In the address delivered to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un reviewed the proud path of development followed by the country. He said with confidence in the speech: 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.

The country’s progress cannot be thinkable apart from the leadership of Kim Jong Un who has made ceaseless efforts to bring about a vigorous leap forward of the country with the great trail-blazing spirit and a noble view to serve the country and the people.

This is evidenced by the regional development policy which goes full steam ahead.

Kim Jong Un announced it as a state policy at the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly this January. Its main thrust is to bring about an epochal change in the living standards of the whole population in material and cultural aspects by building modern regional industry factories in 20 counties every year for ten years.

The implementation of this policy designed to remove the centuries-old backwardness of local areas and bring about a fundamental change through the balanced, simultaneous and rapid progress of the capital city and regions presupposes enormous fund, materials, equipment and manpower.

However, Kim Jong Un has set the undertaking as a top priority task for accomplishing the centuries-old desire of the local people and promoting the wellbeing of the whole population and worked heart and soul to implement it.

On February 7 he visited the regional industry factories built in Kimhwa County, Kangwon Province, and defined the orientation of the construction of the regional industry factories to be built on a full scale in different parts of the country. On the 28th he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for building the regional industry factories in Songchon County, South Phyongan Province, and shovelled the first spadeful of earth.

In the ceremony he said: Anyone who is born on this land should lead an abundant and civilized life under the socialist policy of the state, whether they live in the capital city or regions, in towns or mountain villages, and it is the core of the new policy of regional development to see to it that they do so without fail.

That day he personally handed over the regimental colours to the 124th regiments of the Korean People’s Army, which were newly formed to implement the Regional Development 20×10 Policy and expressed his conviction that the service personnel of the People’s Army would create an era of grand transformation to rapidly develop the rural communities with great confidence.

On August 24 and 25 when the construction of regional industry factories was progressing at a high speed, he toured various construction sites. On the spot he clarified the stand of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea to push the construction of public health, sci-tech dissemination and grain management facilities in parallel with the ongoing construction project.

Later he visited Hamju County of South Hamgyong Province, North Phyongan Province, Jaeryong County of South Hwanghae Province and other places one after another to give on-site guidance over the construction of their regional industry factories. On those occasions he detailed the management of the factories and the orientation of their prospective development. He stressed the need to start production on the completion of the factories so as to bring about tangible changes in the local people’s lives with the successful achievements from the first year of the 10-year revolution for regional development.

As they are led by Kim Jong Un who is always on the journey of devoted revolutionary leadership committed to bringing into effect the ennobling policy to get rid of the centuries-old backwardness, the Korean people see the transformative entities of comprehensive national prosperity taking shape in succession and work hard for national prosperity under his leadership.

Yang Ryon Hui