The year 2022 was recorded as a year of historic significance to be etched in the course of development of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The country quickly overcame the public health crisis it faced for the first time since its founding, and thus reliably safeguarded the safety of the state and people, completed a large-scale modern greenhouse farm in the Ryonpho area and forcibly promoted the construction of 10 000 flats in the Hwasong area and the dwelling houses in the Komdok area.

All these successes are permeated with heroic feats of the Korean People’s Army, the defender of the country and creator of the people’s happiness.

KPA medics in anti-epidemic war in capital city

In May last year, a most serious state emergency situation occurred after a breakthrough was created on the epidemic prevention walls in the country, which had firmly been defended for two years and three months.

Under the emergency situation caused by the influx of COVID-19, the Workers’ Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK enforced thorough-going and high-intensive anti-epidemic policies one after another.

Given the situation, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un dispatched the KPA medics to the forefront of the anti-epidemic war in the capital city of Pyongyang which was decisive of the success or failure in the nationwide anti-epidemic struggle.

Upon receiving a special order of the WPK Central Military Commission, the KPA medics, as the main force in the effort to contain the spread of the epidemic, launched into the campaign to protect the safety of the people.

Fully aware of the Party’s ardent affection for the people, they gave the maximum play to a high sense of responsibility, great devotion and strenuous exertions in the work of supplying medicines.

Since they were deployed at the pharmacies in the city, they did not confine themselves to the supply of medicines but visited families in need of medicines despite the sultry weather and also strived day and night to ensure convenience and accuracy in the supply of medicines. Some even donated their blood to save patients in critical conditions and provided people with tonics and their food rations, and others helped a woman in childbirth. That is why the citizens of Pyongyang still remember their devoted efforts.

On August 18 last year, Kim Jong Un delivered a speech to the combatants of the KPA medical corps, who had performed immortal feats of fulfilling the sacred mission of defending the capital city and people in the highest-level emergency anti-epidemic campaign. In the speech, he said as follows: Although in the recent battle you were not caught in a hail of bullets, the virus was threatening your lives; yet you turned out without hesitation in the fight to exterminate the virus and defend the people. You are all today’s frontline medics and combat heroes.

Creating a miracle in Ryonpho

When the Korean people talk about the year 2022, the first word that comes to their minds is a place called Ryonpho. Originally, it was a not-widely-known coastal area in the East Sea of Korea. However, thanks to the heroic struggle of the service personnel of the KPA, it was transformed into a large-scale modern vegetable producer in a matter of several months.

In his speech delivered at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ryonpho Greenhouse Farm in February last year, Kim Jong Un called for making redoubled efforts to provide creation for the people as early as possible for the rosy future of the country to be more prosperous and overflowing with happiness at every home, expressing expectation and belief that the heroic men and officers of the People’s Army would creditably carry out the order of the Party Central Committee by displaying the militant spirit of the revolutionary army to the full.

His call served as a source of mental strength of the service personnel of the People’s Army for bringing about a miracle in Ryonpho.

In the face of the hardest conditions where a malignant epidemic broke out on top of the vicious moves of the hostile forces against the country, they, mindful of their ennobling mission and responsibility they had assumed for the Party and the country, worked assiduously at the construction site since the day of its groundbreaking.

The soldier builders accelerated the speed while ensuring quality, in the course of which they created the Ryonpho speed and Ryonpho legend.

They were different in services and arms and rank and age, but they had a common aspiration. Although the task was huge and working conditions were difficult, they pooled their strength and wisdom and made concerted effort to break through the hardships. By actively inventing and introducing advanced methods of construction and raising a wind of collective innovations and emulation drive, they wonderfully completed the project in about 230 days.

The construction of the farm, which consists of over 850 blocks of hydroponic and soil greenhouses covering 280 hectares, over 1 000 dwelling houses, schools, a hall of culture and comprehensive service facilities that retain the local features, made it possible to produce and supply fresh vegetables to the people in South Hamgyong Province all the year round.