meticulously conduct the organizational and political work to implement the resolution, and relevant organs like the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the Cabinet take practical measures for thoroughly carrying out the tasks set forth in the resolution.

The plenary meeting discussed the organizational matter, the second agenda.

Members and alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee were recalled or by-elected.

Ri Il Hwan, Ri Pyong Chol and Kim Tok Hun were by-elected as members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee.

Kim Jong Gwan, Pak Jong Chon, Kim Hyong Jun, Ho Chol Man, Ri Ho Rim and Kim Il Chol were by-elected as alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee.

Vice-Chairmen of the Party Central Committee were dismissed or elected.

Ri Il Hwan, Kim Hyong Jun, Ri Pyong Chol and Kim Tok Hun were elected as Vice-Chairmen of the Party Central Committee.

Members and alternate members of the Party Central Committee were recalled or by-elected.

Alternate members of the Party Central Committee Kim Hyong Jun, Han Kwang Sang, Kang Jong Gwan, Kim Kwang Chol, Kim Kyong Jun, Yang Sung Ho, Kwak Chang Sik, Pak Kwang Ju, Pak Myong Su, Ri Pong Chun and Song Sok Won were by-elected as members of the Party Central Committee and Ho Chol Man, Ri Ho Rim, O Il Jong, Kim Yong Hwan, Kim Il Chol, Kim Jong Ho, Son Yong Hun, Rim Kwang Il and Choe Sang Gon directly as members of the Party Central Committee.

Jang Kwang Myong, Jon Hyon Chol, Sim Hong Bin, Ri Thae Il, Choe Kwang Il, Ri Wan Sik, Ri Yong Chol, Choe Chun Gil, Kim Hak Chol, Kim Chol, Pak Jong Gun, Jon Hak Chol, Jo Yong Dok, Sin Yong Chol, Kim Sung Jin, Mun Jong Ung, Ri Jong Gil, Choe Song Nam, Jon Hyong Gil, Kang Son, Kim Yong Bae, Kim Ki Ryong, Sin Hong Chol and Kim Yong Nam were by-elected as alternate members of the Party Central Committee.

The Chairman of the Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee was elected and its members were recalled or by-elected.

Ri Sang Won was elected as Chairman of the Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee.

Directors of some departments of the Party Central Committee were dismissed or appointed.

Ri Il Hwan, Kim Hyong Jun, Choe Hwi, Ri Pyong Chol, Kim Tok Hun, Choe Pu Il, Ho Chol Man, Ri Ho Rim, Han Kwang Sang and O Il Jong were appointed as department directors of the Party Central Committee.

First Vice-Department Directors of the Party Central Committee were appointed.

Kim Tong Il, Ri Yong Gil, Kim Yo Jong and Ri Yong Sik were appointed asFirst Vice-Department Directors of the Party Central Committee.

Chairmen of the provincial Party committees were dismissed or appointed.

Kim Yong Hwan was appointed as the Chairman of the Ryanggang Provincial Party Committee.

Cadres of state organs were dismissed or appointed.

Kim Il Chol was appointed as VicePremier of the Cabinet and concurrently Chairman of the State Planning Commission, Jon Hak Chol as Minister of Coal Industry, Jon Myong Sik as Minister of Culture and Kim Sung Jin as President of the State Academy of Sciences.

The plenary meeting discussed and decided the third agenda on the issue of modifying and supplementing the collection of slogans set forth by the Party Central Committee.

The plenary meeting discussed the issue of splendidly celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of the WPK as the fourth agenda, and adopted a relevant decision.

Concluding the plenary meeting, Kim Jong Un mentioned the significance and importance of the plenary meeting in making frontal breakthrough under the prevailing situation and bringing about a new surge in our revolution.

He clarified that the basic idea, the basic spirit of the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK is to conduct the offensive for frontal breakthrough, not to wait for the situation to turn better.

In other words, we should never dream that the U.S. and the hostile forces would leave us alone to live in peace, but we should make frontal breakthrough with the might of self-reliance to tide over the difficulties lying in the way of advancing the socialist construction, he said.

He said that we should not look for the way of getting ourselves adapted to the objective elements to be controlled by them in the current struggle, but should make a frontal breakthrough to put the objective elements under our control.

He noted that it is necessary to hold effective Party-wide discussion for the implementation of the tasks set forth in the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK.

He underlined the need to set up a concrete plan and adopt proper methodology for carrying out the Party policies and take substantial measures.

He stressed that in order to carry on the revolution, revolutionaries must regard the worthy trust from our people as the whole of their lives, and earnestly called on them to become diligent and devoted servants working heart and soul for our excellent people.

Kim Jong Un had a photo session with members of the Party central leadership organ at the significant place where the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the WPK was held.