Speech by Kim Il Sung at the August Korean Workers' Party Central Committee Plenum

REPORT CONCERNING THE WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT DELEGATION WHICH VISITED FRATERNAL COUNTRIES, AND SOME IMMEDIATE TASKS OF OUR PARTY

(Report of Cde. Kim Il Sung at the 30 August 1956 Plenum of the CC of the Korean Worker's Party)

Comrades!

At the invitation of the Governments of the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, Poland, and the Mongolian People's Republic a DPRK Government delegation made a friendly visit to these countries between 1 June and 19 July 1956.

The purpose of this friendly visit of our government delegation was to strengthen the solidarity and develop the traditional international friendship which has been established between our people and the peoples of these countries, pass them greetings, and also to express gratitude to them for the enormous material and moral aid they have and are giving us both during the war and in the postwar period. The purpose of this friendly visit was also familiarization with the brilliant successes of these countries in the building of socialism and Communism, the study of their valuable experience, and also an exchange of opinions with the government and Party leaders of these countries on a number of international problems of common interest to us and to thereby promote the great cause of peace in the entire world.

I note with satisfaction that our Government delegation successfully fulfilled this honorable task which was entrusted to it.

We encountered a warm reception in the fraternal countries and the joyous hospitality of the peoples.

The meeting of our delegation was noted by the peoples like their national holiday, and in the cities and villages and at the factories and enterprises which we visited the voices of friendship and of the limitless joy of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people who welcomed our delegation rang out.

All our comrades and friends with whom we had occasion to meet passed the warmest and most fraternal greeting to the Korean people through our delegation, and with their whole hearts wished them new and ever-greater successes in their just cause.

These warm welcomes and greetings given our Government delegation beautifully tell how firm is the international friendship between the peoples of the fraternal countries and the Korean people and how unbreakable is their solidarity.

During this visit to the fraternal countries our Government delegation discussed all the issues of interest to it with the leaders of these countries. This discussion occurred in an atmosphere of complete mutual understanding and friendship, a unity of views was found, which is demonstrated by the published joint statements, communiqués, and other agreements.

Complete agreement about the further strengthening and development of friendly relations and cooperation which are based on the ideas of proletarian internationalism was reached in the course of the discussions. Based on this, our delegation concluded agreements about cultural, scientific, and technical cooperation with the governments of the fraternal countries. In addition, understanding was reached about the conclusion of further similar agreements, and also trade agreements.

It is completely obvious that these agreements will to a considerable degree promote the further expansion and development of cooperation between our peoples in political, economic, cultural, and other fields, that it will accelerate our socialist construction, and even further strengthen the international solidarity of our peoples.

During our visit we were gladly and with our own eyes convinced how deep was the interest of the governments of the fraternal countries in the lives of our people.

By the example of the enormous moral and material aid which was given us during the days of the patriotic war of liberation and is being given right now after the war, we know quite well how great is the interest, sympathy, and support of the peoples of the Soviet Union, the PRC, and the other countries of people's democracy in the great cause of our people.

And this time the fraternal countries decided to give us aid again. It is huge and is directed at the revival and development of our economy, and the increase of the population's standard of living.

The total amount of aid from the Soviet Union will reach 470 million rubles, of which 300 million rubles will be sent in the form of aid free of charge, and 170 million rubles in the form of trade turnover.

Thus, we will get iron, ironware, fabrics, raw cotton, cotton yarn, rice, butter, sugar, cable, vehicles, tractors, timber, etc. from the Soviet Union. Besides this, the Soviet government has given us the opportunity to cut timber in the Far East in any quantity to meet the extreme need of timber.

The Soviet government also promised to give us direct aid in the winter fishing catch and send agricultural, fishing, scientific and technical, and a technical commission to us in Korea to help repair the Hungnam chemical fertilizer plant. In addition, the Soviet government has released us from the repayment of 570 million rubles from the amount of previous credits. As regards the remaining credits, the amount of which is 362 million rubles, the deadline for their repayment has been extended.

This new enormous aid of the Soviet Government has again shown that the great Soviet Union is a reliable defender of the interests of the workers of the entire world, and that it will concern itself about the freedom and happiness of the Korean people in every way.

The German Democratic Republic has promised to build us a diesel engine factory by way of aid. However, at our request, instead of the aforementioned factory, it has promised to supply us with consumer goods worth 54 million rubles.

Of the total amount of aid designated for the construction of the city of Hamhung funds will be allocated to provide equipment for the metallurgical plant being repaired in Hwanghae and the [Kansen] foundry, and only 18 million rubles will be invested in the construction of a printing and publishing integrated works.

Romania decided to give us new aid of 25 million rubles, and Hungary, 15 million rubles. Czechoslovakia promises to help us revive our economy in the future and give us help in training scientific and technical personnel. It has extended the repayment of the credit due starting in 1957 for five years without interest.

In addition, the government of Czechoslovakia has also decided to supply us with consumer goods, the total amount of which will be about 40-50 million rubles of the total amount of aid of 102 million rubles earmarked for the construction of a plant in [Pkhenchenri].

