Pyongyang, September 10 (KCNA) -- The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a policy speech at the Seventh Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on September 8.

Following is the full text of the policy speech:

Dear comrade Deputies,

Esteemed Chairman of the Standing Committee and Deputy Speaker of the Supreme People's Assembly,

Dear observers,

This Seventh Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, convened in the lead-up to this anniversary of the founding of our glorious country, has provided legal weapons which are of great significance in implementing the major policies of the Party and the government.

In particular, the adoption of a law related with the policy of the nation's nuclear forces in accordance with the unanimous will of all the Korean people is a noteworthy event that proclaimed at home and abroad that we have come to possess by law a war deterrent as a means for defending the state.

Thus achieved is another important historic cause of establishing a political and institutional mechanism for definitely guaranteeing the eternal security of our state and people as well as the distant future.

Recognizing that the policy of the nuclear forces was instituted as a law in a historic period, very important in view of the current situation of our revolution, the trend of developments and the mission of the nuclear forces of our Republic, I feel grateful that all the Deputies adopted with unanimous approval the most important law at a most important moment.

I also extend warm encouragement and greetings to Deputies who, as representatives of the people, are devoting all their efforts, wisdom and passion for consolidating the state power rock-solid and accomplishing the struggle objectives advanced at the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Comrades,

The higher the stage of socialist construction for achieving the independence of the masses reaches, the greater the challenge and resistance by the imperialists become.

As long as imperialism, whose inherent nature and means of existence is aggression and plunder, exists, the source of war cannot be rooted out, and antagonism and struggle between socialism, which aspires after independence and peace, and imperialism is unavoidable in the development of history.

Therefore, it is a crucial and vital requirement in achieving a steady development and prosperity of socialism that conditions and an environment that allow no aggressive threat be created; to this end, we should possess an absolute strength with which we can definitely overwhelm the enemy.

Our Republic, as a citadel of the anti-imperialist struggle and a fortress of socialism, resolutely promoted the construction of a self-reliant national defence capability according to its own timetable in the face of intervention and pressures by the hostile forces of all hues. By doing so, it put an end to the era when the US imperialists unilaterally imposed nuclear threat.

And today it has accomplished the historic cause of making a permanent legal confirmation of the law of the policy of the nuclear forces.

This is a clearer demonstration of the independent determination of the government of the Republic and its will to defend the sovereignty and interests of the state.

Our nuclear weapons are a means for containment and ultimate weapon that our Republic, which from the early days of its birth had been under the nuclear threat by the United States, the first country to use nuclear weapons and the largest nuclear power in the world, possessed by waging an arduous and bloody struggle for scores of years so as to reliably defend its dignity and security and completely remove the danger of a nuclear war.

With an absurd sophistry that our nuclear weapons and our strengthening of the self-defence capability pose a serious threat to global peace and the security in the region, the United States is now obsessed with spreading a rumour in the international arena aimed at demonizing the government of our Republic; it is also tenaciously resorting to the harshest-ever sanctions and blockade and political and military offensive to bring us under its control psychologically and physically even by enlisting all its vassal forces.

What the United States tries to achieve is not merely to remove our nuclear weapons; its final objective is to overthrow our government some day by inducing us to abandon the nuclear weapons and further give up our capability of exercising the right to self-defence or by making the capability inferior to its own.

Through unheard-of sanctions and blockade, it is attempting to make us think about the cost of our option for the nuclear weapons and induce and incite complaint among our people about their Party and government by creating a harsh environment for us and by making us feel worn out and uncertain and threatened with regard to the environment for a stable development of our state; in this way they are trying to lead us but to give up the nuclear weapons of our own accord.

But never.

It is the enemy's misjudgement and miscalculation.

Let them impose sanctions for 100, nay 1 000 days or even ten or 100 years.

It is not we that would give up the right to self-defence, on which the country's right to existence and the security of the future of the state and the people depend, so as to escape or make a detour even a moment around the difficulties we are experiencing now; we can never give up the nuclear weapons however harsh the circumstances are in the political and military situations the United States has created on the Korean peninsula and moreover as we have to contain the United States, our nuclear enemy state, in a far-sighted way.

Our people are well aware of the many historical events in the 20th century and 21st century, in which some countries saw and are seeing their last days and tragic ends as a result of wrong choices they made unable to bear the US imperialists' stereotyped preaching and sophistry, sanctions and pressure, and military threat.

Our generation will not pursue an immediately visible improved environment for the economic life at the cost of giving up the nuclear weapons, which guarantee the security of the government of our Republic and the coming generations, to find our own comfort and to escape today's difficulties unable to bear the enemy's deceitful preaching and tenacious pressure, nor will we change our choice even if it would mean experiencing great difficulties.

