The first short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees was held at the conference hall of the office building of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Wednesday at a time when the grand struggle is being waged to achieve the comprehensive development of Korean-style socialism along the path of sure victory indicated by the ever-victorious WPK.

The short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees, the first of its kind in the history of our Party, comes to be an important occasion to consolidate the fighting efficiency of the entire Party and develop local economy and improve the people's standard of living by remarkably enhancing the function and role of the city and county Party organizations which are chiefly responsible for implementing the Party's idea of attaching importance to cities and counties and line on strengthening them.

Attending the course were chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees across the country, chief secretaries of the provincial Party committees and officials of relevant departments of the provincial Party committees.

Also present there were secretaries of the Party Central Committee, directors and first vice-directors of its relevant departments and its officials related with the local Party work.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the WPK, appeared at the hall to guide the first short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees.

All the participants in the course raised stormy cheers of "hurrah!", full of great emotion that they came to receive precious instructions of the General Secretary at the supreme staff of the Korean revolution which sheds noble light as the symbol of great victory and glory in the hearts of the Party members and other people across the country.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made an opening address.

Kim Jong Un in the address said that after the dissemination of the spirit of the 8th Party Congress and the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee, the short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees was organized before everything else with special importance attached to the significance of renovating the city and county Party work in shifting all the fronts of the socialist construction over to a new stage of development and promoting the balanced and simultaneous development throughout the country.

He referred to the importance of city and county, which are the lowest-level guidance and executive units for the implementation of our Party's policies, regional bases directing the rural and local economy and powerful fortresses supporting the comprehensive development of the country, and to the status of the city and county Party committees.

Noting that our socialist construction that entered a new phase urges for a strong traction power to be provided to push ahead with the development of cities and counties on a full-scale, he said that the role of chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees, who are deputies of the Party Central Committee, is very important in making the city and county Party organizations steer the development of their regions.

The chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees are the hard core of our Party in charge of regional bases of the socialist construction and the field political workers who are shouldering the heavy responsibilities of taking care of people while living nearest to them, he said, stressing that the decisions of the Party congress can be thoroughly implemented and Korean-style socialism develop and advance rapidly only when the chief secretaries bring about fundamental changes in their work with revolutionary political awareness.

He said that as the 8th Party Congress illuminated important policy orientations for developing cities and counties across the country in an independent and many-sided way, now everything depends on strenuous efforts and role of the chief secretaries, adding that under the present situation, the Party Central Committee is determined to enhance the level of their working ability and improve their style of work above all to provide a new turning point in the development of cities and counties and specially prepared the short course with much care.

He said that through the course, the chief secretaries should review their overall work before the Party Central Committee and study in a positive, responsible and earnest manner to find a clear way for revitalizing their cities and counties while exchanging and sharing good experiences with correct recognition of the importance of strengthening cities and counties and political needs.

He stressed that the chief secretaries should deeply bear in mind the heavy duty and sense of responsibility that they are in charge of important strategic fortresses and bases of the Party and the state and should earnestly study how to live up to the demand and great expectation of the people by turning the areas in their charge into socialist paradise and how to turn them into iron fortress, inviolable cornerstone impregnably defending the Party and the state.

He stressed that the chief secretaries should deeply grasp the principles and methods of the Juche-oriented Party work, the embodiment of the people-first principle, and bear in mind the methodologies one by one for bringing about decisive turn in the work of the city and county Party committees one after another with a view to substantially consolidate their political and practical qualifications and ability to lead their regions.

Expressing belief that as the short course is the first intersection meeting for implementing the decisions of the 8th Party Congress, it would be an important occasion to bring about a fundamental innovation in the ideological viewpoint, work style, qualification and mental and moral trait of the chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees and provide a fresh turning point in the development of cities and counties as planned and intended by the Party Central Committee, he declared the first short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees open.

There took place a meeting, as part of the short course, to comprehensively analyze the work done by the chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees in recent years, review successes, experience and mistakes revealed in it and their reasons and take measures for practical improvement.

Jo Yong Won, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and secretary in charge of organizational affairs of the Party Central Committee, made a report calling upon the chief secretaries to thoroughly implement the Party's line on and policy of strengthening cities and counties by directing their efforts into the Party work.

Referring to the important ideologies and theories and policies advanced by our Party for the development of cities and counties in every period of the developing revolution and their great vitality, Jo Yong Won introduced experiences gained by the chief secretaries who have made clear successes in developing their cities and counties true to the intention of the Party Central Committee.

The report made an anatomical analysis of shortcomings being revealed in the work of some chief secretaries and some city and county Party committees.

The report sharply censured the shortcomings of underrating the importance of the Party's internal work and failing to properly give Party guidance, policy-oriented guidance to the administrative and economic work and deviations of failing to properly apply our Party's people-first politics.

Jo Yong Won said the present situation shows that if we fail to direct efforts into the Party's internal work, work with the people and keep the revolutionary climate throughout the Party while laying stress only on the administrative and economic work, our Party work can not be the vivid one and revolutionary guidance to actually strengthen the Party and revolutionary ranks into an integral whole and accelerate the speed of advance of the revolution.

He in his report stressed the need for the city and county Party committees to thoroughly carry out the Party's line on and policy of strengthening cities and counties by becoming a powerful engine leading the development of their regions and masters of city and county economies as required by the era and the developing revolution.

The report called upon all the chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees to fulfill their responsibility and duty as befitting the regional aides to the Party Central Committee in vigorously arousing officials, Party members and other working people to the struggle for implementing the decisions made at the 8th Party Congress and the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee.

Made public at the meeting was the city and county standings decided by the Party Central Committee on the basis of the appraisal of the city and county Party committees' implementation of Party policies.

Then speeches were made.

The first short course for chief secretaries of the city and county Party committees continues.