The free aid newly given to our country by Bulgaria will be 30 million rubles. Albania has decided to supply our country with 10,000 tons of asphalt delivered to our country, and Mongolia will give us 80,000 head of sheep; 2,000 head of cattle; and 5,000 tons of wheat, which they will ship in themselves. Such aid will be one more demonstration of the warm international friendship which exists only between the closest friends traveling to the same goal, sharing joy and sorrow, joined by the single great family of the socialist camp.

This aid being given to our country will to a considerable degree promote the rapid revival and development of our economy. It will raise the standard of living of our people and inspire them to new victories.

We again express heartfelt gratitude to the governments and peoples of the fraternal countries which have sent ardent love to the Korean people via our Government delegation and given us new invaluable material aid.

Making use of this visit of friendship to the fraternal countries we exchanged opinions about the most important international problems with the leaders of these countries. In the course of these discussions the sides above all welcomed the considerable lessening of international tension achieved as a result of the energetic efforts of the Soviet Union, the PRC, and all peace-loving countries, welcomed the further relaxation of international tension, and declared their readiness to devote every effort in the future to improve the international situation and support a durable peace.

In joint statements the sides again expressed their support of the well-known principles of international cooperation, the reliable basis for the peaceful coexistence of countries, consisting of mutual respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, of non-aggression, of non-interference in internal affairs, of equality, of mutual advantage, and of the peaceful coexistence of countries. They expressed hope for the establishment and expansion of personal contacts between the leaders of all countries, for the establishment of close cooperation between the countries, and also for the establishment and the further expansion of diplomatic, economic, and cultural ties between the countries.

We insist that all contentious issues should and can be settled by negotiations on a peaceful basis, and vigorously demanded the unconditional prohibition on the production and use of atomic and nuclear weapons and other kinds of weapons of mass destruction.

At the same time we expressed a common will that no more delay be permitted in the solution of the issue of disarmament which is already overdue, and that the agreement of governments on this problem promote a further relaxation of international tension, a strengthening of peace, and a peaceful settlement of all unresolved international issues, including the Korean question.

Together with us the governments of these countries noted that the achievement of an armistice in Korea played an important role in lessening international tension in Asia and in the entire world, and declared that they would tirelessly exert every effort in the future for a peaceful settlement of the Korean question in accordance with the national interests of the Korean people and the interests of peace in the Far East, and to turn the armistice achieved in Korea into a durable peace.

The Parties and governments of the fraternal countries entirely support our position and point of view that the Korean question ought to be solved by the Korean people themselves and by peaceful means on a democratic basis without outside interference, that to do this it is necessary to remove the artificially-created wall between South and North Korea, to establish free contact and achieve mutual agreement between both sides, and to withdraw all foreign troops from Korea and turn the armistice in Korea into a durable peace. They heartily supported our point of view about the need for an international conference on a peaceful settlement of the Korean question.

The active support which the Parties and governments of the fraternal countries have given us in our consistent efforts directed at the accomplishment of a peaceful reunification of the motherland and the maintenance of and the securing of peace in the Far East was an enormous incentive for us and has strengthened our faith even more that the Korean people's desire for the peaceful reunification of the motherland will certainly be achieved.

Our Government delegation visited many cities, factories, enterprises, villages, and cultural institutions while in the Soviet Union and the other popular democratic countries.

Now the Soviet people under the wise leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union are directing all their efforts at the accomplishment of the sixth five-year plan, the fulfillment of which will be a great step forward on the path to building Communism. Great successes have already been achieved in this.

Industrial production based on modern science and technology is growing at a rapid rate, and an opening up of virgin lands on a scale unprecedented in human history is proceeding successfully.

Now the Soviet Union has all the conditions necessary to solve an important economic task in a very short time, to catch up to and surpass the developed capitalist countries in the level of industrial production per capita.

The constant growth of the might of the Soviet Union and the brilliant successes which the Soviet people are achieving in the building of Communism are a great contribution to the great cause of peace in the whole world and inspire all progressive humanity to fight for peace, for a bright future.

In recent years the peoples of the European popular democratic countries liberated by the Soviet Union have also achieved great successes in the building of socialism in their countries.

Here economic backwardness was overcome and a powerful industry was created in a short period.

The popular democratic countries have considerably surpassed the rates of the capitalist countries in the growth rate of industrial production. For example, now the level of industrial production exceeds the prewar level by several times.

Some European popular democratic countries have already caught up to such capitalist countries as France and Britain in the production of a number of the most important kinds of industries.

As a result of this today the fraternal popular democratic countries have been turned into powerful industrial or agroindustrial countries.

The economic foundation of the countries of the socialist camp is being strengthened even more; the economic might of the world socialist system grows from year to year.

Agriculture, too, has developed rapidly in the European popular democratic countries. Work on the socialist transformation of the countryside is developing successfully.

The standard of living of the workers is increasing with the development of industry and agriculture, and the national culture, science, and technology are also developing and thriving.

Relations of mutual assistance and cooperation based on complete equality and mutual advantage have been established between the countries of the socialist camp; trade, an exchange of technical expertise, and an effective mutual adjustment of economic plans are being done successfully.

Such close economic cooperation of the countries of the socialist camp provides an opportunity to use the industrial and raw material resources in the best way and closely combine the interests of each individual country with the common interests of the camp of socialism.