In this way, we should remain as the greatest and iron-willed generation in the history of our Republic's development.

The United States can never and ever realize their ambition with regard to our state or make our people change their choice.

Whose side on earth is the time on?

It is the enemy who feel hard-pressed now; we do not feel hard-pressed, and we are fully able to live by our own efforts and in our own way even in these circumstances.

In direct proportion to the increase of the period of suffering imposed on our people by the US's brutal hostile policy against us, our absolute strength is continuing to be built up at exponential speed and the security threat they have to face is increasing in direct proportion.

The nuclear forces of our Republic will responsibly perform their important mission to contain grave political and military provocations against our state by the United States and its vassal forces and to put their prospective threats under control, and today this was clarified in a law of the state.

As our Republic values most its independence and self-respect and the destiny of its people, never forgives hostile acts that may do harm to them and means what it says, it could take such an audacious political decision as codifying the policy of the nation's nuclear forces in a law.

The world will clearly realize once again what is a truly independent powerful country and a state of justice in modern days, when pursuit of hegemony is more rampant, and how mighty is the unquenchable spirit of our Republic dealing squarely with the United States, the empire of evil.

Comrades,

Looking back the arduous and protracted journey that our revolution has made so far since it started out with two pistols, all the events of history condensed in it tug at my heartstrings.

The successes achieved are really great, and they are felt weightier and more valuable as they are a fruition of the unstinted support and encouragement from all the people, their precious sweat and blood, and their indescribable painstaking efforts.

To tell the truth, we had to build up the nuclear forces of our Republic and make its combat preparedness perfect while standing face-to-face with the allied imperialist forces single-handedly and coping with their most inhumane and outrageous moves of sanctions and suffocation. It was a do-or-die battle we had to fight in the face of untold sufferings and trials.

It meant that our beloved children and all other people had to tighten their belts still further and suffer from greater hunger, and that all our dear families had to undergo appalling difficulties in life.

Although it was an unavoidable choice we had to make to win a greater victory, it was an untrodden path on which we had to be prepared to suffer unbearable loss and the result of which we were little sure of.

Nevertheless, our people rendered absolute support to our Party for the cause, which it started with the trust in them alone, making single-hearted and all-out efforts for it despite all manner of hardships.

Obviously our scientists and technicians made tangible contributions to the accomplishment of the historic cause of building the nation's nuclear forces; yet, but for our people, who remained fully convinced of the victory without any yielding to such intolerable and uninterrupted sufferings, we could not have followed to the end the road of possessing nuclear weapons, nor could our Republic have greeted today when the policy of the nuclear forces was codified in a law.

Our people, by overcoming all sorts of trials by dint of their unique, strenuous fortitude and patriotism, have finally raised the glory and dignity of our state up to such a height as no one would ever dispute it.

On behalf of the Party and government, I extend my heartfelt thanks to our people throughout the country.

Comrades,

The legalization of the policy of the nuclear forces in accordance with the unanimous desire and iron will of all the people is of tremendous significance.

With this, the position of our state as a nuclear nation has become irreversible.

If our nuclear policy is to be changed now, the world has to be changed, and so should the political and military environment on the Korean peninsula.

There will never be such a thing as our abandonment of the nuclear weapons or denuclearization first, nor will there be any negotiations to this end or bargaining chip in these processes.

The nuclear weapons represent our nation's dignity and honour; they mean the absolute might of our Republic and a source of the great pride of the Korean people.

As long as there exist nuclear weapons and remains imperialism on the earth, and as long as the United States and its vassal forces refuse to stop their anti-DPRK manoeuvrings, our journey of building up the nuclear forces will not come to an end.

Our Republic's nuclear forces represent the destiny of the country and the people and their lasting prestige–this is our steadfast stand.

We have drawn the line of no retreat regarding our nuclear weapons so that there will be no longer any bargaining over them. Herein lies the great importance of the legalization of the policy of the nuclear forces.

The event has made the peace-loving stand of the government of our Republic and our policy of the nation's nuclear forces more transparent and justifiable.

It is a desire of humanity to live in a peaceful world free from aggression and war.

Yet, peace does not come of its own accord simply because they are desirous of it; it is something that we can achieve and defend only when we are strong enough to contain the imperialist tyranny.

Our Republic's legalization of the policy of the nuclear forces constitutes a righteous blow to the imperialists who are violating and disrupting the right to independence and peace.

Our Republic's nuclear forces exist and will come into use to defend our territory, people and self-respect and global peace and security from the imperialist tyranny, and not to pursue intervention in the internal affairs of other nations or hegemony. Accordingly, they in no way pose any threat to those nations and peoples that are friendly to us and desirous of peace.

