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, made an important speech, titled, Let Us Make Redoubled Efforts for the Prosperity of Our Great State, on September 9 to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the DPRK.

In the speech he extended warm greetings, on the occasion of the founding anniversary of the country, to the cadres of the Party and the government, who are working strenuously and with devotion to prove themselves worthy of the weighty responsibilities entrusted to them by the great people, and also to the service personnel and all the other people, who are proudly celebrating the national day with the dignity of displaying their pure and boundless patriotic loyalty and devoting untiring efforts in the dynamic, creative struggle for national prosperity.

He also expressed his good wishes towards all the overseas Koreans, including the patriotic compatriots of Chongryon (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan) who are invariably following the road of patriotism with ardent love for their socialist homeland, and he thanked the peoples of all the friendly countries for recognizing the sovereignty of the DPRK and supporting its cause of justice.

He then paid noble tribute to the revolutionary forerunners, patriotic martyrs and meritorious persons of the preceding generations, who had created excellent traditions and paradigms worthy of emulation for all posterity by dedicating their precious lives and performing remarkable feats for the founding and development of the country and the victorious advance of the socialist cause.

He continued to say:

No country in the world is as great, wonderful and glorious as our Republic–this is what comes to our minds each time we look up, with a high sense of pride, at our national flag fluttering incessantly and shedding its brilliant radiance all over this land, and whenever we mark our national day every year.

Unheard-of miracles were wrought by the Korean people during their fight to repulse the invasion by the imperialist allied forces boasting of their incomparably superior strength, to say nothing of the period when they were building a genuine people’s country after being freed from the vicious colonial rule. And the historic stage of Chollima Korea, Juche Korea, during which they started from scratch on the war debris and made a leap forward towards the goal of building a socialist state, was also replete with such miracles.

We are taking greater pride in the fact that such an honourable course followed by our state is not confined to the history written by our preceding generations.

The reality, as we see today, is an extension of this miraculous past.

Obviously, we are progressing.

Over the last period, when one whole generation has been replaced by another, our Party and people have defended and developed the socialist cause without any slightest vacillation or deviation in the face of countless severe challenges and trials. This constitutes the most faithful and perfect inheritance of the cause of Kimilsungism, a significant political victory and historic miracle that has proved in practice the everlasting truthfulness, veracity and vitality of the great Juche idea and its materialization–socialism of our own style.

In this way we have clearly demonstrated to the whole world the truth of Juche, the immutable truth of invincibility, that socialism, whereby the people are its masters and remain faithful to their responsibility and role as such, will grow prosperous for all eternity without ever collapsing or vacillating in the face of the imperialist reactionary forces’ desperate manoeuvres and the change of generations within our revolutionary ranks.

This year, too, our Party and government have organized and launched ambitious, gigantic projects, which will serve as a watershed in making an epoch-making advancement of our socialist cause.

As you all know, we are currently implementing the struggle tasks for the fourth year of the five-year plan as was decided upon and assigned by the Eighth Party Congress. Under these circumstances we have, of our own accord, resolved to add medium- and long-term tasks for regional rejuvenation to our work programme. This manifests our self-confidence and firm belief in our strength, the revolutionary viewpoint and attitude of our Party Central Committee in working to fulfil the responsibility and duty it has assumed for the times and history, and its steadfast spirit of serving the people.

We are overflowing with strong confidence in our ability to successfully and bravely pass through this challenging, historic stage of our revolutionary cause.

These revolutionary measures we have adopted recently are an important strategic decision designed to build up the foundations of our social system and accelerate the comprehensive development of our state by substantially displaying the advantages of socialism through the promotion of the well-being of the people throughout the country.

As things stand now, the country’s economic situation is not good and it is difficult to find any more reserves. However, our current plan for the next ten years envisages helping all the cities and counties in the country have the major material and technical foundations for their diversified and independent development. This would be unthinkable in the past.

Nonetheless, in order to repay the people’s great expectations and trust, our Party and government worked out a scientific strategy and realistic action plan as they believed in the unconditional and absolute loyalty of our service personnel and their strong fighting efficiency. Already, as we expected, major regional-industry factories are taking shape in the 20 cities and counties.

Not content with this, our Party and government have proposed an additional initiative to rid regions of their backwardness as soon as possible, and they are currently making preparations for implementing it to the letter.