The might of the socialist camp is not only in its economic basis, which grows with each day, but also that the countries of this camp are firmly united by the same goal and the common interests of peace and the building of socialism and Communism.

The Communist and worker's Parties, guided by the great Marxist-Leninist teachings, are confidently leading the peoples along the path of the achievement of this common goal.

The Communist and worker's Parties of our fraternal countries have grown and strengthened in the struggle for freedom, for peace, for the genuine interests, and a bright future for the workers, and today have enormous authority and decisive influence among the popular masses.

In spite of all sorts of attempts by domestic and foreign enemies to split the Party ranks, the Parties of these countries are firmly maintaining their unity.

Devotion to the scientific ideas of Marxism and proletarian internationalism, and selfless service to the interests of the popular masses unites the Communist and worker's Parties.

These Parties proceed in their activity from the national features and conditions of each country individually, from the common great cause of the entire international proletariat, and are strengthening the mutual ties and cooperation among themselves.

This then is the firm pledge of the world historical progressive movement forward, to Communism.

Comrades!

The visit of our Government delegation to the fraternal countries has great historical importance.

Thanks to this we have further strengthened and developed relations of friendship, solidarity, and mutual cooperation between our country and the fraternal countries, and further strengthened the socialist camp, and have thereby made a great contribution to the cause of strengthening peace and security in Asia and Europe. The visit of our Government delegation to the fraternal countries has further raised the international authority and strengthened the position of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Today the existence of the Korean people and their international authority are permanent. And not only our friends, but also those who do not love us, cannot fail to reckon with this.

This is because our people are confidently traveling along the path of the peaceful reunification of the motherland and construction and, having raised high the banner of the struggle against colonialism, are vigorously championing the cause of peace in Asia.

We should travel even more energetically along this path and achieve our final victory.

Having visited the fraternal countries we have had the opportunity to become further convinced that the Korean people are not alone in our just struggle - in the camp of socialism are a multitude of strong and reliable fighting friends.

Today as never before the friendship and unity of the peoples who have rallied together in a single camp under the great banner of Marxism-Leninism and have set the same goal for themselves, peace and socialism, are strengthening and developing.

International solidarity is the workers' weapon in the battle for peace and socialism, in the struggle against the anti-popular forces trying to suppress the revolutionary and progressive movement.

Based on their own experience, our people, know full well that the strengthening of proletarian internationalism is a reliable guarantee of their victory.

Remembering that the greatest joy for us is our reliable friends, who are actively helping our just struggle and waging it together with us, we should apply all our efforts in the future to further strengthen and develop the international friendship and solidarity with the fraternal peoples.

II.

Having visited the Soviet Union and the countries of people's democracy, we have seen the successes achieved by these countries in economic development, and are deeply convinced that we need to actively adopt their valuable experience and advanced technology.

After the war our Party directed its main efforts at the rapid development of light industry and agriculture for the rapid revival of the economy. which had suffered brutally in the course of the war. and to improve the people's lives, while keeping the priority growth of heavy industry.

Thus, the three-year plan for gross industrial production was on the whole completed by 15 August of this year, that is, four and a half months before the set deadline. However, the sectors of electric power, chemical production, and metallurgy have still not reached the prewar level. The coal industry has reached the prewar level to some degree, but it still cannot completely meet the needs of the people in view of the increased needs of the economy.

Many production enterprises have been repaired in the sector of light industry, as a result of which the textile industry has tripled compared to the prewar level, the leather and footwear industry by 5.2 times, the paper industry by 1.6 times, the food and gustatory industry by 1.2 times, and the pharmaceutical industry by 2.7 times.

In the agricultural sector the cultivated area has been expanded by 37,000 jeongbo, and state capital investment has provided the construction of numerous irrigation systems and river dams, beginning with the construction of irrigation structures in the province of South Pyongan. As a consequence of this the area of irrigated fields has increased by over 90,000 jeongbo and more than 100,000 jeongbo of cultivated land have been protected from flooding.

Nevertheless, the lives of our people are still not completely freed from needs which were caused by the war. The production of grain, the primary food products, and manufactured consumer articles lags behind demand and there is a great shortage of housing. By virtue of this our Party has to exert a maximum of effort for the rapid stabilization of the people's lives through a further revival and development of the economy.

To do this we have to draw up a first five-year economic plan, based on the decisions of the 3^rd congress of our Party, completely taking into account the experience obtained during our friendly visit throughout the popular democratic countries.

First of all it necessary to take into consideration the current economic situation of our country in order to correctly draw up the five-year economic plan.

The main task of the three-year economic plan, inasmuch as it set itself the goal of reviving all sectors of the economy to the prewar level, was chiefly the restoration of the enterprises which had previously existed.

In addition, as regards the financial aspect of the matter, in the three-year plan we relied to a considerable degree on the colossal economic aid of the Soviet Union, the People's Republic of China, and other countries of people's democracy.

However, during the period of the first five-year plan, which we ought to accomplish, it is necessary to reconstruct and expand existing enterprises, furnish them with new equipment, and build new factories and put them into operation. We need to overcome great difficulties to accomplish this important goal. We should solve the problem with resources, relying mainly on the domestic resources of our country. Therefore, when drafting the five-year plan we need to pay serious attention to consolidating the successes achieved in various sectors of the economy and to concentrate our efforts accordingly without dissipating them.