For their inherent characteristics, the standards and principles of management, operation and other matters related with nuclear weapons should be clearly stipulated by law.

Otherwise, they might fall into an uncontrollable state to be misused for other purpose, or employed in pursuance of any unjustifiable interests, driving humanity into a horrible nuclear holocaust at any moment.

The current law on the policy of our Republic's nuclear forces clearly stipulates detailed provisions, such as the mission and composition of the nuclear forces, control and command over them, principles and conditions for their use, and their safe maintenance and protection.

Such being the case, the law fully accords with the desire of humanity for justice and peace, and there is no room for anyone to pick a quarrel with, or question, our nuclear forces in the future.

The legal weapon, provided to reliably guarantee the historic advance towards the comprehensive development of our own style of socialism, constitutes, together with the proud victories and successes achieved this year, an epoch-making occasion in remarkably raising the fighting spirit of all the people.

This year the government of our Republic has been faced with the heavy task of building a high road to fulfilling the five-year plan set out by the Eighth Party Congress.

Every part of the efforts to carry it out has encountered unprecedented trials and ordeals, but our struggle has been more courageous and progressive, and has borne more valuable fruits.

We overcame the threatening public health crisis, the first of its kind since the founding of our state, in a short span of time by waging a tenacious struggle based on single-hearted unity, the unity of one mind and one body, and defended the security of the state and the people by turning the whole country back to the state of cleanness–this is a great victory we have achieved this year.

In the face of the doubts of the whole world, we displayed to the full the politico-ideological might and superiority of the socialist system by bringing the unprecedented anti-epidemic war to a victorious conclusion at the earliest date possible, and this instilled greater confidence and pride in the people across the country and actively encouraged them to make more dynamic efforts for socialist construction.

In addition to the most serious epidemic crisis, natural disasters hit the country. However, all the people have redoubled their efforts with no sign of pessimism, disappointment, fear and despair, persistently pushing ahead with this year's formidable struggle tasks including the immediate farming work and major construction projects. These are also miraculous achievements in which we ought to take pride.

Such key industrial sectors as the metallurgical, chemical, electric- power, coal-mining industries and rail transport, the buttresses of our self-supporting economy, and several other sectors directly related to improving the people's standard of living have scored laudable successes in fulfilling their production plans by waging an offensive struggle.

Unified guidance and management of the overall state affairs including the economic work is being further intensified with the socialist character being restored, and long-range projects are being designed and pressed forward with an eye to decades in the future, laying foundations and assets for the country's economic development and promotion of the people's wellbeing.

Sci-tech research has been decisively turned into that for solving the practical problems in accordance with pragmatic plans and objectives, the country's education is developing in a balanced way and with orientation towards training practically competent talents, the public health sector has gained valuable experience with which to deal with any type of epidemic and other public health crisis, and other meaningful progress has been made this year in developing socialist culture.

The victories and successes we have achieved this year clearly testify to the fact that our Republic is vigorously advancing towards comprehensive development and prosperity without any sign of stagnation, marking time and frustration, overcoming the subjective and objective challenges in all sectors.

Comrades,

Our Republic, holding higher the banner of independence and justice, has assumed a heavy duty for the times and history, and this demands a more vigorous struggle and advance and a greater victory.

It is without doubt that all the reactionary forces, shocked at our Republic's political measure of legalizing the policy of the nuclear forces, will surely turn out to be ever more desperate and relentless.

The challenges and obstacles lurking in our way ahead will never be removed unless the hostile forces get out of their deeply-ingrained and instinctive delusion that some day they might completely disarm us of the nuclear armaments and make our system collapse by employing such stereotyped tricks as threats and intimidation, sanctions and allurement.

The world will watch with keen interest how our people's choice of building a powerful socialist country will be kept, how the DPRK will carry out its determination and what other amazing miracles will be worked on this land.

To grow stronger in the face of trials and to steadily develop and advance by building on the successes already gained is our Republic's unique trait which has been proven in the course it has followed.

As this immutable law dictates, we should continue to grow stronger in the future, too, and accomplish the struggle tasks we set out to do in an unconditional and perfect manner with no alteration on the road of our choice.

Today the government of our Republic is faced with the task of thoroughly maintaining and implementing the Party's lines and policies to achieve fresh innovations and development befitting the prestige of our state in every field.

To enhance our ultimate strength into infinity and make our armed forces more invincible by giving top priority and importance to building up the national defence capability–this is the primary revolutionary task facing the government of our Republic.

In view of the geopolitical features and strategic position of our country and the prevailing situation created before our revolution, the absolute military supremacy of our state over the aggressive forces of imperialism poses as an indispensable requirement.

