Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Makes Opening Speech at 8th WPK Congress

 Pyongyang, January 6 (KCNA) -- Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un made an opening speech at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

The full text of the speech is as follows:

Dear delegates,

The Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, for which millions of our Party members have made preparations with sincerity and to which they have so looked forward with their hearts burning with patriotism and loyalty, has been convened at an important and crucial time in the development of our revolution.

First, in reflection of the boundless loyalty of you, dear delegates, and all other Party members, people and service personnel across the country, I pay the noblest respect and greatest glory to the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the founder and builder of the Workers' Party of Korea and the eternal leaders of our Party, state and people.

Dear delegates,

Five years have passed since our Party and all our people started a new advance to attain the immediate goals and tasks the Seventh Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea set forth for socialist construction.

In this period the unprecedented, worst-ever trials put great obstacles on the road of advance of our revolution, but our Party achieved great successes through tenacious and accurate practical activities aimed at implementing its fighting programmes.

During the period under review our internal force further expanded and strengthened, and the external prestige of the country was raised remarkably. This is a clear signal that a period of a new upsurge, a period of gigantic transformation, has arrived for socialist construction.

The Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the WPK held in August last year made an in-depth analysis and judgment of the new trend of our developing revolution and the demands of the prevailing objective and subjective situations, and decided to convene the current congress of the WPK.

The convocation of the congress in the present-day arduous circumstances is a noteworthy political event of great significance in view of the influence it would exert on the change and development of the internal and external situations and of the future struggle of our Party, a socialist ruling party.

When the decision on holding this congress was made public, all the people across the country, engulfed by a great emotion, warmly supported it, and it dealt a telling blow to the reactionary forces of all hues, who were hostile to our cause and attempted to check its advance.

It was because the convocation of the highest-level meeting of the WPK was an expression of its definite self-confidence in its capability for leading the revolution to another stage of victory, and constituted demonstration of its ardent will and solemn pledge to live up to the people's great trust and expectations by shouldering the future of the state and fully discharging its responsibilities and duties.

The Central Committee of our Party made it clear at home and abroad that it would make this congress a congress for work, struggle and progress.

This was a promise to the Party members and other people that it would strictly review its work in the period under review; explicitly decide once again the correct orientation and tasks of struggle for achieving fresh victories in building our style of socialism and take substantial measures to this end.

Never little are the successes our Party achieved in the revolutionary struggle and construction work over the last five years of arduous, yet glorious struggle.

By achieving miraculous victories and events noteworthy in the 5 000-year history of our nation after its Seventh Congress, the WPK provided a sure guarantee for reliably defending the destiny of the country and the people generation after generation and simultaneously achieved some meaningful and precious successes and foundations on which to promote economic construction and improve the people's standard of living.

However, though the period of implementing the Five-Year Strategy for the National Economic Development ended last year, almost all sectors fell a long way short of the set objectives.

Still existing are the various external and internal challenges that hamper and hinder our efforts and advance for fresh and continuous victories in socialist construction.

The key to breaking through the existing manifold difficulties with utmost certainty and speed lies in consolidating our own strength, our internal force, in all respects.

Proceeding from the principle of finding the cause of mistakes not in the objective conditions, but in the subjective conditions, and resolving all problems by enhancing the role of our motive force, the current congress is going to make a comprehensive and profound analysis and judgment of the experiences, lessons and mistakes we have made during the period under review and, on this basis, define the scientific goals and tasks of struggle, which we can and must accomplish without fail.

The successes we have already achieved are priceless for us, and so are the bitter lessons that have been accumulated.

All these are things that cannot be bartered even for gold, and constitute valuable assets for achieving fresh victories in the future.

We should further promote and expand the victories and successes we have gained at the cost of sweat and blood, and prevent the painful lessons from being repeated.

In particular, we should be bold enough to recognize the mistakes which, if left unaddressed, will grow into bigger obstacles and stumbling blocks, and take resolute measures against their repetition.

This congress has been convened on the basis of this pluck and commitment.

If the Eighth Party Congress, a congress for struggle, carries out its work in a substantial manner and puts forth a correct line and strategic and tactical policies, the Korean revolution will greet an era of a new leap forward and upswing.

Also, the WPK's struggle for achieving national prosperity and people's happiness will switch over to a new stage with the congress as a watershed.

Dear delegates,

To make this congress a substantial congress for work, struggle and progress, the WPK Central Committee focused on the following issues over the past four months.

First, it conducted the work of making a comprehensive, three-dimensional and detailed analysis and review of how the decisions of the Seventh Party Congress were implemented and drawing experiences and lessons for future progress and development.

To this end, the Party Central Committee formed a non-permanent central inspection committee and sent it to lower units on a mission to learn about the actual situations there and carefully listen to the opinions of workers, farmers and intellectuals who are Party members and work in the field.