During the years of five-year plan it is necessary to conduct a careful engineering and economic accounting, strictly distinguish the priority of capital investments and, above all, to concentrate capital investments in sectors and facilities which could rapidly go into production, and to invest resources in the remaining sectors and facilities as much as possible insofar as the economic situation of the country allows, that is, it is necessary to temporary abandon complex projects requiring extraordinarily large capital investments and great expenses for construction and concentrate resources on the construction of facilities which do not take much time and are to begin production right away.

In the course of the five-year plan we should provide for extensive construction to improve the people's lives and simultaneously with them create a solid material basis of the economy of our country, relying on the successes achieved during the fulfillment of the three-year plan and the material aid of the Soviet Union and the other fraternal countries.

One more important issue during the drafting of the five-year plan is the maximum use of existing equipment in all sectors of the economy, an increase of labor productivity, and strict adherence to a policy of economy in order to mobilize all domestic resources.

We should fight the tendency which is to demand new equipment and not use existing equipment rationally; it is necessary to make maximum use of existing production capability.

When drafting the five-year economic plan we should take serious note of the fact that economic ties and cooperation between the socialist countries are strengthening. We need to develop industrial sectors on the basis of the international division of labor in the socialist camp in which the extremely favorable natural and economic conditions of our country can be used and decline those which are unsustainable and for which there is no great need. At the same time as this we should draft a plan to strengthen economic ties with these countries in terms of expanding the sources of the accumulation of foreign currency and use it more rationally.

Bearing the above in mind, we should correctly take into account the real forces (our own labor force, capital investments, the capital fund, technical capabilities, etc.) and the relative importance of the various work, and determine the speed of development and the scale of all the remaining sectors of the economy.

In the field of industry it is first of all necessary to make concentrated capital investments: in the metallurgical industry - in the metallurgical plant in the Hwanghae, and the [Kansen] and [Sondin] foundries; in the chemical industry - firstly, in enterprises producing mineral fertilizers, with the expectation of meeting the demand for fertilizer inside the country in the next year or two.

Then it is necessary to prepare the ground to develop the industry of organic chemistry.

When repairing and building electric power stations it is necessary to place main reliance on improving the existing equipment, and begin construction first of all with a hydroelectric station on the river [Tokongan].

Then the existing thermal electric power stations at all factories and mills ought to be brought in order and used to supply electric power.

In the sector of light industry it is necessary to restore the [Chendin] textile mill in a short time to produce our own artificial fiber, which is needed in the textile industry. It is necessary to complete the construction of the dyeing mill and silk weaving mill more quickly to supply the population with a large amount of colored fabric.

Then it is necessary to make preparations to produce flax fiber. In addition, it is necessary to increase the capital investment and capital construction in the coal industry in order to meet the population's growing demand for coal.

The main task which awaits [us] in the sector of agriculture is first of all to increase the harvest of agricultural crops per unit of land.

Agriculture is well developed in the Soviet Union and the countries of people's democracy. In Germany the villages, fields, water conservation structures, and roads are built according to a standard in exemplary fashion; agrotechnology is also considerably developed there. The majority of field work has been mechanized and the amount of mineral fertilizer spread on each jeongbo reaches 500-600 kg, the harvest per jeongbo considerably exceeds the harvest gathered in our country. In Germany they get 2.4 tons of wheat per jeongbo.

In Romania corn is cultivated in large quantities and, as a rule, over two tons of grain are harvested per jeongbo.

We should take every step in order to increase the harvest of grains per jeongbo by introducing best practices.

At the same time as an expansion of cultivated land for a high-yielding crop, rice, it is necessary to ensure a high proportion of farmland for corn, a high-yielding cereal, and expand the land for potatoes.

In parallel with this, in order to satisfy the rapidly-developing light industry with raw material it is necessary to develop the cultivation of tobacco, flax, cotton, and other industrial crops more widely, guided by the principle: the appropriate crop for the appropriate soil.

One of the main issues for increasing the harvest per unit of land is an increase of work in seed-growing and breeding, considered the main factors in the production and distribution of the best kinds of seeds.

Considering the climate and soil conditions we should systematically distribute seed orchards, and give technical and material aid to agricultural cooperatives in order that each cooperative provide itself with seed orchards beginning next year. Meanwhile, it is necessary to increase work at state seed-production farms and breeding stations in every possible way.

Then we should take all possible steps to rapidly increase the production of various kinds of fertilizers in the chemical industry in order to achieve such a level of production in two or three years that would provide the possibility of spreading over 200 kg of mineral fertilizer on each jeongbo.

In field work it is necessary to widely introduce improved agricultural machines and it is necessary to try for all the peasants to use agricultural machines for hauling, and highly-productive equipment, and to fight the use of old agricultural tools in work.

Then, one of the most important tasks in the countryside in the conditions of the cooperation of agriculture is taking steps to put the field boundaries in order which were ruined or irrationally placed when there was private farming, and also the large and small reservoirs.

In the area of the construction of irrigation systems and river dams it is necessary to devote even more attention to the construction of medium-sized and small structures which can be accomplished with less expenditure of materials and money than the construction of large irrigation facilities for river dams, which require enormous state capital investments.

