An enlarged plenary meeting of the DPRK Cabinet took place on Thursday via tele-conference system to carry out the important tasks set forth at the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea and the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party.

Kim Tok Hun, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and premier of the Cabinet, presided over the meeting.

The meeting was attended by members of the Cabinet including vice-premiers Pak Jong Gun and Jon Hyon Chol.

Present there as observers were officials of organs under the direct control of the Cabinet and ministries, chairpersons of provincial, city and county people's committees and officials of agricultural guidance organs and major factories and enterprises.

The meeting discussed "On thoroughly implementing the decisions made at the Eighth Congress of the WPK and the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party" as the agenda item.

Pak Jong Gun, vice-premier of the Cabinet who doubles as chairman of the State Planning Commission, made a report.

The report analysed and reviewed the causes of passive and self-protective tendencies the Cabinet and state economic guidance organs revealed in the course of drawing up this year's national economic plan for implementing the decisions of the Party congress.

It brought up the measures for purposefully conducting economic operations on the basis of the key tasks in this year's economic work and carrying out without fail the national economic plan.

It pointed to the need for ministries, national agencies, provincial, city and county people's committees and enterprises to establish the system of the state's unified guidance over economic work, as required by the Cabinet-responsibility system and Cabinet-centred system, and to establish the system and order of working by defining their duty, authority and scope of work.

It underlined the necessity to work out the sci-tech development goals to be attained by each sector in the period of the five-year plan in a reasonable way and on the principle of strategic concentration and push them unyieldingly and to put production on a normal track and positively promote upgrading, the home production of raw and other materials and recycling on the strength of science and technology.

It urged officials to intensify the study of methodological issues arising in improving economic management, as required by the objective economic law, and timely correct deviations manifested in practice and wage a struggle in a more intensive way for putting an end to the claiming of one’s unit’s special importance and self-centredness that violate state law and encroach on the people’s interests.

It set forth tasks for making constant efforts to perfect the method of planning in accordance with the changing reality, level of development of productivity and the development of science and technology, and taking stronger measures to ensure economic conditions and legal environment for enterprises to independently and proactively conduct production and management activities, give full play to their creativity and promptly react to changing environment.

It urged leading economic officials to aspire for and encourage fresh innovation, bold creation and uninterrupted advance in economic work, bearing in mind that the way to attain the goals in this year's struggle lies in bringing about a fundamental improvement in their fighting spirit and work attitude.

At the meeting speeches were made by Kim Kwang Nam, manager of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, Ma Jong Son, minister of Chemical Industry, Ri Song Hak, vice-premier of the Cabinet, Choe Ryong Gil, vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission, Ju Chol Gyu, vice-premier of the Cabinet and minister of Agriculture, and others.

The speakers referred to detailed ways to carry out the goals of their sectors and units in the period of implementing the five-year plan set forth at the Eighth Party Congress and to fulfil their tasks set forth at the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party.

They expressed their resolution to make epochal achievements in attaining this year's goals by displaying extraordinary working ability, enthusiasm and devotion, always remembering the deep trust and expectations of the Party and the people.

The meeting discussed issues of concentrating manpower, equipment, materials and fund on factories and enterprises in the sectors of metal and chemical industries, solving technical problems arising in producing iron and steel with domestic fuel and improving management control and business management as required by the socialist system of responsible business management.

It decided on the plans for pushing ahead with the strengthening of technical forces in close contact with the scientific research sector and realizing domestic production of raw and other materials on an annual basis.

It also discussed the proposals for finding out factors that hinder production and management activities and taking measures against them and for studying and introducing realistic ways for making production keep going steadily at all enterprises.

It referred to the need to increase the production of consumer goods by recycling materials lying idle, by-products and waste materials and making a positive use of substitute raw materials and to build up closer connection between production and consumption among all sectors and enterprises.

It also discussed practical issues arising in unconditionally fulfilling the agricultural production plan including the matter of decisively improving management control methods with main emphasis put on laying production foundations of cooperative farms and that of restoring irrigation facilities and agricultural land.

The meeting stressed the need for the Cabinet to perform its duty as the economic headquarters of the country, and for all leading economic officials to set the improvement of socialist economic management and promotion of sci-tech development as the basic ways of implementing the new five-year plan and fulfil their responsibilities and duties in economic construction and the efforts to improve the people's standards of living.

On the basis of in-depth discussions, decisions of the Cabinet "On thoroughly implementing the five-year plan for national economic development set forth at the Eighth Congress of the WPK" and "On thoroughly implementing the important tasks set forth at the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK" were adopted with unanimous approval at the meeting.