The United States, which felt a great fear it would face in the near future after witnessing the defence development in some sectors we have opened to the public in recent years, is now continuing to cling to the heinous moves of sanctions and blockade and, at the same time, committing a grave intimidation-oriented sabre-rattling while hurling its nuclear strike weapons on a large scale around the Korean peninsula.

The present south Korean regime, too, is trumpeting about the strengthening of the south Korea-US combined defence posture by improving the executive ability of the south Korea-US "extended deterrence" and the enhancing of "deterrence" and "reaction capability" by building what they call "Korean-style three-axis system," asserting the brigandish logic of containing us to make up for its army's military inferiority; it is stepping up dangerous military manoeuvrings and modernization of armaments which further aggravate the military tension in the region.

Such serious circumstances show that the military situation around our state has assumed a protracted nature, going from bad to worse, and, accordingly, we should be thoroughly prepared for them.

However, the situation aggravated by the enemy's moves has provided excellent conditions and environment for us to develop our military forces more rapidly and, more importantly, justness for strengthening our self-defence capability and inevitable justification for building it up on a priority basis.

The Ministry of National Defence and the defence industry of the Republic will take the prevailing situation as the most favourable opportunity to build up the military capability.

Our defence industry should correctly adhere to the planned orientation of its development true to the idea of defence development strategy put forward by the Party Congress, and speed up full steam the development of military hardware of a new generation for modern warfare.

Most importantly, it is imperative to steadily expand the space for the operation of tactical nukes and diversify their application means on a higher stage so as to enhance the combat reliability and efficiency of operational application of our nuclear forces, thus making the nuclear combat posture consolidated in every way.

It is also necessary to steadily step up the deployment of cutting-edge strategic and tactical weapon systems for combat and direct all efforts to remarkably strengthening the war deterrent of the country.

We should further strengthen the politico-ideological might unique to our state and give fullest play to it in all sectors.

All our people are firmly united with one ideology and will and with noble virtues and human feeling, and make devoted efforts for the prosperity of their country–this is the advantage unique to our country and the motive force that brings about all great miracles on this land.

The might of single-hearted unity–the invincible might of our style of socialism and the most powerful weapon of our state–should be further consolidated in ideology, purpose and moral obligation.

We must thoroughly apply the people-first politics of our Party in the overall state affairs and intensify the activities of state power to ensure that all the people take an active part in the political affairs as masters of the state and society.

We should instil in all the members of society the pride and dignity that our ideology, our system, our culture and our lifestyle are the best, and inspire them to continue to give full play to the collectivist spirit, communist virtues and beautiful traits of our society.

Our country will always prosper without any vacillation when all the people remain faithful to their civic duties while putting the interests of the state and the collective first in their consideration and live and work as genuine socialist working people who devote their patriotic mind for the development and prosperity of their country.

We should direct great efforts to preparing all the people and service personnel of the People's Army to be vanguard class fighters and combatants who firmly safeguard their socialist country with a steadfast viewpoint on the archenemy and other enemies, and thus consolidate our politico-ideological position and class position.

The government of the Republic should dynamically push forward the struggle for implementing the five-year plan for national economic development and follow up the success in the next stage.

The most important revolutionary task facing the government is to definitely consolidate the foundations for achieving the comprehensive development of our own style of socialism and satisfactorily solve such urgent problems concerning the improvement of the people's living standards as the problems of food and consumer goods by implementing the five-year plan without fail.

The five-year plan is aimed at advancing towards sustained economic growth and remarkable improvement of the people's living standards on the basis of the economic situation of the country and the actual feasibilities.

When the five-year plan is implemented, the overall national economy will be put on a growth orbit with its work system, the ties among its sectors and its self-supporting foundations being readjusted and reinforced, and substantial changes will be brought about in solving the problems of food, clothing and housing for the people.

Actually, according to the strategy of readjustment and reinforcement, the lifeline and integrity of the country's economy have been further strengthened, many irrationalities rectified in the economic management, and normalization of production, renovation of production lines and provision of domestic raw and other materials actively promoted over the past one year and eight months. In particular, a vigorous drive for building 50 000 flats in Pyongyang and for provincial construction and rural construction was launched, opening up a bright prospect for solving the housing problem.

As was clarified at the Eighth Party Congress, the GDP would increase by more than 40 percent and the production of consumer goods by more than 30 percent by the end of 2025 as compared to 2020. This shows that carrying out the five-year plan will provide a guarantee for giving an impetus to economic development of the country and the improvement of the people's living standards and for marching confidently towards a more gigantic struggle of the next stage.

Although the economic difficulties facing us now are severe, the government of the Republic, which has taken responsibility for the destiny and livelihood of the people, should set a correct orientation of struggle for implementing the five-year plan and execute it forcefully, and thereby achieve good results without fail.