The non-permanent central inspection committee conducted the work in the way of dispatching its teams to provinces and, after grasping the actual situations there, dispatching them to ministries and central institutions by direction and sector to make brisk, comprehensive and detailed inspections.

The teams thoroughly examined all aspects of the actual situation including what was wrong, what was neglected among what could be carried out and what was implemented in a profitable way or formalistic way in executing the decisions of the Seventh Party Congress, and if there were shortcomings, what were their causes and what were the defects in Party guidance.

During the days when the Party congress was prepared, departments of the Party Central Committee and other Party organizations across the country submitted to the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee and the preparatory committee of the congress reports of their work over the last five years and innovative and detailed opinions on the goals and plans of struggle in the future.

In the course of this, we confirmed once again the priceless truth that the masses are excellent teachers, and were convinced that it was right indeed that we had decided to take heed of the opinions of Party organizations and its members for the preparation of the congress.

What we did is of great significance in making this congress a revolutionary and militant one, both in name and reality, in which the general will of all the Party members, will be embodied, and the decisions to be adopted by it become an organizational will of the entire Party.

As part of the preparations for the Party congress, we analyzed and reviewed the finances of the Party over the last five years and studied the measures for improving them.

And we made a profound study aimed at putting to rights the problems in Party Rules, which were a mechanical repetition of the outdated of the past or of others' and did not suit the present reality, in conformity with the requirements of the developing revolution and the principles of building a Juche-oriented party.

We also comprehensively appraised the work of the members of the leadership body of the Seventh Central Committee of the WPK, and evaluated how much contribution they made to strengthening and developing the Party and the revolution.

In the lead-up to this Party congress, the basic Party organizations, provincial, city and county Party committees and the Party committees performing the same functions as the latter reviewed the work of their leadership bodies in an effective way and held successful meetings for electing delegates to the Party congress with the main emphasis on selecting the Party members who could play core roles in implementing the decisions of the Party congress in the future.

For the Eighth Party Congress, which would illuminate the road ahead of a new struggle for the Korean revolution, all the Party members and all other people across the country achieved brilliant successes by turning out as one in the 80-day campaign of loyalty after glorifying the 75th anniversary of the Party founding as a great auspicious event through a frontal attack for achieving a breakthrough, thus ensuring its successful opening.

The high political zeal of our Party members and other people, who made sincere efforts to add glory and strength to their dignified Party before its congress, is an eruption of their extraordinary revolutionary spirit which can never be found elsewhere in the present world.

Last year was a quite difficult year; in the circumstances of the world public health crisis that lasted unprecedentedly long in history, they consistently ensured a thoroughgoing stable situation in infectious disease prevention by stubbornly overcoming the difficulties, maintaining the conscious unity of all the people in the effort and regarding it as a patriotic duty devolving on them; they also rose up in the struggle for recovering from the natural disasters and built more than 20 000 new splendid houses in different parts of the country. This great achievement left another proud page in our Party's record of struggle.

In addition, our Party members and other working people from all walks of life sent to the Party Central Committee the reports full of valuable successes they made at many theatres of struggle across the country.

I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and militant greetings to all the Party members and other people and service personnel across the country, who firmly defended the Eighth Congress of the Party with burning patriotic devotion and great victory by demonstrating on a higher level the might of their firm unity around the Party in the flames of arduous struggle for overcoming manifold difficulties.

And as I stand on this glorious podium, I would like to extend warm greetings to the organizations of our overseas compatriots, including the General Association of the Korean Residents in Japan, and all other overseas compatriots.

On behalf of the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, I extend a noble tribute to all the patriotic martyrs, recollecting with deep reverence the revolutionary comrades who devoted their precious lives to the development of the Party, the prosperity of the country, the happiness of the people and the future of posterity, the unforgettable comrades-in-arms who failed to be present here.

Dear delegates,

Now we have gathered at this significant venue at a quite important and crucial moment with a very honourable and sacred mission.

We stand at a great turning point of leading the revolutionary cause of Juche pioneered in Mt Paektu to another fresh victory and at a decisive moment of firmly linking the 75 years of ruling history of the glorious Workers' Party of Korea to its 80 years; we are here representing the destiny, future, resourcefulness and wisdom of millions of members of the Workers' Party of Korea and tens of millions of the Korean people.

We are all entrusted with an important mission to make our country more powerful and wealthy and indicate to our people a shortcut to happiness in this world full of severe challenges and instability.

At this moment, the interest, expectations and hope of all the Party members and other people across the country are very great and high for this congress which will review the revolutionary work of the last five years and decide the lines of struggle and strategic and tactical policies for opening up a new road.

