In his conclusion made at the historic 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, the respected comrade
One of the important issues arising from arrangement and reorganization of the internal forces of the DPRK, and pave the new road of advance while surpassing all frontal difficulties in our way is to restore without delay the motive force of development of the national economy.
In general, the motive force of economic development means the power that promotes economic development. The power that promotes economic development can be differently defined depending on the social system and conditions of each country, and may differ from the aspects of analysis.
In the case of a country which has abundant oil deposit, the oil industry may be the motive force of the country's economic development. In some countries, the tourism and trade sectors could be the motive force of their economic development. From the viewpoint of economic sector, "power" used in industry, agriculture, transport and all other sectors of the national economy could be considered as the power to operate the machinery, and this could be carried out by the sector of power industry. Without development of this power industry sector, it cannot be expected of the development of other economic fields as the sector of supplying electric power required from many fields of national economy. In this sense, electricity is called the power of modern industry.
The dynamics of the development for the national economy can be analyzed in terms of the factors affecting economic development.
Economic development is defined by development of production, and the development of production depends on what factors influence to it.
Among the factors influencing the development of production, the factor actively promoting the productive development acts as a powerful force that regulates the development of production and as the motive force for economic development.
For the socialist planned economy of our own style, the motive force of economic development is defined in correspondence with it.
In his famous work "On Some Theoretical Problems of the Socialist Economy", the great leader Comrade
The great leader Comrade
"A socialist society has unlimited potential for developing the economy at a continuous high rate which would be inconceivable in a capitalist society, and the further socialist construction advances and the stronger the economic basis grows, the greater this potential becomes."
The driving force for the development of our national economy is, firstly, the superiority of the socialist planned economy.
As a planned economy based on social ownership of the means of production, the socialist economy is a planned economy in which the state, a representative of all the people, is able to grasp in a unified way the manpower and material resources needed for economic development, distribute and use them properly and ensure a reasonable balance between the sectors of the national economy by conducting accumulation and consumption in a planned way, thereby facilitating economic development. The advantages of the socialist planned economy increase even more as the organizational function of the socialist state increases and economic management is improved.
The motive force for the development of our national economy, secondly, is a planned and rapid development of science and technology.
The development of production is regulated by the development of the productive forces, the strength of the man who conquers nature, and the main thing in the productive forces is man. Depending on the level of scientific and technological knowledge possessed by an independent man, the ability to conquer nature will change, and this will affect the development of production and, furthermore, the economic development. Science and technology is precisely the production and development of economy.
Socialist society is conclusively prior to capitalist society in the development and progress of science and technology and its introduction.
In a socialist society, the success of technological development leads to economic development and the improvement of the people's living standards. Therefore, in socialist society all the working people are conducting a mass technological innovation movement with an interest in the development of technology. As the state has a unified knowledge of technical personnel, a unified plan for the development of science and technology can be drawn up and developed rapidly by strengthening the cooperation among technical personnel. In a socialist society there are no restrictions such as the capitalist limitations of "know-how" and capitalist limitations on the adoption of technology, so scientific and technological advances are introduced and production grows at a high rate.
The present era is an era of science and technology, an era of knowledge-based economy, and the level of development of science and technology defines the overall national power and position of the country. Under the present situation when the imperialists are intensifying economic and technical blockade against us with their so-called "technical superiority", it is only when science and technology are developed that it is possible to increase the material resources of economic development by making the most effective use of the natural resources of the country, and ensure the independence and Juche character of the economic foundations and thus achieve rapid development of the economy.
Science and technology are the most important strategic resources of the state and a powerful driving force for the development of society. The power of science and technology can create something out of nothing and turn an impossibility into a possibility. If we grasp science and technology, an inexhaustible strategic asset, we can foil the sanctions and blockade of the hostile forces and achieve the greatest success in the worst conditions. When there are many obstacles in economic work, science and technology should become a guide and lead development. This shows that science and technology are one of the major driving forces for the development of the national economy.
If science and technology are an engine steering economic development, the driver is a talent.
Talents and science and technology are strategic resources and weapons to be relied on in the building of a powerful socialist country. Today the fierce competition among countries is a competition in the field of talents and the success of enterprises and the prosperity of the country depends on who secures more talents. Therefore, almost all countries and enterprises in the world are waging a fierce competition to focus their development strategy on the strategy of prioritizing talents and train talents and win over them.
In the era of knowledge-based economy, the development of cutting-edge science and technology that determines the economic development cannot be thought without the security of talented personnel. As a result, the scientific and technological competition has been turned into a talents scramble and thus to be alike a fierce unseen war.
In order to bring about a leap forward in the economic front, the main front in the on-going offensive for making a breakthrough head-on, it is only when the problem of talented personnel, the engine of the development of latest science and technology, is solved in our own way that the problem of funds, raw and other materials and equipment needed for the development of the national economy can be solved satisfactorily and this shows that talented personnel are the main driving force for the development of the national economy.
The motive force for the development of our national economy is also the high revolutionary enthusiasm of the working people.
The essential advantage of the socialist system lies in the fact that the working people who have been freed from exploitation and oppression work with conscious enthusiasm and creative initiative for the sake of the country and the people, for society and the collective, and for their own happiness. In socialist society the working people work enthusiastically for the development of production because they are deeply aware that the results of labor are for themselves, for their own people and for their country.
The high revolutionary enthusiasm and mental strength of the working people are the decisive driving force for economic development. The reason why the revolutionary zeal of the working people is a decisive power that pushes the development of the socialist economy is that ideological and spiritual factor provides vigorously the other factors that affect the development of economy and display them comprehensively.
It is none other than the working masses who are responsible for the rational management and operation of the socialist planned economy, who create science and technology and make active use of it. The revolutionary enthusiasm of the working people actively encourages them to strive to raise their technical skills and acquire modern scientific knowledge, conduct a vigorous mass technological innovation movement, and take an active part in making the most effective use of all human and material resources.
The revolutionary zeal of the working people is a source of strength that gives rise to high productivity. When working people work with the consciousness of masters and revolutionary zeal, it gives full play to their creative talents and abilities and gives full play to comradely cooperation and collectivist spirit, thereby successfully solving all problems arising in economic development.
In this way, the superiority of talents with independent consciousness and creative ability, science and technology and the socialist planned economy serve as the motive force for the development of the national economy, and the talents and science and technology with independent consciousness and creative ability can be said to be the main motive force of the development of the national economy.