The Cabinet, as the country's economic headquarters, should properly regulate economic construction and development in the direction of strictly supervising the overall economic work and pushing ahead with the work as a whole.

As the Cabinet is dealing with the overall economic work of the country, it is important for it to efficiently plan and direct the undertakings for developing the national economy as a whole in a simultaneous and balanced way.

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The Cabinet should focus on the key sectors which are the cornerstone of the country's economy, and at the same time be concerned about, responsible for and take care of other economic sectors and the people's livelihood as a whole.

The system and order of placing the country's economic work under the control of the Cabinet are getting stronger. To keep with this, the Cabinet should take a proper control of the overall production and other economic activities, ensure an organic link and cooperation among economic sectors, and take practical and timely measures for boosting the sectors that are lagging behind or backward. In this way it can ensure balance, smoothness and efficiency of the country's economic work.

It should put major and sustained efforts into agricultural production and the development of light industry so as to settle the problems of food and consumer goods in the near future.

All the economic policies of our Party and government are geared to providing the people with an affluent life with nothing to envy by fully satisfying their material and economic needs.

The socialist construction we are pressing on with is, to all intents and purposes, a struggle for building an ideal society the people are desirous of and dream about. Therefore, the more the struggle is intensified, the more substantial results it should beget for the benefit of the people.

If we fail to properly solve even elementary problems arising in the people's living, making the people have a hard time on and on, then our effort for economic work would be futile, no matter how hard we try for it.

What is most urgent in stabilizing and improving the people's living is to solve the problems of food and consumer goods.

During the five-year plan period, we should hit the national target of grain production without fail to supply the people with enough food, and increase production in light industry both in quality and quantity to solve the problems of daily necessaries and basic foodstuffs satisfactorily.

An important task to this end is to put farming on a stable footing, increase its productivity, change the structure of grain production and improve grain procurement and food supply.

As farming conditions and environment are expected to turn more unfavourable, it is necessary to take measures to cope with them.

Scientific and technological measures like the seed revolution should be taken as the main link in the whole chain of farming so as to have a high and stable harvest without being affected by any change in the climatic conditions. The whole country should be mobilized to provide labour assistance to the countryside, and sufficient amounts of materials supplied to meet the demands of the yearly farming.

Officials, in particular, should regard unfavourable climatic conditions as a fait accompli, conduct an overall examination of agricultural production and, in line with this, give guidance over farming in a scientific and planned way.

An important way to reduce the imbalance in agricultural production and increase its stability is to rehabilitate the irrigation facilities and bring them to perfection.

The whole country should turn out in the effort to carry out the project of rebuilding the irrigation facilities without fail in two or three years by restoring or readjusting what have been destroyed or aged and by installing more where necessary.

The area of cultivation of wheat and its output have begun to increase this year; in the future, they should be increased year after year. Along with this, the work of properly storing and processing the crop should be conducted in parallel so that the policy of the Party and government for improving the people's diet can prove its worth in reality.

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The effort for rural rejuvenation should be stepped up under the banner of the rural revolution programme in the new era.

Rural rejuvenation precisely means the solving of the socialist rural question and the struggle to defend socialism.

As is clarified in the rural revolution programme in the new era, the first and foremost task in this regard is to enlighten the agricultural workers.

Only when the level of consciousness of the agricultural workers, masters of the rural revolution, is raised, can they have a clear understanding of the rural revolution programme in the new era, play the core and leading role in implementing it and contribute positively to further developing the socialist countryside as required by the rapidly-changing times.

In order to widen the range of the ideological consciousness of the agricultural workers, it is necessary to inject progressive and modern natures into the rural areas.

We should energetically push ahead with the work of upgrading the agricultural production environment including putting agricultural production on a scientific, modern and IT footing and mechanizing farm work on a high level. By doing this, we can not only bring about a change in the ideological consciousness of the agricultural workers but also transform all the rural communities into rich ones.

We should map out correct plans for rural construction with the main emphasis on housing construction and in accordance with the local and geographical characteristics. And we should carry them out step by step so that the rapid rejuvenation of our country's rural communities can be noticeable and be enjoyed by the farmers.

We should boost the country's fishing industry so as to supply the people with more fish.

The fishing industry should extensively and steadily conduct various fish farming activities including releasing fry and cage-net fish farming in all rivers and lakes, at the same time as undertaking sea fishing and sea culture briskly.

What is important here is to carry on scientific and regular investigation into the state of the conservation and propagation of the aquatic resources and, based on this, increase aquatic production in a planned manner.

We need to give a spur to effecting a revolution in light industry so as to solve the problem of consumer goods.