Proceeding from my view of the regional development policy as a key political concern, I have already stressed the need for our Party and government to regard regional development as their most pressing revolutionary task.

This is something that has eluded us for more than 70 years, nearly eight decades, so I am certain that there are some whose attitude and stand towards this regional development plan remain skeptical.

Nevertheless, availing myself of this opportunity, I reaffirm on behalf of the Party and the government.

Is the fulfilment of our regional development policy guaranteed? Is it feasible to carry it through? It is feasible.

Ten years later, we will answer this question with real transformations.

It is also a success we are achieving that we are steadily pushing forward with the efforts to achieve the goals for readjustment and reinforcement for this year, while keeping the overall growth trend of the national economy and fulfilling without fail the monthly and quarterly production plans in different fields of the national economy, including key industries, despite manifold difficulties and obstacles, Kim Jong Un said, and continued:

This year we have provided conditions for bringing about more improved and changed results in light industry, urban management and other sectors directly linked with stabilizing the people’s livelihood. The crops are in good conditions as a whole so far, and there is expected to be fairly good harvests.

We can appreciate that a series of progresses have been made in supplementing and completing the functions and capabilities of the state for coping with the crises caused by natural disasters.

Severe flooding hit some areas in North Phyongan Province along the lower reaches of the Amnok River and in Jagang and Ryanggang provinces in late July, which hindered the work of the state and required mobilization of huge forces for rehabilitation, but the Party and the government took it as an opportunity for making a new detailed survey of the shortcomings and gaps in coping with natural disasters and for taking prospective and irreversible measures to prevent them in the future. It can be called an important advance.

Even in this situation, we have achieved great epochal results by vigorously promoting the radical development of the defence capabilities to create a reliable security environment of the country and conditions favourable for socialist construction.

This year, especially in some recent months, we have wonderfully built up our military strength by making important achievements in the research and production for national defence.

When we comprehensively assess the present situation of all these state affairs, we can analyze that almost all the major extra policy-oriented tasks set forth by the Party Central Committee in planning and arranging this year’s work are progressing successfully, correctly and satisfactorily.

Urgent efforts should be made to further enrich and build on the successes achieved this year by making the most of the remaining months, Kim Jong Un said, and continued:

The most important thing to this end is to further raise and expand the boundless patriotism and loyalty of all the Party members and other working people and service personnel and lead these spirits to successful fruition.

This is just the important and essential revolutionary task facing the senior officials of our Party and government.

We should wind up in a responsible manner the economic work for this year aimed at making fresh progress in the efforts for the comprehensive national rejuvenation and further improving the material and cultural living standards of the people.

So far, almost all the fields of the national economy, which are in charge of the 12 major goals, have carried out their assignments without fail. The present fighting atmosphere and spirit are very good.

In order to maintain this trend in a sustainable way, it is necessary for all the fields and units of the national economy to actively apply skilful operations and innovative methods for giving the fullest play to the working people’s enthusiasm for production and creativity and improving their technical level and skills.

And by maintaining and repairing the existing equipment regularly, all the production sectors should prevent equipment breakdown, maximize the rate of their operation and ensure the quantitative and qualitative level of products through constant updating of production lines and equipment.

Referring to the tasks to be tackled in fully ensuring stable production activities in the major fields of the national economy, Kim Jong Un went on:

The Cabinet and the state economic guidance organs should learn about the implementation of all the measures the state has already taken to further increase its productivity by carrying out by the appointed time and without fail the plans of the key industries for readjustment and reinforcement to be completed within this year, and take decisive measures at an early date by identifying other problems and unsatisfactory elements.

As the development of the state and social life as well as the economy is mainly expressed as the entities of architectural structures, the construction sector must carry out this year’s plan without fail with the main emphasis on ensuring their quality in a thoroughgoing way.

It should do so for the structures directly related to the actual life of the people, including the 10 000 flats under construction as the third-stage project in the Hwasong area and rural houses and, at the same time, raise the architectural design to the international level and make a remarkable change in the work of standardizing and modernizing construction equipment and tools.

The new hostels built in the city of Samjiyon should be turned into hotels and more tourist attractions be developed to make the city a world-class mountain resort and the projects for perfectly building the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area steadily pushed forward for their operation from next year.

