Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, received a reply message from Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and president of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, on December 30.

In the message Thongloun Sisoulith expressed sincere thanks to the DPRK leader on behalf of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party, the government and people of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and on his own behalf for sending warm and hearty congratulations and best wishes to the Laotian party, government and people and to him on the occasion of the 49th founding anniversary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

He was very pleased that the traditional friendship and good cooperative relations between the LPDR and the DPRK have steadily been expanded and strengthened in recent years, he said, expressing belief that the good relations between the two parties, two states and two peoples would continue to improve and bear greater fruits, bringing substantial benefits to the peoples of the two countries and promoting the cooperative relations for peace, stability and development of the region and the rest of the world.

True to the decisions of the Eleventh Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the Cabinet and economic guidance organs are making economic arrangement in detail to successfully complete the five-year plan and achieve the growth and development of the overall national economy.

Officials are taking organizational steps as they study and discuss the methods of decisively improving economic guidance and management and setting up a well-knit nationwide crisis control system.

The Cabinet maps out detailed plans and lays down struggle schemes, focusing on establishing a well-knit work system and order for the overall economic affairs of the state and further improving economic guidance and management.

The schoolchildren’s New Year performance entitled “The happiest day” took place at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace in Pyongyang for consecutive days.

Put on the stage were a variety of numbers including folk dance and janggu (an hourglass drum) beating.

The performers represented their joy of greeting New Year’s Day holding the respected Marshal Kim Jong Un as the father of the great family.

Last year, the training of skilled workers needed for the operation of the newly-built regional-industry factories was pushed forward in different parts of the country.

Under the unified guidance of the regional development 20×10 non-permanent central promotion committee, ministries concerned including the Ministry of Regional Industry and the Ministry of Labour, national agencies and all provinces set realistic phased goals for training technicians and skilled workers according to well thought-out plans and worked hard to attain them one by one so that the modern regional-industry factories, which have sprung up in the flames of the great ten-year development programme unveiled by the Workers’ Party of Korea, can prove effective as soon as they start operation.

The Ministry of Regional Industry vigorously stepped up the training of skilled workers of city and county foodstuff factories by mobilizing the scientific and technical personnel of the Academy of Food and Consumer Goods Industries.

All three sons of Kim Jong Suk, a woman living in Ryomyong-dong of Taesong District in Pyongyang, are scientists.

In November last year, hanging the Communist Mother Honour Prize awarded to their mother beside their honour certificates, the sons said, “Our success is inconceivable apart from your efforts, mum.” 

The painstaking efforts of the mother who brought up her children to be scientists can be proved by a collection of mathematical problems. 

Miners of the Musan Mining Complex successfully carried out a 650 000-cubic-metre blasting on January 7, thereby laying another solid foundation for bringing about an innovation in the production of concentrated ore.

Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith called for making redoubled efforts for independent national economic development in a speech made on the occasion of the New Year.

He said that though the government and people faced manifold hardships in 2024, they overcame all difficulties and made an important stride in implementing the decisions of the 11th Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and carrying out the five-year plan for national development on the strength of unity.

All these successes are a fruition of the unity between the party and state leadership and the people, he said, asserting that it encourages them in the struggle to carry out the two strategic tasks of national defence and construction.

A roving ambassador of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on January 5 it is just the US that provoked special military operations in Ukraine.

US Secretary of State Blinken said in a recent interview with The New York Times that his country had delivered the anti-aircraft missile system, antitank missile and other military hardware to the Ukrainian authorities long before the special military operations started.

In connection with this, the roving ambassador noted that the US delivered military hardware to Ukraine to make it attack the Donbas region and Russia and this motivated his country to launch the special military operations.

It is said that mountains and rivers change in ten years.

The appearance of the DPRK has literally changed.

As a great golden age of construction has been ushered in, new modern streets and bases for cultural and leisure activities were built in different parts of the country and many factories and enterprises for the improvement of the people’s living standards were built or renovated.