We should display the highest sense of responsibility and passion in the work of the congress in order to live up to the great trust and expectations of the people who have always shared their destiny with the Party, absolutely trusted and supported the Party and defended the Eighth Congress with unsparing, devoted efforts.

Attending this congress are 250 members of the leadership body of the Seventh Party Central Committee and 4 750 delegates elected by organizations at all levels throughout the Party.

Among them, 1 959 are delegates of Party and political workers, 801 delegates of state administrative and economic officials, 408 delegates of service personnel, 44 delegates of officials of the working people's organizations, 333 delegates of officials in the sectors of science, education, public health, art, literature and the mass media and 1 455 delegates of hardcore Party members involved in field labour.

Of them, women delegates number 501 and account for ten per cent.

Present at the congress are 2 000 observers.

Solemnly pledging, on behalf of all the participants in this congress, which constitutes the eighth one in the sacred history of the Workers' Party of Korea, that the current congress will remain thoroughly faithful to the revolutionary ideas and cause of the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il,

Fully convinced that this congress will serve as a stepping stone and a historic milestone in making a radical leap forward in the struggle for strengthening and developing our Party, accomplishing the socialist cause, building up the national strength and improving the people's living standards, and

Hoping that all the delegates will participate in the congress with sincere, responsible and proactive attitude,

I declare the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea open. -0-

        (2021.01.06)

WPK General Secretary Kim Jong Un Makes Concluding Speech at Eighth Congress of WPK

Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), made a concluding speech at the Eighth Congress of WPK.

The following is the full text of the concluding speech:

Dear delegates,

This congress, the eighth of its kind in the history of our Party, presented as its agenda items the immediate fighting plans for opening an era of new upsurge, an era of drastic change, in the revolution and construction and the important tasks in developing the Party, and made an in-depth discussion of them.

The congress first reviewed and analyzed the work of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party in a comprehensive, three-dimensional and detailed way, and made an in-depth discussion of the line and strategic and tactical problems for a new struggle.

The report, speeches and consultative meetings by sector reviewed and criticized in a detailed and severe manner the deviations and mistakes latent in all sectors, ranging from the Party, state and military affairs to the social life, and expressed a solemn determination and will to overcome them.

And an active study and discussion was made for finding the ways of hitting the goals and tasks in the new five-year plan period, and the constructive opinions raised in this course were brought to the committee for drafting the decisions of the Party congress.

Through the discussion of the first agenda item, what and how our Party, state and people must do in the future have become clearer, and our fighting strategies for a fresh victory in our revolution have become more definite.

That our Party at this congress, unlike the previous congresses, reviewed and analyzed its work from a critical viewpoint, not seeing only its merits, is of no less significance than the successes it achieved during the period under review.

The congress also reviewed the work of the Auditing Commission of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party in a critical and strict way, and adopted decisive measures for putting to rights in our own way and in line with the principles of its building the outdated ones of the past, the ones that did not suit the present reality, which were revealed in Party work and activities.

The Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea were revised by correctly reflecting the principles of Party building and work and the demands of the developing reality, and thus an important framework has been built for strengthening the Party's leadership abilities and fighting efficiency and achieving its sound development.

The congress has built the Eighth Central Committee of the Party with the comrades who are faithful to the Party and the revolution and highly qualified, and established a new discipline inspection system within the Party. This constitutes a drastic turning point for our Party to discharge its mission and role as capable General Staff of the revolution.

Dear delegates,

At this congress, thanks to the great trust of all of you and other members of the entire Party, I have again been honoured with the supreme leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea.

I feel greatly honoured that you elected me to the important position of the General Secretary of the dignified Workers' Party of Korea, but I cannot but feel overwhelmed with gratitude and feel my heart heavy.

Fully aware of the sacred mission that I am representing and in charge of the great Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist party, I solemnly pledge that I will make every effort to implement the fighting programmes put forth by the Party congress and, regarding our great people as the god of my life, work at the risk of my life as a faithful servant of the people on the road of devoted service for them.

The Eighth Central Committee of the Party, elected by the unanimous approval and support of all of you, dear delegates, will demonstrate its correct and seasoned leadership abilities to achieve a fresh victory in the building of our style of socialism and faithfully perform the duty the times have entrusted upon it, true to the high expectations and trust of all the organizations of the Party and its members.

Dear delegates,

The current external environment of our revolution is still grim and acute, and our revolutionary work will not be all plain sailing in the future as well.

But now there cannot be hardships insurmountable for our Party and people who have achieved great victories, which others would not dare achieve, in the worst conditions and difficulties.

With fresh confidence and courage, we must quickly take the road of sustainable advance and development by vigorously waging the struggle for consolidating the strength of our Party, revolutionary ranks and state in every way possible.

Achieving a great fresh victory on all fronts by remarkably increasing our own strength, our internal force, in socialist construction–this is the main idea and main spirit of the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.

