It is very important for a country and nation to correctly resolve the issue of strategic resource for its economic development. It is because this issue is vital for the present and future of the country and nation. For this reason, the issue of resources has historically been raised as a vital one in the development of a country since its birth. As a result, national strength has been largely assessed according to the size of human and material resources and many wars between countries have broken out in pursuit of resources.
The resources for economic development vary according to countries and the era of economic development. Until the era of machine-based industry which was unaffected by the limit of natural resources, manpower formed the main production resource and accordingly, the mode of economic development was labour-intensive. In the era of machine-based industry, the mode of economic development became resource-intensive on the basis of massive exploitation and use of natural resources. The present is the age of knowledge-based economy in which the economy develops with knowledge as the main production resource.
Strategic resource means the one vital for the economic development and life of people in the relevant country.
The respected Comrade
"Scientific and technological strength is a state's most important strategic resource and a powerful propellant for social development."
It has so far been common in the view of the concepts of productivity, economic strength, science and technological force, etc. Productivity, the ability of people to transform nature, is materially represented by the development level of production tools. Economic strength is the capability of a country to develop the economy. Productivity is of fundamental importance in economic strength. What is most important in the science and technological force of a country is the number of scientific and technological talents and their level of knowledge.
Scientific and technological strength, which is related to productivity, economic strength and scientific and technological force, has its own characteristics.
A country's scientific and technological strength constitutes the scientific and technological research and development capabilities, which include the scientific and technological talents directly in charge of research and development of science and technology, the research and development equipment and scientific and technological knowledge resources. The more scientific and technological talents, the higher level of the research and development equipment and the richer knowledge resources a country has, the greater the level of the country's scientific and technological strength.
This scientific and technological strength forms the most important strategic resource of a country in the 21st century, the age of knowledge-based economy.
In the scientific and technological strength, the scientific and technological talents form human resources, while the scientific and technical equipment and knowledge the material resources form material resources.
First of all, the reason that scientific and technological strength becomes a state's most important strategic resource in the present era is because science and technology play a pivotal role in the development of socio-economic development at present.
The development of science and technology has so far played an important role in socio-economic development. The history of man's transformation of nature is the history of the development of productivity, and the history of the development of the productivity is precisely the process of the development of science and technology.
However, the development of science and technology is playing a key role in socio-economic development at present. The present is the era in which the socio-economic development is promoted by the development of science and technology and the speed and level of the overall social development are governed by the speed and level of development of science and technology. With the rapid development of science and technology, the present era is becoming the age of knowledge-based economy. Knowledge-based economy is the mode of economic development corresponding to the age of knowledge-based economy.
Here knowledge refers to knowledge resources as one of production resources because the resources act as a factor of production development.
Knowledge resources boost production by improving the quality of the production elements and developing their varieties. They also boost production by ensuring the rational use of production elements. Knowledge resources also further improve the production structure and economic structure. This role of scientific and technological knowledge is increasing to the maximum in the age of knowledge-based economy.
Today, the development of a relevant country depends on its development speed of science and technology, not on its manpower or material resources. This is represented by the percentage of contribution of science and technology to economic development.
At present, the percentage of contribution of science and technology to economic development reaches more than 80% in developed countries. This shows that the growth of production is mainly attributable to the development of knowledge resources and the development of science and technology, which are important production resources, rather than the additional investment of manpower and material resources.
Another reason that scientific and technological strength becomes a state's most important strategic resource is because the strength guarantees not only the present but also the distant future of the development of the state.
The strategic resource of a state should ensure both the present and the future development of the state. Many natural resources which have been used as major strategic resources in resource-intensive economy are being gradually depleted due to their massive exploitation and use. Meanwhile, the massive exploitation and use of natural resources are damaging the ecological environment and causing great danger to human existence. Today, knowledge resources and scientific and technological strength are the very strategic resource that protects the ecological environment and ensures the sustainable development of the economy.
This is related to the characteristics of knowledge resources different from material resources.
Knowledge resources are not depleted during their use. Rather, they are multiplied and can be used jointly or repeatedly by many people.
The knowledge-based economy is a green economy favorable for the protection of ecological environment.
The resource-intensive economy which has developed on the basis of material resources is destroying the ecological environment and threatening the survival of mankind by massively exploiting and using natural resources. The entire people on the Earth are experiencing the real danger of air pollution, greenhouse effects and the destruction of the ecological environment. The destruction of ecological environment is also caused by natural phenomena, but the main reason is the massive exploitation and use of natural resources.
This being the reality, the way to protect the ecological environment of the globe and achieve sustainable economic development is to build the resource-saving economy, green economy.
The knowledge-based economy is the green economy conducive to sustainable economic development and protection of ecological environment.
Knowledge resources, the main production resources in the knowledge-based economy, are constantly increasing and inexhaustible resources, and they have little impact on the ecological environment in the process of their development and use. Intellectual products, the main products of the knowledge-based economy, are intangible products, and their development and utilization consume relatively little material resources such as natural resources.
Knowledge resources and scientific and technological strength are the most important strategic resources in the age of knowledge-based economy as they are the resources for protecting the ecological environment and developing the economy sustainably.
That the scientific and technological knowledge, the knowledge resources, constitutes a state's most important strategic resource presupposes that the scientific and technological personnel also form important strategic resource of the country. This is because the scientific and technological personnel are directly in charge of creating and utilizing the scientific and technological knowledge.
Therefore, the most important strategic resource of a business or a country today is the scientific and technological personnel. The competitive edge of a business or a country depends on the number of scientific and technological talents. The most important strategy in the management of businesses worldwide is the talents strategy, so fierce competitions are taking place between businesses and between countries to win more talents. The competition of science and technology is just the competition of talents.
As scientific and technological strength and the knowledge resources are the most important strategic resources of a country, the strategy for developing science and technology is becoming one of the most important strategies in the national development strategy in many countries and investments in the development of science and technology are increasing.
In view of the important role of science and technology in socio-economic development, socialist Korea has consistently implemented the line of attaching importance to science and technology, regarding it as an important strategic line for building a powerful socialist country.
The DPRK, which was the target of aggression and plunder by big powers because of its weak national strength due to centuries-old backwardness and poverty, is now demonstrating its might as a socialist power which is independent, self-supporting and self-reliant in national defence. This proves the validity and vitality of the line of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) prioritizing talents and science and technology.
The respected Comrade
Socialist Korea has now laid a solid foundation for building a scientific and technological power to be envied by the world. Thanks to the wise leadership of the WPK, its policy of attaching importance to science and technology, excellent scientific and technological forces and the superior educational system for training scientific and technological talents, the DPRK will, in the near future, take an honourable place among the ranks of the advanced nations of the world in the overall scientific and technological strength.
