The Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea sent a congratulatory letter to the participants in the Ninth Congress of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea and the workers and trade union members across the country on May 11.

In the letter, the WPK Central Committee said that the period under review of the GFTUK is shining with the pride and honour of the trade union organizations and their officials and workers who have injected vigour and vitality into the advance of the Korean revolution by turning out as one to live up to the expectation of the Party Central Committee which put them forward as the vanguard unit in the struggle for fresh upswing and development of socialist construction.

The atmosphere of performing collective feats to attain the 12 major goals of national economic development and fulfill the five-year plan was given further momentum and a steady upsurge took place in the struggle to implement the decisions of the Party Congress as the organizations at all levels and officials of the GFTUK vigorously organized mass patriotic movement while focusing on the fresh education to enhance the political consciousness of the trade union members and enlist their spiritual strength at production sites, the letter said, and went on:

The heroic struggle of workers at the Ryongsong Machine Complex to keep the pledge they made before the Party without fail through perseverance for the honour of the working class of the new generation created the Chollima spirit of the new era, and the dynamic drive for increased production and creation of the workers in the field of building materials including the workers of the Sangwon Cement Complex, who broke the highest records every year, has made a great contribution to boosting the enthusiasm for a leap forward across the country and bringing about eye-opening changes in the capital city and regional areas.

Thanks to the ardent patriotic loyalty and sincere efforts of the workers in the coal-mining industry, who turned out in the socialist patriotic movement for increased coal production, and other workers in the key industry sectors and light industry sector, the foundations of the self-supporting economy could be consolidated and the validity and vitality of the Party and state policies for the people and the rising generation clearly demonstrated despite the unprecedented difficulties.

In the fields of science, education, public health, literature and arts, too, our working people made achievements in putting the national economy on a modern and IT basis and bringing about a radical improvement in education and public health in the new century and brought good results for promoting the people's wellbeing and civilization, thus making a positive contribution to ushering in a new era of progress and development.

The workers and trade union members in the field of munitions industry have made a great contribution to firmly consolidating the national defence capabilities by achieving outstanding successes one after another in the production of cutting-edge military hardware as planned and intended by the Party.

The steadfast revolutionary spirit of devoting oneself to the self-reliant and hard-fought struggle for increased production with the unshakable faith in socialism served as a powerful motive force for demonstrating the new heyday of the DPRK and a precious asset for building a rich country with a strong army, and gave great strength and encouragement to the WPK which is leading the socialist cause, overcoming all obstacles and challenges.

The struggle of new stage to make the period of unprecedented upturn in the state development lead on to a period of a steady upswing requires the working class, the main force of socialist construction, to enhance their vanguard role in all spheres of ideology, technology and culture and bring about a radical improvement in the fighting efficiency and mode of activities of the GFTUK.

It is the basic task facing the GFTUK at present to prepare its members and workers to be revolutionized and patriotic core force capable of more dynamically leading the great new era for national development and the powerful vanguard for carrying out the three revolutions.

The GFTUK, as an organization for ideological education both in name and reality, should direct primary efforts to the ideological and spiritual growth of the workers and its members and conduct all its work with the main emphasis on training them to be the masters of the new era with high creativity and cultural and moral traits.

All its members should bear in mind the Party's intention to further intensify the transformation of the society on a revolutionary and working-class pattern, make deliberate efforts to equip themselves with the features and traits befitting the advanced class and play the role of standard-bearer in establishing a revolutionary and sound atmosphere throughout the country.

Trade union organizations should establish a cultured way of production and life at the level of the new era and conduct mass sports activities and mass art activities briskly so that every worksite bubbles over with revolutionary optimism and great enthusiasm and the working class continues to glorify their honour as the creators of advanced culture.

The new five-year plan period is a very important time when the patriotic enthusiasm and execution power of the working class and trade union members, who are very faithful to the cause of the Party and state and their responsibility as the eldest son of the country, should be redoubled.

Trade union organizations should ensure that the working class and trade union members turn out as one to perform proud feats and make miraculous successes from the first year of implementing the decisions of the Ninth Congress of the WPK, bearing deep in mind the importance and significance of duties of their sectors and units in the course of the development of the new stage.

The success in strengthening the GFTUK depends on the role of its officials. In particular, only when a change is made in the ideological consciousness, work style, qualifications and traits of the officials of the GFTUK Central Committee and the provincial, city and county committees of the GFTUK, can the overall work of the GFTUK be conducted vigorously with fresh vigour.

In the present era, when we can develop non-stop only by a new leap forward and miraculous increased production, the Party's expectation for the GFTUK is very great.

The WPK Central Committee in its congratulatory letter said that it is confident that all the working class and trade union members will fully demonstrate their honour as the most thoroughgoing champion and implementer of the Party's policies and core unit of socialist construction in the future struggle for carrying out the new five-year plan just as they brought about a change of the new era to be specially recorded in the history, true to the Party's leadership.