In other words, it is the revolutionary will of the Workers' Party of Korea reaffirmed at this congress that our internal force must be readjusted and rearranged in a comprehensive way and, on the basis of this, we must make a frontal attack against all hardships to open up a road of new advance.

The historic heavy tasks facing our revolution require the entire Party to cherish the ideals of "The people are God," single-hearted unity and self-reliance deeply in mind once again and adhere more strictly to them.

Whereas the ideal of "The people are God" reflects our Party's consistent demand that the entire Party must hold fast to the revolutionary Party trait of regarding it as the starting point and absolute and invariable principle of its building and activities to serve the people, the ideals of single-hearted unity and self-reliance embody in a concentrated way the ideological and theoretical viewpoint and political requirements concerning the lifeline and motive force of our revolution.

The ideals of "The people are God," single-hearted unity and self-reliance–herein lie the fundamental key to enhancing the leadership abilities of our Party, the fundamental method for it to strike its roots deeper among the masses and the fundamental and sole guarantee for us to survive and open up our way ahead.

I would like to suggest substituting cherishing our Party's ennobling three ideals of "The people are God," single-hearted unity and self-reliance deeply in mind once again as the slogan of the Eighth Party Congress for putting up a high-sounding slogan.

The entire Party must make a historic, courageous advance in the direction indicated by the Party congress with unexcelled preparedness, self-confidence and enthusiasm for setting out on a new journey.

Above all, we should launch a do-or-die struggle to implement without fail the new five-year plan for the national economic development.

The socialist economic construction is the most important revolutionary task on which we should focus our all-out effort at present.

In order to break through the current difficulties facing us, stabilize and improve the people's living standards as early as possible and provide a firm guarantee for self-prosperity, we must resolve the economic problems, the knottiest problems, as soon as possible.

First of all, we should fix the right direction for major thrust on the economic front and concentrate our efforts on it.

The central task of the new five-year plan for the national economic development is to substantially promote economic revitalization by holding fast to the metal and chemical industries as the main link in the whole chain of the economic development and consolidating the organic ties among the key industries, and improve the people's living standards onto a new, higher level by enhancing the material and technical foundations of agriculture and increasing the proportion of domestically-available materials in light industry.

We must follow the road of focusing our efforts on definitely putting the metal and chemical industries first back onto their normal track, the track of revitalization, and, based on it, shoring up other sectors all together.

We must efficiently organize nationwide economic work on the principle of giving priority to the development of the metal and chemical industries.

It is important to intensify economic operations and guidance in such a way as to make the most rational use of the national economic capabilities for radically increasing the capacity of steel and chemicals production, instead of dispersing them here and there without any calculation.

We must orient all economic work towards achieving balanced stability and improvement of the people's living standards.

What is important here is to continue to direct effort to agricultural production and thus solve the food problem of the people in the main.

During the new five-year plan period, the agricultural sector must rise up with redoubled effort and the state must increase its investment in it, so as to attain the target of grain production without fail.

In particular, in the coming two to three years, the plan for compulsory procurement by the state must be set on the level similar to that in 2019 and implemented without fail and the amount to be procured must be increased in a prospective way, so as to make it possible to put the grain supply to the people on a regular basis.

During the new five-year plan period, the light-industry sector must increase the output of consumer goods by regarding it as the main link to obtain available raw and other materials domestically and recycle wastes, and thereby bring about a fresh advance in the effort for improving the people's living standards.

The state should take strong economic and technical measures so that all the sectors supplying the light-industry sector with raw and other materials can normalize their production.

Next, all sectors and units must identify their concrete tasks and ways for executing the new five-year plan for the national economic development, and implement them without fail.

By drawing on the lessons we learned during the period under review, this Party congress made an objective and strict examination of this plan and set new feasible fighting tasks by bringing them to the reality as close as possible.

It is very important that all sectors and units first set out well-worked-out plans by stage and by year while foreseeing the conditions and environments that can be created in the future.

Once their plans are set out, the relevant units must execute them without fail by conducting scientific and concrete operations and command, and the state must establish rigid discipline of strictly grasping, propelling and reviewing the implementation of the national economic plan in all indices.

The success or failure of the new five-year plan for the national economic development depends on how economic management is improved.

The economic departments of the Party Central Committee, the Cabinet, the State Planning Commission, factories, enterprises and all other sectors must work in concert to take decisive measures for improving economic management.

We must push forward energetically with the research and perfection of the economic management methods, which are both suited to our specific situation and geared to optimization and best effectiveness, for example, by combining the methods, which have been developed and introduced on a trial basis, and the experiences of the units, which are effective in their business and enterprise management.

During the new five-year plan period, the Party and state must direct their effort to restoring and strengthening the system and order by which the economy runs under the unified guidance and management of the state.