To do this we should offer the peasants the necessary loans in money and materials, relying on the agricultural cooperatives; at the same time as an intensified expansion of the land watered by civil irrigation structures, broadly launch measures to put medium-sized and small rivers in order, and to build dams with the efforts of the peasants themselves.

At the same time it is necessary to increase the implementation of measures to preserve the existing irrigation systems and river dams and manage them.

One more important task in the improvement of agriculture is the question of the study and proliferation of agrotechnology. Both agrotechnical science directed at an increase of the harvest and soil research are widespread and popularized in the European countries of people's democracy on the basis of a correct accounting for the climate and natural conditions, which differ in each region.

We ought to rapidly undertake the study of the experience of the leading countries and adopt it, and to increase work to identify and manage highly-productive crops through the tireless development of agrotechnical science in our country.

To successfully accomplish the aforementioned tasks we need to draw up long-range plans for longer periods and henceforth develop our agriculture farsightedly.

Then, with the goal of increasing the peasants' interest in production we should increase their real income and successively lighten their obligations to the state. First of all, simultaneously with a reduction of the payment for the use of irrigation structures, it is necessary to take steps directed at a reduction of the size of the tax in kind, repayment of the grain loan, etc. With respect to the poorest peasants, invalids of the patriotic war of liberation, the families of servicemen, patriots who have died, and single mothers, whose living conditions are still difficult [Translator's note: SIC - no verb; probably intended as part of the next sentence]. These privileges are to be extended to them, regardless of whether they are members of cooperatives or run private farms.

With respect to the purchase of crops it is necessary to improve the purchase methods, the purchasing system, and the work to set the purchase prices, in particular it is necessary to correctly set the purchase prices for industrial crops.

We should also seek the rapid development of the fishing industry to improve the population's standard of living.

Our country is surrounded by the sea on three sides and has rich fishing resources. It has all the information for the development of the fishing industry. Therefore we need to give the fishermen fishing boats and gear appropriate to the industry for a sharper improvement of this sector of the economy, in particular to pay attention to an improvement of the fishing industry on our west coast.

Along with the seasonal catch, the main task in the development of the fishing industry is the wide-scale development of coastal fishing without  waiting for the fishing season, and the development of various medium-sized and small industries.

To do this the sectors of the state fishing industry ought to concern themselves about increasing the necessary workforce, provide fishing cooperatives, fishing field [polevodchesko-rybolovetskie] cooperatives, and professional fishermen with ships and tackle, at the same time using all possible measures to raise the fishermen's interest in catching fish.

At the same time as an increase of the catch we should considerably improve the quality of the processing of the fish and create conveniences in the population's supply with fish products by an expansion of refrigeration plants.

Then we need to pay attention to the stabilization of the lives of petty traders, craftsmen, mid-sized and small businessmen, and people of the free professions, and provide them with the conditions for their activity.

The policy of our Party with respect to private traders and mid-sized and small businessmen sets as its goal that they do not aspire to large illegal profits, for them, while holding to the principle of appropriate profit, pursue not just the stabilization of their personal lives, but to also bring benefit to the cause of building socialism, and to gradually involve them in the socialist sector of the economy. We should thereby stabilize the lives of the traders and mid-sized and small businessmen, create all the conditions for them for free trade and the operation of enterprises with the purpose of expanding the production of consumer goods and providing the population with a large quantity of goods.

In places where there are few stores of the state and cooperative commercial network it is necessary to organize the commission sale of state goods, using some private traders for this.

Therefore it is necessary to reexamine the norms of their taxation, reduce the taxes on private traders and industrialist-businessmen, and encourage them so that they produce various common household objects and consumer goods with their own resources, using local materials and the waste of state enterprises.

Then, strictly holding to the voluntary principle, it is necessary to enlist them in production cooperatives, and offer the production cooperatives long-term credits for goods for which a high income tax has been set, reduce the size of the tax, and ensure the state supply of some materials and raw materials so that they can calmly ensure production.

Further, we need to take urgent steps to offer work to those numerous people who live in the cities and do not have definite work. The network of production cooperatives and consumer service institutions needs to be expanded in the cities and to involve these people in them, exhibiting full attention to the matter of supporting their productive activity.

In addition, part of these people need to be sent to state arable and livestock farms, part to economically established agricultural cooperatives or to state fishing enterprises and fishing crews and to give them state and public aid so they can work in production.

We have to devote great attention to training technical personnel in order to develop industry and agriculture and build socialism later on.

As we have become convinced during this trip the fraternal European countries pay special attention to technical education and have a large number of technical workers. At the present time a considerable number of specialists in the Soviet Union and the countries of people's democracy are engaged in industry, agriculture, and other sectors of the economy. They told us that in Germany seven or eight agricultural technicians who have graduated agricultural technical institutes work in each agricultural cooperative. The technical level is also very high in Czechoslovakia and other countries.

With respect to the technical level our country is in an extremely backward position compared to these countries. Right now our industry is experiencing an acute shortage of specialists, and there are almost none in agricultural cooperatives. Therefore we need to comprehensively reexamine the system of training technical personnel, take long-range measures, and master and disseminate the advanced science and technology of the Soviet Union and the fraternal countries.

First of all it is necessary to radically improve the operation of technical educational institutions at all levels and raise the quality of instruction.