Noting that efforts should be directed to securing a firm guarantee for actively enhancing the abilities of control and command of the economy as a whole by decisively updating the economic means and methods for directing and managing the economy of the state in keeping with the development of the times and the requirements of the reality, Kim Jong Un underlined the need for the state to attach importance to the smooth and comfortable circulation of products, to give priority to creating favourable conditions and environment for production and management activities based on the relative independence of enterprises and to take effective measures for continuously raising the real incomes of the working people.

Saying that to carry out the grain production plan is not a task confined to the agricultural sector but political work to guarantee the victorious advance of socialism, he indicated the clear ways for successfully winding up this year’s farming and making good preparations for next year’s farming.

Kim Jong Un made an analytical appraisal of what has been done up to now for the campaign of recovering from flood damage, and said:

It is true that we are pressed for time, there are so many objects to rehabilitate and the volume of construction is enormous, but we should never permit lowering of the quality of the structures.

Now that enough reconstruction forces have been mobilized and the enthusiasm of the soldier-builders and shock brigade members is high enough, whether the projects are completed in time or not depends on how the building materials, equipment and vehicles are supplied.

The Cabinet, the State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Railways and other ministries and national agencies should supply steel materials, cement, fuel, timber, glass and other building materials and equipment as planned and in time as scheduled, and take decisive measures for easing the strain on transport so as to ensure smooth progress in the projects.

We should finish the rehabilitation campaign in a qualitative way within the fixed period and thus bring a normal and stable life to the inhabitants in the flood-hit areas and put the damaged sectors of the national economy back on their regular track so as to successfully complete the struggle with nature.

Kim Jong Un said that the prerequisite task the Party and the government should place particular importance on and push ahead with strongly is to implement the regional development policy in the new era in an unconditional and perfect way, and continued:

As I have already mentioned, there is no more urgent revolutionary task than this one whether it is seen from the fundamental principle of activities of our Party and state that are orienting all the work of the revolution and construction to firmly defending and ensuring the rights and interests of the people and constantly expanding the policies for their wellbeing whatever the conditions and circumstances may be and from the viewpoint of the current situation when epochal regional transformation has become the most important task and indispensable requirement for comprehensive development of socialism and comprehensive rejuvenation of the country.

We should not try to assess the characteristics and advantages of our style of socialist system by simply taking into consideration some new streets built in the capital city and the material and cultural standards of living of its citizens; we should all the more refrain from feeling proud that what we have done is a great success as we have achieved it in the face of the unprecedentedly severe, manifold difficulties.

This opinion and view are detrimental to the developing revolution.

The principle of architectural engineering and structural mechanics demands firm foundations for high-rise and super-high-rise buildings; likewise, the socialist system, if it is to remain consolidated under any circumstances, must be solid in its foundations of the people’s conviction in its advantages, enjoy active empathy of all the people which they have got through their actual life, and rely on the unanimous will of the people to share their destiny with socialism to the last and defend it through generations.

Referring to the importance of the regional development policy of developing in a substantial, material and planned way cities, counties and rural communities, the regional bases and terminal units, which constitute the integrated territory of the DPRK and support its state system, he said:

Like this, regional development has risen as a matter of faith in socialism, instead of a simple economic and businesslike issue, and a very important and urgent matter that has a direct bearing on the future of our revolution. So I convened an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau again as soon as the plenary meeting finished its work earlier this year, and set forth the Regional Development 20×10 Policy, to which I have attached paramount political importance to its powerful implementation.

And recently, I indicated a new orientation towards accelerating the historic cause of regional rejuvenation by simultaneously building a public health institution, sci-tech dissemination base and grain management facility in each city and county along with regional-industry factories.

This year we solemnly declared the beginning of the campaign to implement the regional development policy in the new era, so we should carry out the planned projects without fail by steadily expanding the successes made so far, and thus definitely open up the stage of full-scale implementation of the ten-year revolution for realizing our Party’s cherished desire.

By putting spurs to the construction of regional-industry factories, the primary task in implementing the Regional Development 20×10 Policy, we should simultaneously present the completed entities in 20 cities and counties without fail at the end of the year.

Officers and men of the units at all levels, who are mobilized for regional construction, should direct all their efforts to perfectly completing the construction of regional-industry factories at the highest quality level, staking the dignity of the Party and the honour of the People’s Army.

As the construction of regional-industry factories in 20 cities and counties has passed the line of 90 percent, the units in charge of equipment manufacture or import should now push ahead with their work to perfectly carry out their tasks and supply the equipment in time.