Strict sanctions must be imposed on whatever the units concerned if they hamper the unified guidance of the state, claiming special importance even after this Party congress.

The Cabinet and the State Planning Commission must intensify organization and guidance of economic work so that sectors, factories and enterprises achieve full ties and cooperation in production with a view to strengthening the independence of the national economy and increasing production.

Science and technology must fully guarantee economic construction and improvement of the people's standard of living with its practical development.

Science and technology is the engine of socialist construction and major driving force for the national economic development.

The sector of science and technology must set as their targets the high-priority tasks and other research projects aimed at accomplishing the new five-year plan for the national economic development, and concentrate its efforts on implementing them.

During the new five-year plan period, we must raise the level of the country's science and technology to a higher level and strengthen the creative cooperation among scientists, technicians and producers so as to solve one by one the sci-tech problems arising in economic construction and improving the people's standard of living.

We must lay the foundations for developing the local economy and improving the local people's living standards by promoting the independent and diversified development of the cities and counties.

Now the living standards of the people in the local cities and counties including the rural communities are very low and backward.

We intend to pay attention from now on to developing the local economy and improving the local people's standard of living.

The state must press ahead with the work of providing 10 000 tons of cement to every local city and county on an annual basis.

While taking preferential measures for ensuring that the local cities and counties have reliable economic foundations of their own and develop in conformity with their own characteristics, state economic guidance organs must provide them with accurate guidance and assistance.

We must vigorously step up the three revolutions–ideological, technological and cultural–in the rural communities and increase state support so as to decisively strengthen our rural position, consolidate the material and technical foundations of agricultural production and transform the socialist countryside into a civilized and rich one.

During the new five-year plan period, nationwide efforts must be directed to developing education and public health, so that all the people, whether they live in the capital city or local areas, can enjoy tangible benefits of the socialist educational and public health systems.

We must give precedence to vigorous education and strict discipline in the entire Party and the whole country and amongst all the people, so as to staunchly suppress and control all forms of anti-socialist, non-socialist practices revealed in all fields of social life and all sorts of criminal acts such as the abuse of power, bureaucracy, corruption and imposition of extra economic burdens on the people.

We must regard it as an important task to further strengthen the national defence capability both in quality and quantity.

We must further strengthen the nuclear war deterrent while doing our best to build up the most powerful military strength.

We must continue to give fresh spur to making the People's Army elite and powerful armed forces, so that it is thoroughly prepared to fulfill its mission and role as the driving force of national defence in the face of any form of threat and emergency.

We must raise the defence science and technology to a higher level and carry out the goals and tasks of munitions production without fail, so as to guarantee the historic onward march of our Party with the strongest military strength during the new five-year plan period.

In order to successfully carry out our responsible and important revolutionary tasks facing us today, we must, first of all, strengthen the Party and enhance its leadership role.

A great heyday of the development of the Party and the revolution will be ushered in when the organizations of the whole Party are built up into loyal vanguard ranks, work in a revolutionary and enterprising manner and satisfactorily perform their role as the political general staff of the relevant units.

By directing their main efforts to their internal work, all Party organizations must put the ranks of their cadres and members on a streamlined basis and develop them into an elite force and intensify the guidance over Party life more than ever before, thereby steadily building up the organizational and ideological foundations of the Party.

We must establish a well-knit system and fresh method of Party work throughout the Party so as to make it a working party, a fighting party, a militant party.

Party organizations must brace themselves to launch organizational and political work in a brave, high-spirited manner to carry out the new line of struggle and strategic and tactical policies, and properly play the role of helmsman in their relevant units' work.

They must eliminate such tendencies as taking administrative affairs upon themselves as they are engrossed only in economic work, and regard it as an iron rule to resolve all problems arising in the revolution and construction strictly in a Party-oriented, political way of giving full play to the spiritual strength of Party members and other working people.

In particular, the Organizational Leadership Department, Information and Publicity Department and other departments of the Party Central Committee should intensify Party-oriented, political leadership meticulously and offensively to implement the decisions of the Party Congress.

Officials, the commanding personnel of the revolution, must fully discharge their responsibilities and duties in the vanguard of the advancing ranks.

Their abilities and role decide the destiny of their units and sectors.

The manifold difficulties and trials facing our revolution at present and the great cause of building a powerful socialist country assigned to our generation demand that officials shoulder all the burdens and display extraordinary working ability, enthusiasm and devotion.

This is the very time which badly needs those officials who make painstaking efforts to reduce, even a bit, the concerns and worries of the Party and state, know nothing but the revolution and work and strive to do something for the good of the people, and expedite any tasks.

All officials, with a determination to prove their fidelity to the Party, revolution and people with working ability and results in practice, must make completely new arrangements from the start of the grand journey after the Party congress.

