opinion

Last year the DPRK people started the new year advance with unusual emotion.

Because they received the news that the respected fatherly Marshal Kim Jong Un had a photo session with schoolchildren after seeing their New Year performance on January 1.

Seeing the benevolent image of Kim Jong Un, who smiled brightly with schoolchildren, the future of the country, in his embrace, the people were filled with fresh confidence and optimism.

He visited the farm machine exhibition the following day and gave field guidance at the newly-built Kwangchon Chicken Farm a few days later.

Not long after, the people heard his important policy speech at the 10th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK.

In the speech he said that the WPK would keep hold on the construction of modern regional industry factories in 20 counties every year as an unerring policy task, carry it out successfully on a high level and thus raise a level higher the basic material and cultural living standards of the people in all cities and counties and, in another word, across the country within ten years. Declaring this grand decision, he noted that in addition to the line for rural prosperity, he was going to call this Party policy "Regional Development 20×10 Policy". His speech greatly excited all people.

This was another gigantic change and revolution, not just empty words, to eliminate the century-old backwardness of regions, realize the long-cherished desire of regional people and bring about a turn in the realm of the Korean people's understanding.

At the 19th Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea that followed, General Secretary Kim Jong Un made an important conclusion “On Forcefully Promoting the Implementation of the Party's 'Regional Development 20×10 Policy'”. It provided an epochal milestone in the history of struggle of the WPK which has aspired only to the good of the people for nearly 80 years since its founding.

February comes every year, but it has become a special month for the Korean people since the historic Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

Because the sound of blasting for ground-breaking along with the beginning of spring heralds the start of large construction projects for the people’s happiness.

In February last year, the ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of 10 000 flats in the third stage of the Hwasong area and for the construction of regional-industry factories in Songchon County also took place, with the respected General Secretary in attendance.

Indeed, 2024 was a year in which new policies and goals were defined one after another and there were unusually many beginnings and starts and which was full of joy and successes.

The news about the field inspection by the General Secretary of the construction sites of the Central Cadres Training School of the WPK and the second-stage 10 000 flats in Hwasong area nearing completion was followed by those on the completion of the Kangdong Combined Greenhouse Farm, Rimhung Street, Jonwi Street and the Central Cadres Training School of the WPK in succession.

His tireless leadership for the people’s happiness continued across the country including in the city of Samjiyon in the northern part of the country, the city of Sinpho in South Hamgyong Province and the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area. 

Last year the Korean people keenly realized once again what the devoted service of the respected General Secretary for the good of the people was.

Not only the flood victims but also all other people of the country were moved to tears as they saw him on TV who came all the way through the rough and dangerous path to save the lives of flood victims from the jaws of death after hearing the report that the people in the Amnok River basin suffered flood damage, and who waited for the last one of them at the rainy air base.

He convened an emergency enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee on the spot to take crucial measures to provide the flood victims with good homes as soon as possible and visited the tents where they were temporarily living in the sultry weather. His warm love and affection impressed on the people again the world of devoted service he does for the good of the people by taking full responsibility for their lives and living.

He met the flood victims in Pyongyang, learned about the preparations for education of their children and provided them with all conditions for living without any inconvenience. And then he visited the construction sites of regional-industry factories again and took new crucial measures to hasten the epochal regional development and comprehensive rejuvenation of the country.

In September when the DPRK celebrated its 76th founding anniversary, the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a historic speech, in which he clarified the scientific plans for fully displaying the mightiness, resoluteness and invincibility of the DPRK, to inject fresh confidence and courage into the people and made energetic field guidance tour of the important units for bolstering up the national defence capability.

In October and November, he continued his field inspection across the country including the flood-hit areas of North Phyongan Province to devotedly service the people.

As they walked along the broad avenue as owners of new houses on brightly-lit Rimhung and Jonwi streets and heard almost every day the exciting news that agricultural workers have moved into new houses in the socialist rural areas and modern miraculous entities of the regional industrial revolution are springing up in 20 cities and counties across the country, the Korean people realized again that the journey of patriotic devotion of the respected General Secretary brings them happiness as it serves as the roots and cornerstone of all their happiness.

This is the philosophy of happiness which has been more clearly engraved on the minds of the DPRK people with each passing day of last year.