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Improving the quality of consumer goods is the seed and basic orientation of the revolution in light industry.

If we, bent on fulfilling the immediate plans, continue to produce low-quality consumer goods in disregard of the demand and desires of the people who are becoming more cultured day after day, light industry of the country will drift into a vicious cycle and its development can never be expected.

The light industry sector should help its scientists, technicians and workers to widen their horizons and steadily raise their technical level and skills, and make exacting demands upon ensuring the quality of the raw and other materials, modernizing production lines and quality control work. In this way, it should fully guarantee the quality of consumer goods with the people's appraisal as the standard.

By bolstering up the regional industries across the country, we should usher in a new era, in which regions are transformed and develop by themselves.

If the regional-industry factories in all cities and counties play their proper role, they can solve a number of problems in developing the country's economy and improving people's living standards.

Having renovated its regional-industry factories, Kimhwa County is meeting its local demands with its own raw material sources. We should powerfully push ahead with the work of expanding this practical experience to all the cities and counties across the country.

With regard to this, the state should establish a promoting committee so that it can take responsibility for renovating the regional-industry factories in cities and counties, including their designing and execution of their building, and push ahead with the projects.

Since the current capacity of cities and counties is weak, we, after the factories have been renovated, should take measures for securing raw materials for them and making initial investment in them until they can stand on their own feet.

The regional-industry factories should focus on improving the quality of their products and thus make a substantial contribution to improving the local people's livelihood. And they should ensure expanded re-production so that they can operate by their own efforts.

In implementing the five-year plan for national economic development, key industries should continue to fly the banner and lead the national economy as a whole.

Key industries are the cornerstone and mainstay in our self-supporting economy; only when these sectors bring about an upsurge in production, can the overall national economy rise up and a bright view of the economic development of the next stage can be created.

For this reason, the Party and the government have already disbursed a large sum of money on bolstering up the metal and chemical industries, and intend to take more economic and practical measures needed for renovating the electric-power industry and various other key industries, expanding their capacity and putting their production on a normal track.

The metal, chemical and other key industrial sectors should carry out their production plans under any circumstances and without delay as they perseveringly implement the plans pertaining to the strategy of readjustment and reinforcement, so as to build up a more powerful motive force and potentialities for the growth and development of the national economy.

In particular, the management of labour, equipment and technology should be performed on a regular basis according to well-thought-out plans in order to prevent economic loss caused by different kinds of equipment-related accidents, and a closer connection between production and consumption should be built up from the standpoint of the state so as to enable the key industrial sectors to work without a hitch.

All sectors and units of the national economy should make a tangible contribution to the national economic development and the improvement of the people's livelihood by improving the management of business and enterprises in a way that they can maximize profits while saving labour, energy, materials, sites and others as much as possible, starting from the viewpoint that economy is precisely increased production and patriotism.

It is needed to work out plans for long-range undertakings of great significance in the economic development of the country and the improvement of the people's living standards, make scrupulous arrangements for them and push ahead with them in a planned way and stage by stage.

To be bent on the present production for reasons of economic difficulties of the country is just self-preservation and retreat and an expression of giving up revolution.

Genuine patriots are just those who fight on by making it a principle to plan, make arrangements for and perform any undertakings, be they big or small, so that our descendants can enjoy their benefits to the full even in the distant future.

If it is really for the good of the people and the prosperity of the country, we should set ourselves lofty ideals and goals and at the same time persistently push on with the struggle to achieve them.

It is necessary to keep channelling big efforts in the future into projects for providing our people with better and excellent living conditions, including the construction of 50 000 flats in Pyongyang and large-scale greenhouse farms.

In order for us to continue to undertake ambitious construction projects with determination in the future, too, we should build large-capacity building-materials production bases in Pyongyang and local areas and produce and supply good quality building materials like finishing materials by ourselves.

Through the struggle to continuously conduct long-range and grand construction operations and successfully complete them, we should demonstrate the development aspects of our state where the people's long-cherished desires are fulfilled successfully one after another and its rosy future.

It is needed to make scientific calculations and accurate action plans for long-term economic projects including the construction of a large canal linking the East and West Seas of Korea and, once they are launched, national efforts should be directed to bringing success without fail.

The important affairs the government of the Republic should push ahead with at present are land administration and disaster prevention.

The heavy human casualties and material damage caused by the influence of disastrous abnormal climate that is getting ever serious are a difficult worldwide problem at present, and disasters happen also in our country every year.

The conservation of rivers is as good as the control of weather conditions and river improvement is an intermediate- and long-range undertaking.

At present, river improvement work is being limited to river dredging and the building of retaining walls along the riverside. It should be conducted according to intermediate- and long-range plans, in other words, a scientific river improvement strategy.

