Today the Korean people have embarked on a grand march for carrying out the new five-year plan for the national economic development set forth at the historic 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.
The ongoing offensive for bringing earlier a new victory in the building of Korean-style socialism is a grand march of self-reliance based on the driving force and internal motive force of the Korean people.
The respected Comrade
The respected Comrade
"We should bring about a revolutionary upsurge on all fronts of socialist construction by regarding self-reliance as a treasured sword for-prosperity, a spirit which has always been a banner of struggle and driving force for a leap forward in the whole course of the Korean revolution."
Self-reliance is the revolutionary spirit and principle of struggle to cope with all problems arising in the revolution and construction by one's own efforts, not relying on others.
It is the proud tradition of struggle of our revolution and the driving force for a leap forward in building a powerful socialist country.
Worship of the powerful and dependence on outsiders lead to subjugation and national ruin while self-reliance is the only way to defend the independence of the nation and achieve prosperity.
Although there are things that the Korean people don't have or lack today, there will be no difficulties that they can't overcome and no fortress that they can't occupy if they hold fast to self-reliance.
We can say that the whole history of the Korean-style socialism boils down to self-reliance.
In the days of building socialism by their own efforts, the WPK and the Korean people underwent unprecedented ordeals and difficulties, but they were loaded with all honours they could not enjoy through the history of their nation spanning thousands of years.
Self-reliance is the national trait peculiar to Juche Korea and the invariable way of creation unique to the Korean people.
The grand march of self-reliance toward a new victory of socialism is not a temporary solution to the economic sanctions of the imperialists and other hostile forces but a manifestation of the steadfast faith and will of the Korean people to build an economic power by their own efforts, thus serving as the invariable driving force and banner of struggle for the advance and development of Korean-style socialism.
Today the Korean revolution requires that self-reliance should be sublimed and developed befitting to the developing reality and we should hold higher the banner of self-reliance.
Self-reliance in the DPRK is, above all, nationwide one.
That self-reliance should be nationwide one means that the state should be responsible for it and self-reliance be realized on a national scale under the unified guidance and control of the state.
The reason why self-reliance in the DPRK should be nationwide one lies in that economic construction in each country is conducted with the state as a unit and, in particular, the struggle for building an economic power in the DPRK is waged by the concerted efforts of all the people on a national scale.
Nationwide self-reliance, first of all, requires that the state, which is in charge of it, should organize and conduct all activities for self-reliance in economic construction.
The Cabinet is responsible for the economic work and all the economic activities of the state are organized and carried out by the Cabinet in the DPRK.
As the economic headquarters of the country, the Cabinet is the master of and is in direct charge of carrying out the new five-year plan for the national economic development.
Whether to achieve success or not in carrying out the new five-year plan for the national economic development depends on the attitude and stand of the Cabinet, its master and direct performer and how the Cabinet organizes and carries out the activities for self-reliance in economic construction.
Only when the Cabinet thoroughly embodies the requirements of the Cabinet-responsibility system and the Cabinet-centred system in conformity with its functions, thus dealing with all problems, big or small, arising in the struggle for self-reliance and resolving them creatively and boldly as required by the Party's policies and the actual conditions, can it fulfil its function as the economic headquarters.
Nationwide self-reliance also requires that self-reliance in economic construction should be realized under the unified guidance and control of the state.
As the socialist economy is based on the state ownership of the means of production, the whole of the national economy constitutes an organic body and economic management is a social function of organizing and directing the economic activities of people in a unified way.
Therefore, socialist economic management is organized and conducted under the unified guidance and control of the state.
If every sector and unit tries to survive individually excluding the unified guidance of the state on the plea of self-reliance, disorder and self-centeredness will be fostered in economic work, which, in turn, will lead to the tendency of decentralization and separatism in economic life.
Therefore, in order to successfully implement the new five-year plan for the national economic development in the construction of socialist economy which constitutes an organic body, self-reliance in economic construction should be realized under the unified guidance and control of the state.
National self-reliance also requires that activities for self-reliance in economic construction should be organized and conducted on a national scale.
In socialist society all economic activities are organized and conducted on a nationwide scale, the unit of ownership, and individual economic sectors, regions, factories and enterprises form an organic component of the state economy.
Self-reliance in economic construction should not be limited to the scope of an individual sector of the national economy, region, factory and enterprise, but should be turned into an all-people undertaking which is carried out by all the people on a national scale.
Next, self-reliance in the DPRK is planned one.
That self-reliance should be planned one means that it should be the one which is conducive to the implementation of the five-year plan for the national economic development and which is conducted circumspectly based on a realistic and feasible plan.
The reason why self-reliance in the DPRK should be planned one lies in the fact that the socialist economy is a planned economy.
The state economy of the DPRK is an independent and planned one serving the people, so all economic life is organized in a planned way.
As the socialist economy of the DPRK is a planned one, the struggle for economic construction, which is based on the principle of self-reliance, should be waged in a planned and purposeful manner.
