IN the late 20th century several socialist countries in East Europe collapsed in series, the imperialist allied forces led by the Untied States imposed extreme sanctions and blockade against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and consecutive natural disasters hit the country, rendering the country’s economic revival impossible. But the Korean economy overcame the difficulties in a short period and is now approaching the status of an economic giant.
One of the key secrets underlying this miraculous reality is the thorough implementation of the requirements of the Juche idea in economic construction. The Juche idea authored by President KIM IL SUNG(1912-1994), founder of socialist Korea, clarifies that the master of one’s destiny is oneself and he also has the power to carve out his own destiny. The Juche idea thus requires that the economy of the country should be developed by relying on its own technology, domestic resources and native cadres and on the strength of its people in the spirit of self-reliance.
In Korea the campaign for developing its economic foundations onto a new and high level as required by the 21st century is now under way entirely by dint of its efforts and technology.
In the past the collapse of socialist market in the world, economic sanctions against the DPRK imposed by the imperialists and the heavy damages from natural disasters had placed serious hurdles on the road of its economic development. The Korean people, however, have tided over all difficulties with firm conviction that their destiny should be worked out by themselves.
Despite the worst economic difficulties and the critical food shortage, they completed over 60 000 projects of capital construction in less than ten year by giving the fullest play to the indomitable spiritual strength, thus setting up a springboard for the building of an economic giant. Large-scale projects for leveling and rezoning land and building gravitational waterways were undertaken in all parts of the country to boost the agricultural production. An all-people campaign for erecting medium- and small-sized power stations as well as mammoth hydroelectric power stations was launched, and the factories that meet the requirements of the new century mushroomed all over the country.
Particularly, the work for introducing CNC technology by its own efforts has been energetically stepped up in all fields of the economy. KIM JONG IL set science and technology as one of the three pillars for building a powerful nation together with ideology and armed forces. Korean scientists and technicians conceived a new form of CNC technology quite different from existing ones and, on this basis, developed a new type of CNC devices. Almost all machine factories in the country have renewed their machines with home-made CNC ones.
Such spectacular achievements made in the machine industry are also found in other fields of industry.
In the wake of introduction of CNC technology at the February 8 Vinalon Comples, a nation’s leading chemical enterprise, technicians of the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex have developed and introduced by their own efforts the DCS system of a high level in the automatic control of the chemical industry. A large number of factories in textile, foodstuff and daily necessities industries have also introduced CNC technology into production.
Sophisticated machines and equipment needed for consolidating the nation’s economic foundations have been turned out by their own techniques. A UHP electric arc furnace- the highest sophistication of the modern steel industry- a large-sized oxygen plant, an electric furnace producing the Juche-based steel and the curvilinear continuous slab casing machines are the typical showcases of self-reliance.
Korea is now speeding up its economic construction with locally available raw materials to suit its specific conditions.
It has long exerted efforts to establish firm foundations of an independent national economy, regarding it as a fundamental principle of economic construction to build an independent and self-supporting economy which serves its people and develops with its resources and by the efforts of its people as required by the Juche idea.
It is now making endeavors to put the national economy on modern basis befitting the 21st century, oriented to consolidating the foundations of its independent national economy fed with domestic raw materials.
A new Juche based steel-making system using no cokes and scrap iron was established in the metal industry that suits the actual conditions of the country where coke is not available and scrap iron is in short supply.
The February 8 Vinalon Complex produces over 420 kinds of chemical goods, including vinalon, carbide, caustic soda, vinyl chloride and alcohol. Especially, vinalon, called a “fibre drawn from stone”, is made from coal and limestone that are abundantly deposited in the country, instead of oil depending on import. The Namhung Youth Chemical Complex in the western region of the country is now mass-producing fertilizers by anthracite gasification, while the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex in the eastern region is setting up a brown-coal gasification process for fertilizer production.
In the power industry, medium- and small sized power stations together with gigantic power stations like the Samsu Power Station, Wonsan Youth Power Station and Nyongwon Power Station have been recently constructed to utilize water resources rich in the country more effectively. The Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station have recently made an imposing appearance.
The comprehensive food-processing factories that produce a wide variety of foodstuffs with Korean specialty are built everywhere in the country, and condiment factories that make various kinds of condiments peculiar to the Korean nation by industrial methods are under construction. In the wake of completion of the project of the Taegyedo tideland for reclaiming 8 800 hectares, new tideland reclamation projects are vigorously being waged to solve the food problem of the country.
It is by no means fortuitous that Korea’s economy relying on the Juche idea is making a rapid progress, regardless of the global economic upheavals. ***
Songchit Pulurp
Chairman, Thai Preparatory Committee for “Gathering 2017-Praise to the Great Persons of Mt. Paektu”
Korean Economy Overcame the Difficulties in a Short Period and is Now Approaching the Status of an Economic Giant