Centrally-run light-industry factories, relevant universities, provinces, cities and counties should make an active contribution to implementing our Party’s policy on regional development by carrying out within the fixed date the plan of training technicians and skilled workers capable of managing and operating the modern regional-industry factories to be built.

Ministries, national agencies and relevant provinces, cities and counties should stock up on and supply enough raw materials needed for normal production at regional-industry factories as soon as their construction is completed.

In translating the Regional Development 20×10 Policy into reality and making it contribute substantially to improving the regional people’s standard of living, it is very important for each city and county to create their own reserves.

So, we took new measures to make a breakthrough in solving this problem by building the Sinpho City Offshore Farm as a model base for offshore farming and revitalizing its operation.

Referring to the importance and significance of the three construction projects newly added to the Regional Development 20×10 Policy, Kim Jong Un said:

We are going to build the sci-tech dissemination bases, which are intended as an additional project, into comprehensive bases for cultural life. We should build in cities and counties bases that not only are equipped with modern IT means for sci-tech learning but also serve multifunctional and complex cultural purposes, so that local residents can see films or play sports and amusement games there; and commercial outlets and various other welfare facilities with satisfactory hygienic environment and conditions are also to be furnished in them.

As the comprehensive centres for cultural life are a novel project never previously seen in the history of regional construction, I will make sure that their architectural designs including formation plans are properly made taking the sizes and characteristics into consideration according to the geographical conditions and populations of the regions and the budgets for their construction accurately drawn up on its basis.

If we spruce up 20 cities and counties every year like this, we can witness a drastic reduction in differences between urban and rural areas that have been handed down throughout history and a wealthy and civilized life of the regional people as good as that of urbanites.

Kim Jong Un stressed that we should continue to push ahead with the work for further consolidating the national defence capabilities as required by the present situation, and went on:

With the reckless manoeuvres of the US-led military bloc for expansion and its evolution to the one that is based on nukes, the military security environment around the DPRK has come closer to it as a grave threat.

Such imminent threats will inevitably invite more various threats in the future, and the consequential developments demand that we take more important measures and make consistent efforts to maintain and develop our military supremacy.

The obvious conclusion is that the nuclear force of the DPRK and its posture for being properly employed at any time in ensuring the state’s right to security should be more thoroughly perfected.

We are now carrying out steadfastly the policy of building up our nuclear armed forces with exponential increase in the number of nuclear weapons, and our Republic’s nuclear combat force is being operated under a strict command and control system.

Ours is a responsible nuclear-armed state.

The nuclear weapons we have possessed in defence of ourselves, who are constantly exposed to a serious nuclear threat, do not pose a threat to any others.

Any forces trumpeting about the threat by the nuclear armed force of the DPRK cannot but admit their hostile intention to attack the latter with nukes.

Under the different threats posed by the United States and its followers and the security circumstances facing us, the possession of a powerful military strength is the duty and the right to existence that our Party and government must neither neglect even a moment nor make the slightest concession to.

Strong power–this just means a genuine peace and an absolute guarantee for the development of our state.

Steadily enhancing the capabilities of our army for fighting a war so as to cope with the regional security environment on its own initiative and to defend the sovereignty, security and interests of the state by dint of a powerful strength is the most important of the state affairs of our Party and government and the primary task of the revolution.

The DPRK will steadily bolster its nuclear force that is capable of effectively coping with any acts of threat imposed by its nuclear-armed rival states, and take measures and make redoubled efforts to maintain the perfect combat readiness of all the armed forces of the state including the nuclear force.

I confirm again: Our Republic’s military strength will develop in an accelerated and sustained way by dint of our aspiration and steady efforts, and we will not set a limit of its attainment.

Kim Jong Un said that the success of this year’s struggle for providing a sure guarantee for implementing the decisions of the Party Congress entirely depends on the sense of responsibility and role of the Party organizations and their officials, the political staff of the relevant units.

Today our revolution expects that Party organizations and officials will work more devotedly and proactively than ever before.

The organizations and officials of the whole Party, being well aware of the requirements of the revolution and their responsibilities and duties and bearing deep in mind their mission, should aggressively conduct organizational and political work to carry out this year’s struggle tasks unconditionally and accurately.