We should put water management on a scientific basis by making an accurate assessment of the water adjusting capacity of rivers and streams of the country, creating buffer points based on the judgment and perfecting the water management system.

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It is necessary to keep putting big efforts into building the national disaster prevention capacity for minimizing damage from natural phenomena and, for the present, all the provinces, cities and counties should possess sufficient forces, equipment and materials needed for rescuing people in case of flood.

We should push ahead more powerfully on a nationwide scale with the protection and management of land and environment including the forest restoration campaign, afforestation for erosion control, dike projects for tide-water control and road reconstruction.

Comrades,

It is a consistent policy of the government of the Republic to attach importance to education, science and technology, and public health and direct efforts to the development of them.

At present, we badly need more than ever before a larger number of talents, practically competent talents, and scientific and technological achievements conducive to solving problems arising in reality.

The government of the Republic should put forward the talents strategy, the strategy of sci-tech development, as the core strategy for the overall rejuvenation of the state and powerfully spur the implementation of the strategy.

At present the country's education fails to follow the developing global trend and meet the requirements of the times in terms of qualitative level.

Education fails to be aimed at training competent talents with practical ability and is confined to the one for education's sake, or for evaluation of marks, and therefore it is of little help to national development.

The education sector should properly select subjects to enable students to spend time and energy in acquiring more practical knowledge applicable to practice and decisively improve the quality of the universal 12-year compulsory education to enhance the ability of students pre-eminently beyond comparison.

Kim Chaek University of Technology and other technical colleges should steadily raise the level of education up to the world standard in order to graduate all their students as competent and prominent scientific and technological talents.

National efforts should continuously be directed to providing all teachers and students in Pyongyang and local areas with perfect conditions for education, practice and study.

The level and role of science and technology should be increased and the resources of technical talents be effectively promoted and managed.

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As the development of science and technology requires the preparation of means of research and talents, nationwide attention should constantly be paid to the matter and substantial measures be taken to settle it.

As I emphasize time and again, the scientific research sector should strictly guard against the attitude of making up the numbers of research achievements alone, and present proper sci-tech results, even a few in number, capable of actually shoring up the economy of the country in a year.

All sectors and units should regularly learn about and substantially review the operation of sci-tech learning spaces, the important bases for making all the people well versed in science and technology, and steadily intensify the dissemination of science and technology to activate the mass technical innovation drive.

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It is necessary to properly ensure that sci-tech achievements are shared, absorbed and informed, good conditions are provided for gaining access to sci-tech data and excellent units, scientists and technicians are given preferential treatment and appraisal to make the climate of attaching importance to science and technology pervades the whole society.

Medical service should continuously be improved to protect and promote the life and health of our people.

Through the recent public health crisis the present state of our public health sector was evaluated in an all-round way and the urgency of increasing its level and capacity was proved all the more.

Urgent problems in medical service should be resolved first from the standpoint that the life and health of the people are a top priority.

Since the country is unable to produce all medical supplies by itself, the medical supplies needed for the medical treatment of the people and the promotion of their health should fully be provided even by importing them.

Along with this, the establishment and modernization of pharmaceutical, medical appliances and medical supplies factories should actively be pushed so as to domestically produce and supply various medicines including essential medical supplies and it is necessary to press on in a planned way with the work to renovate provincial, city and county hospitals and bring pharmacies up to standard.

It is necessary to ensure that all doctors and nurses in the public health sector acquire qualifications as defenders of human lives and communist traits.

They should be encouraged to positively emulate the spiritual world of self-sacrificing devotion displayed by the medical workers who moved the people during the recent struggle to exterminate the malignant virus; in this way we can ensure that excellent medical workers, who have cherished the word devotion deep in their hearts, can be seen everywhere in the country.

Efforts should be put into developing medical science and technology onto the world's advanced level and a people-oriented, advanced and efficient medical care system be perfected.

The building of the national anti-epidemic capacity should be stepped up.

This is a national issue of paramount importance that can never be delayed even for a moment as there are various possibilities of continued outbreaks of malignant infectious diseases both at present and in the future.

It is important to carry out the tasks put forward at the Fifth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Party Central Committee and the National Meeting of Reviewing the Emergency Anti-epidemic Work in connection with the building of the state's anti-epidemic capacity while examining them on a case-by-case basis.

In particular, the state should constantly watch the volatile epidemic situation beyond the country and the characteristics of the disease with alertness, and pay attention to developing the capacity to promptly detect and control the disease once it enters its territory.

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Recently, the World Health Organization and public health institutions of different countries have been warning that it is needed to get thoroughly prepared to cope with dangerous influenza as well as the spread of COVID-19 this winter.