Always remembering the expectations of the people, they must make redoubled efforts so that they can review their everyday result with pride and conscience.

They must learn with open mind what they do not know, improve their insufficient ability even burning the midnight oil and make increasingly exacting demand on themselves without allowing complacency and inertia, and thus bring about revolutionary improvement in their fighting spirit and working style.

All the Party members must play the core, pacesetter role in the effort for implementing the tasks set forth by the Party congress.

If they turn out with redoubled efforts to brave today's hardship in the vanguard, there is neither difficulty we cannot surmount nor fortress we cannot seize.

All Party members must play their part in the most difficult and labour-consuming work sites by carrying forward the soul and spirit of the preceding generations who won a great victory in the Fatherland Liberation War with indomitable spiritual strength and heroic struggle and successfully carried out postwar rehabilitation in a short span of time, even tightening their belts.

The heaviest are the duties entrusted to the newly elected members of the central leadership body of the Party and all the delegates here in carrying out with credit the sacred fighting goals and tasks set forth by the Eighth Party Congress.

The newly elected members of the Eighth Party Central Committee must remember the precious trust and expectations of Party members and other people at all times and at all places, and produce substantial results of their work by displaying a high sense of responsibility and devotion in the struggle for implementing the tasks set forth by the Party congress.

All the delegates must throw themselves heart and soul into and stubbornly struggle for making sure that the tasks set by the Party congress, which they personally discussed and decided on, are carried out without fail at their posts and workplaces.

The delegates, who know better than anyone else about the urgent requirements of the Party and the revolution, must deeply implant the idea and spirit of the Party congress in the hearts of the masses and arouse them by setting personal examples, so as to bring about a remarkable development in the work of their sectors and units.

Dear delegates,

We must be prepared to wage a more arduous frontal attack in order to achieve a fresh victory and brilliant advance of our socialist cause.

The hostile forces will try to check our advance more frantically, and the world will watch how the political declaration and fighting programme of our Party are realized.

As long as there are the burning loyalty and invincible might of the single-hearted unity of all Party members and other people and service personnel who support the ideas and decisions of our Party with their consistent actions and practices, we are sure to emerge victorious.

Let us all fight on more vigorously for the brilliant fulfillment of the fighting programme put forward by the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, for the development of the glorious WPK, for the victorious advance of the revolutionary cause of Juche, and for our great people.

 

WPK General Secretary Kim Jong Un Makes Closing Address at Eighth Congress of WPK

 Pyongyang, January 13 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), made a closing address at the Eighth Congress of WPK.

The following is the full text of the closing address:

Dear delegates,

The Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea that has been held in a very crucial period in the course of the strengthening and development of our Party and the building of socialism of our style has made a full discussion of and decision on all items on the agenda thanks to the high enthusiasm of all the delegates and is to wrap up its work.

In the whole period of the congress all the delegates have taken part in all sincerity in the discussion of issues with the highest degree of Party consciousness and the highest sense of responsibility, positively offered their constructive opinions and reached a consensus in their opinions, thereby giving full play to the militant features of our Party that works, fights and advances.

There have been many important Party-wide political meetings including congress so far and the participants have shown immense enthusiasm every time as they received the policies and ideas of the Party Central Committee, but I see for the first time such an extraordinary zeal for participation as in the Eighth Party Congress, in which all the participants are so interested and immersed in the discussion of issues.

Every delegate made a positive and serious study of all issues discussed as they racked their brains and felt anxious over the issues by combining them with the success and failure of our revolutionary work and the destiny of themselves and their children and enthusiastically participated in the strenuous work of the congress.

Always conscious of the expectations and hopeful gaze of millions of our Party members and tens of millions of other people who watched the congress and assuming heavy responsibility together for the progress and development of the revolutionary work, all the delegates have devoted all their mind to deciding on the most correct and powerful orientation of our struggle and the strategy and tactics. I feel deeply impressed and greatly encouraged by this, and I feel very grateful for this.

The revolutionary line and immediate fighting plans set by the Eighth Party Congress will instil a great hope in all the Party members and other people for our future, inspire the masses of the people to a new struggle and exploits and bring about a decisive turn in further strengthening our Party organizationally and ideologically and improving its capability of leadership in overall revolution and construction.

Dear delegates,

The current Eighth Party Congress has powerfully demonstrated once again the might of unity and revolutionary passion peculiar to our Party and people, who firmly unite with a single ideology and purpose and make an uninterrupted advance and leap forward towards a new target of struggle even in the face of manifold challenges and ordeals.

All the Party members, service personnel and other people have strived hard at their workplaces and posts so as to defend the Eighth Party Congress and expressed their enthusiastic support and expectations for the Party congress by dint of their unprecedented successful work results.

