Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, gave field guidance on August 24 and 25 at various regional-industry factories under construction.

He was accompanied by Jo Yong Won, Pak Jong Chon, Kim Jae Ryong, Pak Thae Song, O Su Yong, Ju Chang Il, Kim Chol Sam and Kim Hwa Song, leading officials of the Central Committee of the WPK.

He was greeted by commanding officers of the military units involved in the construction of factories in the relevant regions.

Seeing the plans for the layout of regional-industry factories and their landscaping, he was briefed on the progress made in the projects by the commanding officers.

Then he inspected the construction sites.

I feel as if it was only a few days ago when I pressed the detonator at a groundbreaking ceremony heralding the arrival of a new era of regional development, but factories have already taken shape, he said, expressing great satisfaction over the fact that the overall construction project has been carried out at over 80 percent.

Examining carefully whether the construction of factories was done as specified in the production line designs to ensure smooth operation of equipment and maximum labour productivity, their interior walls were insulated to retain heat and exterior tiling was done impeccably, he estimated the quality level of construction.

Saying that builders should never neglect the improvement of quality in construction, a policy-oriented requirement, carried away by the single desire to finish the construction earlier, he called for building the factories, which the Party promised to the people and the People’s Army pledged to present to them as gifts, to be impeccable even in the distant future. To this end, it is necessary to make higher demands by the field commanding officers and construction control organs and further enhance their roles, he stressed again.

Watching for a while the soldier-builders working, he instructed the accompanying officials to provide them with better working and living conditions and further intensify the frontline-style political information and motivational work to give full play to their spiritual strength.

He underlined the need for the provincial, city and county Party organizations and people’s committees at different levels to make preparations, such as creation of raw materials bases and training of skilled workers, in a responsible manner so as to keep the operation of the factories at full capacity after the completion of their construction, and ensure that the regional people enjoy benefits from them.

Setting forth a new policy of accelerating the implementation of the historic cause of regional rejuvenation by pushing ahead with the construction of public health facilities, sci-tech learning spaces and grain management stations, simultaneously with the on-going construction of regional-industry factories, in order to hasten the accomplishment of the Regional Development 20×10 Policy for bringing about a remarkable improvement in the regional economy and people’s living standards, he clarified the stand of the Party Central Committee to take crucial measures to carry it out.

Pointing out that the Party made the crucial decision in such a harsh period as now as it was indispensable to bringing earlier a new era of epochal development and comprehensive rejuvenation in all regions at the same time, he said that it would be most reasonable to complete the sci-tech learning spaces and finish the framework construction of hospitals and grain management stations, taking advantage of the deployment of People’s Army units in the relevant regions for construction of their factories, and take state-sponsored measures to give finishing touches to the hospitals and grain management stations and inaugurate them later in yearly order.

It is an indispensable task to be fulfilled without fail to build large-scale, modern hospitals in cities and counties, where the modernization level of public health facilities is relatively lower than those of the capital and provincial cities, so as to promote the health of the regional people, he said, giving detailed instructions that in order to carry out the huge task, it is necessary to take measures to give precedence to the construction of their buildings by dovetailing it with the schedule of construction of the regional-industry factories, and furnish them with necessary equipment according to the state’s plan in the future.

Stressing the need to build sci-tech learning centres, he said:

Our purpose of urbanizing the rural communities is not merely to model the countryside on urban architectural beauty but to transform as early as possible the regional forces on a working-class pattern and make them progressive and well-versed in science and technology on a level not inferior to those in the urban areas. As a practical way, it is necessary to set up a sci-tech learning centre in every city and county for dissemination of knowledge needed in various fields, he said, adding it is an important task conforming to the Party’s policy on building a country that develops on the strength of science and technology.

Giving an instruction to commonly call various facilities for processing and storing grains grain management stations, he said that they should be rebuilt under the direct control of the state, not merely in a passive attitude of repairing the existing facilities, so as to properly store and manage grains, harvested with much effort, without wasting even a single grain, and provide the people with well-processed grains in particular.

As the construction of regional-industry factories is proceeding on a full scale across the country and the system of construction workforce, supply of materials and command has been established in a relatively well-regulated way, it is the best option in terms of time and profitability to push ahead with the simultaneous construction of modern hospitals, sci-tech learning centres and grain management stations in every city and county on this occasion, he re-affirmed, adding that when the regional development policy becomes a comprehensive one that covers public health, science and education, not confined to the construction of light-industry factories, it can make a genuine, tangible contribution to the improvement of the material and cultural life of the regional people and drastically raise the efficiency of regional development.

There would be no remaining manpower in cities and counties as it would be too much for them to build all the new houses with their construction workforces, but if the vital undertakings are neglected, our dream of regional development will remain an empty slogan, he stressed, adding our Party made a bold decision, placing its trust in our army, the faithful defender, supporter and implementer of the Party’s policies, the pioneer of civilization in the new era and the artist of people’s happiness. He set forth detailed orientation for the army units mobilized for the construction of regional-industry factories to properly organize and allocate manpower and meticulously draw up the construction timetable to successfully carry out their new tasks.

He said that leading officials of relevant sectors would deeply study detailed plans and ways for implementing the higher ten-year goal for regional development before deliberating them and make decisions at a plenary meeting to be held in December, and substantially carry them out in yearly order.

The tasks are huge and the conditions are difficult, but if we work harder, we can surely realize our ideals, and it is a trait unique to the Korean revolutionaries to assume heavy duties by themselves in hard times, he said, adding regions and rural communities will literally get rid of their century-old backwardness and undergo complete transformation and the appearance of our state be changed beyond recognition 10 years later when the grandiose goals will have been attained. Calling for finding the worth of waging the revolution and tiding over today’s difficulties, picturing that day, he expressed his conviction that the grand projects, which will serve as a great stride in accelerating the process of regional rejuvenation, will be accomplished without fail.

His field guidance at the construction sites of regional-industry factories will be etched in history as an important occasion, in which an important guideline and militant banner for enriching the Party’s Regional Development 20×10 Policy and developing it onto a new high was provided, and as another political event of epochal significance in the leadership activities of the WPK that remains boundlessly faithful to the duty it assumed at the time of its founding to reflect the people’s desires and demands in its policies and fulfill them.