Above all, it is necessary to pursue long-term work with respect to students studying abroad, probationers, and tourists, reconsider the disciplines and specialties of the students who are already studying in fraternal countries and war orphans, and take steps to redistribute them.

It would be good if we teach technology to the students who have graduated incomplete secondary or primary schools and have not entered higher-level schools, organizing a broad network of various technical training institutions. This would give great help in the training of technical personnel and the education of reliable labor reserves.

It is necessary to improve the work of state social support and social insurance work to increase the material and cultural level of the lives of the population. It is necessary to display concern for the support of single elderly people, to improve support to invalids of the patriotic war of liberation with appropriate work, and to increase measures to give state and nationwide aid to families of servicemen in every way.

At the same time it is necessary to take steps to increase part of the pensions and subsidies that are set low, and introduce a system of supply of some manufactured goods to people who have moved to social security in order to give them material aid.

It is necessary to increase the size of the subsidy after birth and the subsidy for funerals paid according to social security and social insurance, launch and increase the operation of rest homes and sanatoria operating according to social insurance.

It is necessary to direct main efforts at the construction of residential buildings in order to improve the housing conditions of the population. To do this it is necessary to increase capital investment in the construction of houses and switch the construction of residential buildings to industrial methods, using prefabricated construction. It is necessary to direct the main capital investments to Pyongyang, [Songnim], Hungnam, and other important industrial regions and build a large quantity of residential housing in villages and district centers.

The construction of residential housing needs to be accomplished not only by the state's efforts but to also enlist private citizens. It is necessary to give state aid to the population so that they build houses in the cities and villages with their own resources. To do this it is necessary to sell the population cement, lumber, nails and other construction materials, and carpentry instruments, and grant private citizens the monetary loans needed for the construction of housing.

The state should concern itself at the same time that residents use the rich natural resources and their own efforts to make adobe, brick, tile, and other construction materials.

Then we should increase the work of foreign trade and thereby facilitate a sharp improvement of the people's lives.

It is necessary to also develop trade with capitalist countries based on the firm ties between the countries of the camp of socialism, in particular, to expand trade relations with the countries of Southeast Asia and Japan. To do this it is necessary to actively research sources of exports in the country, and organize a nationwide movement to produce a large quantity of various types of goods for export.

Comrades!

I have touched on those important issues which are associated with an increase of the standard of the material and cultural lives of the population and should be taken into consideration when drafting the first five-year economic plan with all seriousness.

The successful solution of these important tasks will promote a sharp rise of the entire economy, multiply our material, food, and financial reserves, and strengthen the economic might of our country even more.

Our Party, for which an constant improvement of the lives of the people is the highest law of [its] activity, will henceforth systematically reduce the prices for goods and increase the wages of the workers and thereby raise the material and cultural standard of the population even higher.

We should use the different equipment in all sectors of the economy somewhat better, raise labor productivity, reduce the prime cost of production and, together with the active mobilization and use of all the reserves of the economy which have not been identified, launch a struggle against all possible occurrences of squandering, observe a strict regime of economy, and thereby increase our socialist accumulations.

Only in such a way will we be able to create material and financial reserves and, based on them, take new vigorous steps directed at the improvement of the material and cultural lives of the people.  

III.

Comrades!

During our friendly visit to the Soviet Union and the countries of people's democracy our Government delegation also had an opportunity to become directly familiar with the achievements of the fraternal Parties in the area of Party work.

At the same time as this the Government delegation exchanged experiences with the leaders of these countries on issues touching on Party policy and Party life.

As is well-known, the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was a crucial event not only in the life of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet people, but also served as a new factor for the further improvement and development of the international and worker's movement. The 20^th CPSU congress is exerting an enormous influence on the entire course of contemporary international life.

Having given a deep Marxist-Leninist analysis and drawn conclusions on a number of questions of principle which were raised in contemporary international developments, the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union marked a new stage in the creative development of revolutionary Marxist-Leninist theory and showed once more the invincible vital force of the ideas of Marxist-Leninism.

The 20^th CPSU congress again explained the Leninist principle of the peaceful coexistence of countries with different sociopolitical systems and scientifically substantiated the real possibilities of averting new wars in the modern era, and also various forms of the transition to socialism. The 20^th CPSU congress thereby opened new prospects before the world Communist and worker's movement and inspired and armed the progressive forces of the world who favor a peaceful settlement of international problems even further.

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union, boldly criticizing and correcting the mistakes and shortcomings manifested in connection with the cult of personality, embarked upon the path of a comprehensive restoration of the Leninist norms of Party life.

The measures of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union directed at overcoming the cult of personality and its consequences arouse the inexhaustible creative initiative and political and labor enthusiasm of Party members and the popular masses, and they strengthen the Soviet socialist system even more and accelerate its forward movement.

Now the Soviet people, having firmly rallied around the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as never before, are putting the decisions of the 20^th Party congress into effect and actively pursuing the grandiose building of Communism.

The collective leadership of the Party is also being strengthened in the fraternal countries of people's democracy as a result of the improvement and increase of Party work based on the decisions of the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and democracy in Party and government life is increasingly expanding and strengthening.

Thus, the creative initiative and activity of the Party masses is increasing; the popular masses are displaying high political enthusiasm in the building of socialism and show examples of constructive work.