In the name of the congress, I extend warm thanks to all the Party members and other people and service personnel for displaying boundless devotion and the revolutionary spirit as they maintained high alert to ensure the success of the Eighth Party Congress.

Dear delegates,

The Eighth Congress of the WPK served as a congress of struggle and progress, which demonstrated the steadfast will of the revolutionaries to achieve the prosperity and development of our style of socialism without fail, with self-confidence in victory and courage and by invariably holding aloft the banner of great Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism.

The congress made a close analysis of the subtle changes in the situations at home and abroad and the subjective and objective environment they influence our revolution, and correctly reviewed the work of the last five years. Accordingly, based on the new environment and revolutionary situation, it put forward scientific and correct strategic and tactical policies for readjusting and developing the foundations of the national economy and consolidating the state and social system, thereby clearly indicating the direction of advance of the overall work of the Party and the state.

I am convinced that this has provided a fresh motive force for our advance and set up a clear milestone and, therefore, this congress marked a turning point in powerfully propelling our sacred cause.

The Eighth Congress of our Party is of great significance also in the strengthening and development of the Party.

Having gone through another great process in the course of strengthening and developing our Party, we are now filled with self-confidence and pride in our struggle more than ever before, and deeply feel once again the importance of the responsibility we have shouldered for ourselves.

The decisions of a Party congress are our Party's strategy and tactics for achieving a fresh victory in the building of our style of socialism, a pledge the Workers' Party of Korea makes for the revolution and people and, at the same time, a supreme order our great people give to the Party Central Committee.

Our Party members and delegates to this congress should approach the decisions of the Party congress from such a noble standpoint and accept it seriously and with honour.

The future of the socialist cause hinges on how the tasks set by this Party congress, including the five-year plan for national economic development, is fulfilled.

We should thoroughly carry out the highly important tasks set by the Party congress without condition so as to bring about another upsurge in our revolution and provide our people with better and more stable living conditions and environment as early as possible.

We should arrange the study involving the whole Party for implementing the decisions of the Party congress so as to thoroughly accept the tasks and duties of struggle fixed by the Party congress, and wage a determined struggle so as to develop socialist construction onto a new stage.

Therefore, Party organizations at all levels should organize intensive studies for firmly arming the people with the documents and decisions of the Party congress, effectively hold discussions and conduct organizational and political work for implementing them, and work out elaborate tactics and wage a powerful struggle to implement the decisions of the Party congress.

They should first galvanize Party members into action so as to make them lead others to new miraculous feats through their pacesetter role and make all the units and the whole country seethe with the efforts for implementing the decisions of the Party congress.

It is needed to organize the Party-wide study on the newly-revised Party Rules, and Party organizations and members should thoroughly establish a climate of observing the norms stipulated in Party Rules in every process and on every occasion of Party work and life.

Dear delegates,

Innumerable trials and difficulties are still challenging us, but our determination is definite and our future is promising.

As in the past, so in the future, our Party will remain infinitely faithful to the people-first principle and do its best to continue to achieve fresh victory in socialist construction.

As the WPK holding aloft the great Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism as its ever-victorious banner is correctly leading the revolution and construction and there is the invincible might of the single-hearted unity of the Party and the masses, our revolution will make steady progress, overcoming every manner of difficulties.

Let us all advance dynamically towards a fresh victory of the revolution with strong confidence in the victory of the socialist cause, the revolutionary cause of Juche, and rallying rock-solid around the Party Central Committee.

Fully convinced that, thanks to the great fighting efficiency, power of unity, extraordinary patriotic enthusiasm and indomitable perseverance of the organizations and members of the entire Party, all other people and service personnel, the strategy and policies of struggle put forward by this congress will successfully be carried out and epoch-making progress will be achieved in the building of our own style of socialism, I declare the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea closed.

 

Great Political Event to Be Etched in History of Development of Great WPK and Sacred Juche Revolution Sixth-Day Sitting of 8th WPK Congress Held

 

Pyongyang, January 11 (KCNA) -- The news about the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea clearly indicating the orientation of the victorious advance of Korean-style socialism is instilling into the minds of millions of Party members and other people throughout the country the great pride in the great guidance and sagacity of our dignified Party and fresh confidence and courage.

Amid the high-degree political awareness and great enthusiasm of the delegates, the sixth-day sitting of the 8th Congress of the WPK was held on January 10.

Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, symbol of all victories and glory of our people and outstanding leader of the Juche revolution, came out to the venue of the congress together with platform holders.

The congress discussed its fourth agenda item "Election of the Central Leadership Body of the WPK."

According to the rules of the WPK, the 7th Party central leadership body finished its term and the congress elected the 8th Party central leadership body.