And our epidemic prevention experts are of the opinion that the antibody titre which was formed among our people as they suffered from the malignant epidemic last May and June would fall around October.

Therefore, while administering vaccination in a responsible way, we should recommend that all residents wear masks for the protection of their own health from November.

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Comrades,

The present international situation shows that the contradictions between justice and injustice and between the progressive and the reactionary, especially the power structure surrounding the Korean peninsula, have become obvious and the change from a unipolar world advocated by the US into a multipolar world is being accelerated significantly.

Our Republic will develop foreign relations proactively in line with the development trend of the current international situation and its position as a powerful independent country.

The field of external affairs should invariably hold fast as the foremost mission of the diplomacy of the Republic to the defence of the dignity of our Party, the enhancement of national prestige and the championing of national interests and settle issues arising in international relations in the interests of our revolution.

It should develop external relations in a many-sided way as it further expands and develops friendly and cooperative relations with neighbouring countries and collaborates with all countries and nations opposing and rejecting the imperialists' aggression and interference, domination and subordination and aspiring after independence and justice, regardless of differences in ideology and system.

Along with this, it should try to find a way of making diplomatic efforts for developing multifaceted exchanges and cooperation with capitalist countries that respect our country and are friendly to it.

In order to build on today's proud victory to achieve a greater victory in socialist construction by carrying out the aforementioned tasks facing the government of the Republic, we should thoroughly establish the Party's unified leadership system in state building and activities.

The government of the Republic should organize and guide all affairs with the lines and policies of the Party as absolute criteria and definitely orient its activities to carrying out the Party's policies.

All government agencies should establish a revolutionary habit of accepting and implementing the decisions and instructions of the Party unconditionally without any slight excuse or pretext and make it an iron rule which is inviolable in any circumstances to report all problems to the Party and deal with them in accordance with its conclusion.

The functions and role of the people's power organs should be enhanced.

The work of power organs embracing all domains of social life is very complicated and enormous, and their duty and role are important as much.

All power organs should perform their duty faithfully, fully aware of their mission of representing the dignified administrative power of the Republic in their regions and being in charge of the people's life.

They should take full charge of the policies and instructions of the Party and government for their regions and units, map out plans and give guidance in a responsible way to thoroughly implement them and positively create conditions and environment which enable institutions, enterprises, cooperative organizations and residents to conduct their work and activities smoothly and effectively.

They should make devoted efforts to ensure that all children and families enjoy the benefits of the people-oriented policies of the Party and government evenly and without exception, always learn about problems relating to the people's living including the matters of drinking water and fuel and take careful measures in advance lest they should suffer from any slight inconvenience or trouble.

Officials who are leading members of the revolution should have extraordinary ideological preparedness and determination and make strenuous efforts all alike.

In our society, officials should become servants in the true sense of the word.

The word official is not something related to any honour or authority, and the worth of existence of officials is unthinkable separated from their natural mission of serving the people.

If officials enjoy a comfortable and luxurious life, it is not socialism at all and it brings greater trouble to the people.

All officials should never forget that their positions require them to shoulder heavier burdens and work harder for the Party and revolution, and the country and people and should be boundlessly faithful to their duties always feeling oppressive and an acute sense of responsibility without taking their eyes off even for a moment.

When there is a new job to be done, they should not evade it or take a stopgap measure, but take the lead in it as they work out a detailed plan, command the work and throw themselves to it with the trait of setting personal examples to bring about good results.

They should heighten a sense of responsibility and increase their role in work, constantly cultivate their mind and morality to live honourably before the Party and people and become truly necessary officials who know nothing but the revolution and work and can fulfil their duties flawlessly.

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Comrade Deputies,

We will soon greet the 74th anniversary of the founding of the glorious Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

On the occasion of this meaningful day, our Republic brilliantly engraved on its proud history another megaevent that demonstrates more clearly the prestige of the dignified and independent powerful country.

We should brave and break through severer ordeals and adversities as our noble ideal and our sacred cause rise to a higher stage of success and victory.

Today our struggle is accompanied by unprecedentedly extreme difficulties and we do not know what kind of challenge may face us next.

But our Republic is obviously progressing without the slightest hesitation and vacillation and will continuously advance and grow stronger in the future, too.

It is because our cause, our ideology and our line all represent justice and truth and we have the great might of firm single-minded unity of the Party and the people which nobody can break.

Comrades,

The victory is surely on our side and the more we exert ourselves, the faster the victory will come.

For the eternal prosperity of our Republic, our beloved mother,

For the promotion of the well-being of our great people,

For the victorious advance of our own style of socialism,

Let us all advance more dynamically, closely rallied behind the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea with one mind and purpose.

Long live the Democratic People's Republic of Korea! -0-

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