All this could not have failed to appear a great blow to the enemies of peace and socialism. Therefore our enemies are trying to keep silent about the main issues discussed at the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and those outstanding successes which are being achieved in their implementation. They are attacking and slandering the socialist system, using the issue of the cult of personality of Stalin in order to draw the attention of world public opinion away.

Through such a path they have been counting on undermining the authority of the Soviet Union, the powerful citadel of peace in the entire world, and the enormous trust of progressive mankind of the entire world in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in the Soviet people, to sow hostility and strife between the Soviet Union and the peoples of the camp of socialism, and splits and disorganizes the camp of socialism and the ranks of the international worker's movement.

In launching an anti-Soviet and anti-socialist campaign enemies are desperately trying to use some unhealthy phenomena in the countries of the camp of socialism for their vile purposes.

On 30 June of this year the CC of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union adopted a historic Decree "Overcoming the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences". In this Decree the CC of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, summing up the results of the enormous successes achieved after the 20^th Party congress in international and domestic life, gave a deeply substantiated Marxist-Leninist explanation of a number of pressing theoretical and political issues of modern times, in particular the subjective and objective causes and conditions which gave rise to the cult of personality, and gave a decisive rebuttal to all sorts of provocative schemes and intrigues of bourgeois reactionary circles around the issue of the cult of personality.

In no event did the cult of personality occur from the very nature of the socialist system and is not an expression of its weak sides, as enemies love to assert. On the contrary, the fact that in spite of the mistakes and shortcomings which arose because of the cult of personality, the Soviet Union has withstood innumerable difficulties and serious tests in the course of the building of socialism and during the years of the Great Patriotic War, and today is winning victories of worldwide importance in the great building of Communism and is showing in historic facts the strength and invincible vital strengthen of the Soviet socialist system.

In spite of the expectations of enemies, today the international prestige of the Soviet Union and its influence on the peoples of the entire world has not only not weakened but, on the contrary, has grown even further, and the bonds of friendship and solidarity between the peoples of the Soviet Union and the camp of socialism are becoming stronger and firmer.

No schemes and intrigues of the imperialists are able to undermine these unbreakable bonds of friendship and the alliance based on the great ideas of Marxism-Leninism, to slow the strengthening and development of the powerful socialist system headed by the Soviet Union, or to bar the path to its victorious forward movement.

In its recent Decree the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and its CC consistently defend the principled nature and purity of Marxism-Leninism, and again express their whole-hearted devotion to the ideals of Marxism-Leninism.

Our Korean Worker's Party, fully supporting the Decree of the CC of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, "Overcoming the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences", welcomes the outstanding successes of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union which it has achieved in the principled struggle to overcome the consequences of the cult of personality with all its heart.

The decisions of the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the measures of the CPSU CC directed at overcoming the consequences of the cult of personality serves as a great lesson and example for the Marxist-Leninist Parties of all the countries of the world.

The cult of personality, which led to ignoring the role of the Party and the popular masses, the creator of history, to a slowing of the collective leadership, the highest principle of governance of a Marxist-Leninist Party, and to a weakening of the creative initiative of the masses, not only does not have anything in common with a Marxist-Leninist world view, but is completely contrary to it.

Only a vigorous rooting out of the cult of personality provides an opportunity to display the maximum collective wisdom in the Party's leadership of the revolutionary struggle, raise the activity and creative initiative of the Party members and the working masses to a high degree, strengthen the combat forces of the Party, and strengthen the combat forces of the Party and ensure the revolutionary goals are successfully made a reality.

Comrades!

As was already pointed out to us at the March plenum, the cult of personality also occurred in our country to some degree.

This mainly found its expression in an excessive praise of the role and merits of individuals in the field of our Party ideological work.

As a result of this, formalist exclamations "manse" [Translator's note: "long live"] and the sending of foolish messages occurred. As regards instruction and a description of the subject, "The Struggle of the Korean Worker's Party for the Reunification and Independence of the Motherland and Democratic Building of the Country", excessive glorification about the role of personality was permitted  because of a mechanical attitude toward the method of describing the Short Course of the History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

However this could not have exerted a negative influence on the collective leadership, to which the Party CC consistently adhered as the highest principle of Party governance, and also the line and policy of our Party.

As became known, in recent years the Party CC paid great attention to the correction of phenomena connected with the cult of personality.

At the March plenum of this year the Party CC, having heard the report of the delegation of our Party to the 20^th congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, completely approved and supported the decisions of the 20^th CPSU congress and at the same time, having noted the phenomena associated with the cult of personality in our country, took serious steps to immediately and successively eliminate them. For example, in the area of ideological work we subjected the works and textbooks on history to a new edition, removed senseless glorification and the exclamation "manse", and at the present time are waging a persistent struggle to eliminate doctrinarism and formalism.

At the same time we pursued educational work with respect to the comrades who, unscrupulously following and listening to the bands of Pak Heonyeong and Ri [Syn Yeb], were used in its factionalist activity or fell under its influence, in order that they correct their mistakes and their faulty views through serious criticism and self-criticism.

These measures led to the further ideological and organizational strengthening of our party, and to an even greater strengthening of its combat forces.