As the congress entered a discussion of the important issue of electing the new central leadership body which will take responsibility for, organize and direct the party-building and overall revolutionary affairs in the new stage of struggle, a solemn and heavy atmosphere pervaded the venue of the congress.

Relevant articles of the "regulations of election of the central leadership organ of the WPK" were read out and the procedures of electing members and alternate members of the Party Central Committee began.

The nomination and election took place after rational methods of recommending the candidates for the members and alternate members were decided.

Delegate Jo Yong Won, upon authorization by the presidium of the congress, read the list of the candidates for members of the 8th Party Central Committee.

When he suggested the Supreme Leader as a candidate for member of the Party Central Committee, all the delegates broke into stormy cheers of hurray with loud applause.

All the suggested candidates were recommended as candidates for members of the WPK Central Committee with unanimous approval of all the delegates.

Delegates unanimously acknowledged that the recommended candidates are the comrades who have firmly armed themselves with the revolutionary idea of our Party, remained strong in their faith to dedicate themselves to the final victory of the revolutionary cause of Juche and devotedly struggled for the country and the people.

The congress carried out an election of the recommended candidates.

When the chair courteously proposed electing the Supreme Leader as a member of the Party Central Committee in reflection of the unanimous will and desire of all members of the Party and the delegates attending the congress, all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of "hurrah!" and applause in token of their full support.

By raising their delegate certificates, they expressed their approval to the election of recommended 138 candidates as members of the Party Central Committee and gave an enthusiastic applause to their election by a unanimous approval.

The congress elected alternate members of the Party Central Committee.

The delegates approved of the number of the alternate members and examined the qualifications of the recommended 111 candidates for alternate members.

All the recommended candidates were elected as alternate members of the Party Central Committee with the unanimous approval of the delegates at the congress.

Then the congress discussed the most important and responsible issue of crucial significance in the development of the glorious WPK and accomplishment of the revolutionary cause of Juche.

All the delegates were greatly excited to enter the discussion of the most important issue of the election of the general secretary of the WPK, the head representing and leading our great Party.

Delegate Ri Il Hwan made a suggestion concerning the election of the general secretary of the WPK.

He referred to the great political significance of successfully electing the top leader of the party who takes the position as the leader, the top-intellect of revolution and center of leadership and unity, and plays a decisive role in accomplishing the revolutionary cause of the popular masses and the cause of socialism.

The philosophy that the greatness of the leader is just the one of the party, the mightiness of the country and nation and the invincibility of the revolutionary cause has been proved in the sacred history of the Korean revolution and the long world history of building revolutionary parties, he said, referring to the greatness and the peerless exploits of the Supreme Leader who has wisely led the WPK and the Juche revolution by successfully carrying forward the revolutionary cause of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il.

All the delegates unanimously acknowledged the undeniable truth of history that Kim Jong Un is the only one who will lead the WPK and the people only to victory and glory at the time of carrying forward and developing the revolution when a big stride should be made towards a new victory in the socialist construction.

Saying that it is the solemn demand of our times and firm faith of millions of Party members and other people to hold Kim Jong Un in high esteem as the head of the WPK, he courteously proposed electing Kim Jong Un as general secretary of the WPK in reflection of the unanimous will of the whole Party and all the people at the congress.

All the delegates expressed full support with stormy applause in great excitement.

The 8th Congress of the WPK unanimously adopted a decision on electing Kim Jong Un as general secretary of the WPK in reflection of the unanimous will and desire of all the delegates and other Party members, all the people and service personnel of the People's Army to achieve the development of the Kimilsungist-Kimjongilist Party and a fresh victorious advance of the revolutionary cause of Juche.

The moment all the participants broke into stormy cheers of "Hurrah!" in great excitement and joy of having Kim Jong Un as the head of the WPK again who is opening up an era of unprecedented changes and miracles with his gifted ideological and theoretical wisdom, extraordinary leadership and noble moral virtue, extending the greatest glory and warmest congratulations to him.

The election of Kim Jong Un, the most prominent political leader in the present era, as general secretary of the WPK is the biggest fortune and the greatest happiness of our Party and people and it also marks an epoch making political event providing a decisive guarantee for victory of Korean style socialism and promising its rosy future.

Fervent cheers of the delegates resounded through the venue of the congress for a long time, reflecting their intense loyalty.

The First Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK was held after the election of the Party central leadership body.

Upon the authorization by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, Delegate Kim Jae Ryong reported the decision made at the First Plenary Meeting to the congress.

The congress elected members of the 8th Party central leadership body to the committee for drafting the resolution of the Party Congress.

The resolution drafting committee will guide the inter-sector consultative meetings of delegates studying and discussing the issues of thoroughly implementing the tasks set forth in the report given by the Supreme Leader to the congress, and will give general consideration to the issues raised at the consultative meetings, make a draft resolution and refer it to the congress.

The congress continues.