Above all, they should examine in detail the policy-oriented tasks assigned to their sectors and units and progress in the implementation of their Party decisions adopted for the fulfillment of these tasks, and take appropriate measures to ensure their correct implementation.

And they should conduct a stubborn three-dimensional and highly-intensive campaign while intensifying the control and guidance for their implementation and the reassigning.

It is quite possible to produce substantial results at the end of this year, if all the Party organizations and officials plan and oversee the work for unconditionally attaining this year’s struggle goals at a lightning speed and in a dynamic manner by giving full play to their organizing, leadership and executive abilities from the standpoint of bearing full responsibility for the work of their sectors and units.

In particular, it is necessary for Party organizations to get rid of the wrong viewpoint and attitude of leaving the work for achieving this year’s goals entirely to the administrative officials, and intensify organization, grasping and control from the standpoint of taking full responsibility for the work.

The fighting efficiency and active character of Party organizations are assessed by how fully they give play to the spiritual strength and wisdom of the masses.

Party organizations at all levels should launch a vigorous ideological offensive aimed at giving full play to the patriotic enthusiasm and creative activity of the producer masses by displaying a high sense of responsibility and making redoubled efforts, so as to make the whole country bustle with activities and every unit conduct a more vigorous collective innovation movement.

To this end, they should instil into the Party members and other working people the viewpoint that the policy-oriented tasks facing their sectors and units are realistic and feasible struggle targets, which were set on the basis of a sufficient calculation of overall conditions and possibility of their implementation, and that they must carry them out without fail in any case and they can surely do so, so as to give them confidence and courage.

They should concentrate information and motivation means and forces on the sites of vibrant struggle to carry on a vigorous ideological offensive without a moment of interruption, so as to orient the intention and mind of the masses towards attaining the targets for this year and keep the surging enthusiasm for the revolution and struggle growing at every workplace.

In victoriously concluding this year’s struggle, it is very important for the officials and Party members, who are the organizers and executors of the Party’s lines and policies, to give fuller play to their initiative, creativity and activity.

Party organizations should intensify guidance over the officials’ Party life so that they redouble their efforts and exert themselves to substantially and perfectly attain the struggle goals set for their sectors and units with the single desire to live up to the Party’s trust with exceptional results in their work.

The relevant departments of the Central Committee of the WPK and its organizations at all levels of ministries and national agencies in the government should render a proactive help to the leading cadres, while grasping and controlling their work so that they are deeply conscious of their responsibilities and duties, explore the ways to properly discharge their duties as required by the Party’s policies always with a keen sense of responsibility, map out detailed plans and conduct their work in a persistent way.

Party organizations should strengthen the organization and guidance of Party life among Party members so that they find themselves earlier than others in the most difficult jobs in every workplace seething with the struggle for implementing Party decisions, which others may hesitate to do, lead the masses in a revolutionary and positive manner and stand in the vanguard of the struggle for resolutely removing all the obstacles to our advance.

Officials of power organs at all levels, leading economic officials in particular, should further enhance their sense of responsibility and role.

We have not much time left until the end of this year, when we should confirm the feasibility of success in attaining the struggle goals set forth at the Eighth Party Congress.

It is just the leading economic officials who should work in a more responsible manner in the remaining period, which can be said to be decisive of the implementation of the five-year plan for the development of the national economy.

They should waste no time but dash forward to fulfil their duties, well aware that they have only 110-odd days until the target date of implementing without fail the decisions of the Ninth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party.

Saying that all officials should conduct their work in a bold and innovative way with the spirit of ardently serving the country and the people and revolutionary optimism, Kim Jong Un called for enhancing the functions and role of law-enforcement organs in every way so as to make sure that the overall work of the state is conducted smoothly as required by the Party, the revolution, the people and the rapidly changing times. He went on:

As I mentioned earlier, this year our Party and government designed and have pushed ahead with the gigantic and worthwhile undertakings for the comprehensive rejuvenation of the state and the well-being of the people.

Every undertaking is not easy to carry out and faces enormous difficulties to overcome, but we must achieve remarkable results without fail with firm confidence and steadfast will, and thus glorify this year as a year of proud victories in the history of the development of our state.

Let us all wage a more vigorous struggle with renewed dignity and confidence in accomplishing the sacred cause for the peace, prosperity and great glory of our motherland and the well-being of the people throughout the country.

I once again extend my best wishes to all citizens of this country and warmly congratulate them on the national day of our great motherland.