YONHAP NEWS

NORTH KOREA THIS WEEK NO 484 (January 24, 2008)

   *** TOPIC OF THE WEEK

North Korea Concentrates Efforts on Boosting Sluggish Economy

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- In an apparent drive to revive its sagging economy, North Korea has urged its people to help make the country an economic power this year. Reflecting the emphasis on the economy, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made several visits to industrial facilities in January.

   In its annual joint editorial on Jan. 1, the North called for "spiritual armament" by citizens to achieve economic growth in all industrial sectors while emphasizing a need to improve the livelihood of the people and to overcome economic difficulties. The state-controlled media's editorial also said "solving the problem of food" is the most "urgent and important" task.

   While placing economic development as the top policy priority, the communist country called upon the ruling party, the country and the people to build a modern economic power while preserving the features of socialism.

   After the joint editorial was issued, mass rallies were held across the country to encourage North Koreans to implement the New Year's tasks. The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 4 said 100,000 residents of Pyongyang gathered at Kimilsung Square during the day to vow to thoroughly implement the tasks set forth in the editorial.

   In an indication of the importance of the rally, it was attended by high-ranking officials from the party and government. All citizens of the capital were asked to help build a great, prosperous and powerful country. Similar mass rallies were held in each of the North's provinces.

   In each of the rallies, the North Korean authorities gave the people main economic tasks. In the case of the rally in Pyongyang, the North said housing construction is the major economic task for this year along with the increase of electricity, coal and agricultural production.

   Main economic tasks for each province included mechanical modernization, increased fertilizer production, mining development, an increase of thermal power plants and many others. In the case of North Pyongyang Province, an increase in production of footwear and mechanical goods was emphasized. In the farming district of Hwanghae provinces, agricultural "revolution" and the construction of power plants were presented as the top priorities for economic revival.
Seeking to transform itself into a powerful country, the North re-emphasized the importance of developing science and technology to expand its economic power. The editorial called for steadily strengthening the Juche, or self-reliance, character of the national economy and updating it with "the latest science and technology, so as to give full play to the advantages and vitality of our independent national economy."
The (North) Korean Central Broadcasting Station said on Jan. 8 the development of science and technology is the basis for developing the economy and national defense, while supporting self-reliance.

   North Korean leader Kim's visits to a power plant and a computer program exhibit in his first and third public appearances this year apparently indicated the country's focus on the economy. The North Korean leader's first public activities of a new year have usually indicated the North's policy goals for the year.

   The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported on Jan. 22 that Kim "looked at computer programs displayed at the 18th national program contest and exhibition." The contest was held last October in Pyongyang, but the news report did not reveal whether the programs were displayed at the same place where last year's event was held.

   Earlier, on Jan. 6, the KCNA reported Kim inspected a power plant construction site on the Yesong River near the border city of Kaesong. Experts say such a development reflects Pyongyang's emphasis on the economy.

   Choson Sinbo, organ of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, said on Jan. 9 that North Korea should introduce modern science and technology and develop its own computer industry to pursue "a self-sufficient strategy in the 21st-century style."
"The dynamic phase created with the implementation of the six-party agreement will provide an atmosphere favorable to the DPRK's economic recovery," the newspaper said, apparently referring to Pyongyang's claim to have submitted a full list of its nuclear weapons programs in return for energy aid and political concessions promised under a six-way denuclearization deal. DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

   Experts say Pyongyang appears to have set economic recovery as the top goal for this year, perhaps in a belief that there has been progress in normalizing ties with the United States and in settling the dispute over its nuclear arms programs.

   "The North Korean leader's recent visit to a power station shows his intention to focus on building an infrastructure necessary to develop the national economy. Kim's visit to a computer program exhibition also shows the sector on which the North intends to put priority," a South Korean Unification Ministry official said. The official forecast that the North will focus on developing information and technology while trying to increase production in light industry and agriculture.

   In the joint editorial, the North said, "This year we should make decisive efforts to shore up the power, coal and metal industries and rail transport, which constitute the lifeline of the socialist economic construction,"
Kim's visit to the computer program exhibition reflects the communist state's recognition of the importance of computer technology as a new engine to develop the national economy.

   During the visit, Kim emphasized the need to "continue directing big efforts to develop computer technology as it plays an important role in developing and using ultra-modern science and technology." He also spoke of the need to expand the computer industry in North Korea's own style and develop many programs urgently required by the state, the KCNA report said.

   In the New Year's joint editorial, North Korea emphasized the role of science and technology in building economic power. "The climate of attaching importance to science and technology should be created across the country, and a high-tech production system should be set up in industrial establishments," the editorial said. "A great number of personnel capable of helping to build a thriving nation should be trained through a radical change in education as required by the IT age."
North Korea has emphasized science and technology as a means of boosting its struggling economy since 2000 when it named the field along with ideology and the gun as one of the "three pillars" for building a powerful nation.

   Kim has demonstrated strong interest in science and technology. He called himself an "Internet expert" during his summit talks with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in Pyongyang last October, according to the South's delegates. He reportedly made the remark after Roh suggested the establishment of Internet connections at the South Korea-invested industrial park in Kaesong.

   A British weekly news magazine, The Economist, reported last February that Kim has interest in modern technology beyond nuclear weapons, believing there are three kinds of fools in the 21st century: smokers, the tone-deaf and computer illiterates.

   Despite Kim's efforts to revive his country's economy, experts say it would be difficult for Pyongyang to achieve the goal unless it improves ties with the United States and South Korea by settling the nuclear dispute. "The fact that North Korea sticks to its past slogan of 'self-reliance' despite its drive to improve the economy is due to the international political instability surrounding the North," an expert said. "North Korea should move more aggressively to improve its relations with the U.S. and South Korea."
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