The planned self-reliance, first of all, requires that self-reliance in economic construction should contribute to the implementation of the new five-year plan for the national economic development.
At the present stage, the economic strategy of the DPRK is the one for readjustment and reinforcement aimed at putting its economy on a normal track to run smoothly without being affected by any external influence by restoring and readjusting the economic work and the organic relations among sectors and pushing ahead with the work for cementing the self-supporting foundations.
The major tasks of the new five-year plan for the realization of the readjustment and reinforcement strategy, the economic strategy of the DPRK, aim at focusing investment with the metal industry and chemical industry as key links so as to normalize production in all sectors of the national economy, consolidate the material and technical foundations of the agricultural field and supply enough raw and other materials to light industry for increased production of consumer goods.
The new five-year plan mainly presupposes that the Cabinet, as the economic headquarters of the country, properly enforces the Cabinet-responsibility system, Cabinet-centred system, for economic work, vigorously accelerates the work of strengthening the essential lifeline and integrity of the country's economy, definitely improves its economic management, actively promotes the normalization of production, renovation and local provision of raw and other materials by dint of science and technology and orientates the external economic activities toward reinforcing the foundations and potentiality of the self-supporting economy.
This new five-year plan for the national economic development is carried forward still with self-reliance and self-sufficiency as the main seed and theme.
Therefore, self-reliance in the DPRK should be subordinated and conducive to the fulfilment of the new five-year plan for the national economic development.
Planned self-reliance also requires that economic officials should conduct all the activities for self-reliance in economic construction in a planned and purposeful way with strategic insight.
Economic construction is a process of extended reproduction which is carried out on an extended scale repetitively, and the subjective and objective conditions of the process constantly change.
Consequently, self-reliance in economic construction requires us not only to consider the present economic conditions and environment but also to foresee the subjective and objective conditions and circumstances to be encountered in the future and accordingly organize and conduct work.
For the Korean people there is no alternative other than self-reliance to attain the grand goal of the new five-year plan for the national economic development, overcoming economic difficulties and hardship under the conditions where the economic sanctions of the hostile forces have been prolonged and an accomplished fact.
Finally, self-reliance in the DPRK is scientific one.
That self-reliance should be scientific one means that it should be the one based on science and technology and scientific calculation.
Self-reliance should be scientific one because of the position of science and technology in social and economic development and the importance of economic calculation.
This is an era of science and technology and the level of development of science and technology is a criterion for defining the country's comprehensive national power and position.
Scientific and technological power is the most important strategic resource of the state and the powerful driving force of social development.
Therefore, science and technology serve as a locomotive propelling the economic development of the country and an important criterion for demonstrating the national power.
The competition of national power between countries is now a competition of science and technology and its fierce nature reminds one of an invisible war.
Economic calculation is to decide how to distribute and use resources in a given situation in order to make the most effective use of them economically.
Economic calculation is necessary for the rational management and operation of the economy in a socialist society, but the more difficulties and ordeals arise in economic construction, such as today, the more self-reliance that solves all problems by one's own efforts requires a scientific calculation.
Scientific self-reliance is, first of all, to be self-reliant in building an economic power by relying on science and technology.
In order to frustrate the economic and technical blockade of the imperialists, promptly enhance the self-development capability of the Korean people and rapidly develop all sectors of the national economy, we should hold fast to science and technology as the lifeline and closely combine self-reliance with science and technology.
This is the era of science and technology and the economic situation has changed a lot.
The production process has been turned into a modern scientific and technological one and the management of production and administration activities has been put on a scientific basis.
In these circumstances there can be no self-reliance which ignores science and technology.
It is the genuine self-reliance to innovate science and technology and rely on it.
Scientific self-reliance is also to thoroughly ensure the profitability on the basis of scientific calculation.
Scientific calculation is a guarantee for ensuring the economic profitability.
Only when economic officials make a scientific calculation, can they expend less and boost the production while carrying out production in accordance with their own goals.
Self-reliance in economic construction should naturally take economic profitability into consideration.
This is because it is the seed of the improvement of socialist economic management in the DPRK to maintain firmly the socialist principle and ensure economic profitability in all economic activities.
There can be no economic activity apart from the socialist principle and economic proficiency.
To ensure profitability in socialist economic construction means making an effective use of the human and material resources of society in order to bring tangible benefits to the prosperity and development of the country and the welfare of the people.
It is the basic principle of socialist economic management to give tangible benefits to the country and the people by carrying on production and construction, management and operation of enterprises in the most rational and economical way both on a national scale and within individual sectors and units.
Profitable self-reliance is the one which brings more economic benefits to the state since it reduces the cost on one's own and creates a large amount of net income through increased production and economy while fully ensuring the quality of the products.
In the long run, scientific self-reliance is the one which is fully profitable both in economic and technical aspects and in financial terms.
The Korean people are sure to take the first step vigorously in carrying out the five-year plan for the national economic development under the uplifted banner of self-reliance.
