The Korean Workers’ Party’s 4th Congress in the Light of the Press

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Subject: The Korean Workers’ Party’s 4th Congress in the light of the press

The light industry development policy of the Korean Workers’ Party in local and central industries

Hang In-ho, Kim Dok-ching

Geunroja (The Worker)

Theoretical journal of the KWP

1961. N07.

In the current stage of building socialism, our party pays distinguished attention to developing local industries besides developing the central one, as it is prescribed by the direction of the party detailing the development of light industry. The essential idea is the following: to produce public necessity products, we are creating small and medium factories in parallel with the large ones. Modern techniques are complemented by handcrafts, so that we could better provide for the material need of the people.

I.

It is not possible to rationally organize production and consumption only by large factories, the production of consumer goods has to be maximally adjusted to the raw material resources and to the consumer areas. Already after the Liberation, our party paid great attention to correctly link the central and local industries in producing consumer (public necessity) items. One of the important factors in the evolution of our revolution and in building socialism is the most correct realization of this harmony in every stage of developing the economy.

After the war, our party had used 19% of the total industrial investment value to develop light industry, and therefore a large-scale central light industry base was established over a very short period of time. At the same time, the party was developing and fortifying the medium- and small-sized cooperatives, thus further accelerating the development of the light industry. The central light industry played a major role during the restorations both before the war (1945-1950) and after it (1954-1957), whereas the local industry had only a subordinate supplementary role during these times.

With establishing socialist production, and the rapid development of the production forces, the need of the masses had increased for a better and greater variety of consumer goods. This requirement could not be satisfied by relying only on central industry. At the same time, we could not have allowed to increase the light industry investments at the expense of developing heavy industry.

The Korean Workers’ Party’s Central Committee’s 1958 January plenum decided that in order to solve this problem – at the same time of further improving the central light industry – local industry has to be developed as well, and initiated a large-scale national movement to mobilize the local reserves and possibilities. During successfully executing the tasks initiated by Comrade Kim Il-sung, more than one local industry plant was established in every city and district, and ultimately there was a great boost in the development of the light industry. The development of the local industry that previously was only playing a subordinate role had entered into a new phase, in which it was developing in parallel with the central industry. Developing the local industry in parallel is not only important in better satisfying the workers’ needs, but it is a wise measure to eliminate the colonial one-sidedness, to establish an independent national economy base in the shortest historical time possible and accelerate the building of socialism. At the same time, the party policy aiming to develop the central and local industries in parallel did not only ensure the fast development of the whole light industry, but became an important factor for the rapid development of heavy industry and agriculture as well. By mobilizing the local reserves, we have been able to achieve significant savings in light industry investments that we could use to develop heavy industry.

II.

In order to develop central and local industries in parallel, besides improving central light industry, our Party attached great importance to the maximal mobilization and utilization of reserves and labor, and had started a mass movement nationwide for building new factories.

Comrade Kim Il-sung emphasized it multiple times that involving women, especially housewives in the work is not just a solution for the current labor shortage, but has a great importance in building socialism as well. Following Comrade Kim Il-sung’s guidance, 60% of the workers in the local industry were women at the end of 1958.

An important method in developing local industry in a short period of time is the extensive exploration and utilization of local resources. With realizing this objective, more than a thousand local industry plants had been built in 2-3 months after the 1968 June plenum, and 85% of them had started production by then.

Our Party was firmly holding the central industry with one hand, and the local industry with the other, and at the same time increased the leading role of the central industry over the local. Relying on the lead of the central industry, it accelerated the technical modernization of the local industry, and supported the education of specialists. In order to increase the leading role of the central industry, our party attached great importance to the fortification of the central industry’s financial-technical base.

To establish and fortify the local industry system, an important measure of our party was to lay the technical foundations of the local industry, and create its own raw material base as well. In order to fortify the technical base of the local industry, unified machine factories, iron plants, and cement factories had been built in every province. The movement called “machine gives birth to machine” bore great significance, in the framework of which – even though handcraft techniques were still predominant – the workers had built 1900 machines in just a few months from their own strength, and acquired important experiences.

The local industry was developing rapidly, but its technical base was still weak.

The 1960 August plenum marked its objectives in replacing the still existing handcraft industry with modern techniques, and introducing mechanization and semi-mechanization to the local industry in the coming 2-3 years. In the last couple years, the party have sent 2300 specialists into the local industry, who played a major role in raising the professional standards of the workers. The extended session of the Political Bureau in 1959 August decided that 20-30% of excellent specialists who became available by closing or merging particular ministries (divisions) should be directed into the local industry. This measure was of great significance.

Concerning the further improvement of the local industry, provincial economic committees were established. Democratic centralism was enhanced by this and the collective leadership system was further fortified. Changing the control scheme of the industry accelerated the creation of local industry as well.

III.

Since the Central Committee’s 1958 June plenum, we have accomplished great successes in the development of the light industry. In the 6 years following the war, the average yearly development of the light industry was 42%. The production has increased 6.8-fold compared to 1949, and 2.8-fold compared to 1957. In detail, the central industry increased 1.9-fold, the local industry 3.9-fold. Currently the light industry produces the whole yearly production of 1944 only in 22 days. As a result of the party’s political direction for parallelization, a firm local industry base has been established, which forms the production base of mass consumer items along with the central industry. In the total value of industrial production, the ratio of the local industry was 12.3% in 1956, but already 31.9% in 1960. The production of consumption items increased from the 28% of 1958 to the 56% of 1960. The ratio of local industry in the state budget was 28% in 1956, and 32.3% in 1960. These great results have played a major role in finishing the first five-year plan in two and a half years, and in completing the objectives of the transition year (1960). These all clearly prove the correctness of our party’s political direction that aims to develop both central and local industries. These results have a great importance in building socialism as well. With the mobilization of the reserves, the local industry’s development – without additional investments – enabled the rapid development of light industry, and the acceleration of the socialist industrialization. Creating factories in villages and the progression of the local economic synthesis strengthened the worker–peasant alliance, accelerated the technical-cultural revolution, and are gradually decreasing the difference between cities and villages. The transformation of hundreds of thousands of housewives into socialist workers rapidly increased the ranks of the working class, and changed their thinking as well. The standards of leadership have also increased.

Relying on these results, our party is aiming to produce more, better, and cheaper consumer items, to develop chemical industry that serves as a basis for the raw materials of light industry, and to raise the quality standards of our light industry products to that of the developed countries in the next two-three years. To successfully accomplish these tasks too, we have to continue developing the central and local industries in parallel. This was emphasized on the Central Committee’s 1961 March plenum as well. We especially have to pay great attention to the mechanization of the local industry, to which all conditions are given.