However, the Party should not be satisfied with this. Learning a lesson from the bitter experience of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union associated with the cult of personality of Stalin we should henceforth persistently pursue educational work among Party members and the popular masses, seeking a complete eradication of the cult of personality in our country.

In view of the fact that our Party is young and that many Party officials still have unsatisfactory experience in Party work, and that their revolutionary seasoning is still insufficient, we still have many shortcomings.

The serious and difficulty task of the revolution with which we are faced demands that we work even more and better.

We should henceforth exert enormous efforts in order to successively accomplish the important tasks in the area of Party building assigned by the 3^rd Party congress, and stubbornly uphold Leninist principles in Party leadership.

It is important that the principle of collective leadership penetrates still deeper, beginning with the CC right down to the primary Party organizations, so that the Party masses can even more actively participate in the management of the Party and state with their opinions and constructive suggestions.

Therefore at the present time in the matter of the further strengthening of collective leadership of the Party and a still greater increase of the leading role of the Party it is necessary to further develop intra-Party democracy as a first-priority task and continue to wage a consistent struggle against bureaucratism. As the great Lenin pointed out, the authority of the Party is contained in the trust and love of the masses for it.

We should well realize that if we ignore the masses and do not listen their impartial voice, then we will thereby only insult our Party and depreciate its authority.

We think that ignoring and derogating the constructive creative suggestions and undertakings of the Party masses in the interests of the Party and revolution not only leads to trampling on intra-Party democracy, but also is a criminal act foreign to the essence of our Party activity and should be decisively eradicated.

We should tirelessly strive to get through to the masses, to live with the very thought with them, to listen to their voices, and to be their close adviser, faithful disciple, and reliable guide.

As everyone knows, the joint meeting of officials of Party organizations and government bodies in February 1952, which condemned the bureaucratic style of work among some Party officials and officials of government bodies during the war, and also the April Party CC plenum in 1955 vigorously condemned the bureaucratic style of work, developed intra-Party democracy even further, and served as a decisive factor in strengthening the collective leadership of the Party.

However, as a consequence of the fact that Party organizations at all levels have insufficiently explained and introduced these CC measures of the Party CC among Party officials and Party members, due to the fact that they have not studied and not looked into them in close connection with their own Party life and style of work, in many cases the task of improving the methods of work of our Party has been carried out formally.

Party officials should deal with the masses candidly, loving them, and educating them daily, seek their complete trust in the Party so that they follow it; they should tirelessly improve the style of leadership work so that neither in their work nor in their lives do the masses experience the slightest fear and worry.

Besides the fact that Party organizations at all levels should not engage in just issuing unprincipled reprimands to comrades to make a particular mistake, but should offer them an opportunity to realize their mistakes and correct them, they should help them so that they could overcome these mistakes faster; they are obligated to constantly pursue educational work so that there are no cases when a Party member cannot cope with the work which he could handle well because of a fear of making a mistake.

One of the important tasks with which we are faced in the matter of strengthening the leading role of the Party is a still greater increase of the function of Party committees at all levels and an even fuller support of the creative activity of government bodies, scientific and cultural institutions, public organizations, and local institutions.

Subordinate Party organizations should put an end to the tendency which consists of awaiting decisions and instructions from above or mechanically adopting decisions and orders from above. They should constantly educate officials in such a spirit thanks to which they are able to organize and do their work creatively, in accordance with the measures and instructions of higher Party bodies, taking the specific situation into consideration.

At the same time we should still more thoroughly study and reconsider the matter of the improvement of the leadership of local bodies, and give them more rights in order that the can display their independent initiative in full measure.

We also consider it necessary to seriously study and check the organization structure of our state institutions in such a direction that the state organizations can increase their functions yet more in order that headquarters organizations are closer to the primary ones and so they can solve problems which arise quickly and in a timely manner.

In the popular democratic countries it made a deep impression on us that enormous attention is devoted there to the best traditions of the national culture and the preservation of national originality in all areas without exception.

In our country in the period before liberation, during the long colonial domination of the Japanese imperialists in Korea they strived in every way to stifle the traditions of our national culture and all specific national features. After liberation we pursued work quite unsatisfactorily to root out these ruinous consequences.

Therefore one of the most important tasks at this stage is to preserve the heritage of the best traditions of the national culture, creatively apply Marxism-Leninism to the specific reality of our country, and thereby strengthen our ideological work.

The question of the creative mastery and creative development of Marxism-Leninism is quite important in this connection.

The development of the revolution in our country and the practical activity of our Party raise a mass of questions and they require that they be explained to the Party masses theoretically.

The Party has always stressed that the unity and solidarity of the Party ranks is a required conditions for the successful conclusion of our revolution and in past years it achieved great successes in this area.

However, the current international and domestic situation shows that we should not content ourselves with what has been achieved but should as before devote the main attention to the matter of strengthening the unity and solidarity of the Party.

As the camp of socialism strengthens and develops further and the prestige of the Communist and worker's Parties rises in various countries and the international cohesion and solidarity between them strengthens, the enemies of Communism are trying in every way to cause dissension between the Marxist-Leninist Parties and disorganize them from within.

We cannot forget for a minute that our enemies right next to us, striving to disrupt our Party, are not only sending all sorts of saboteurs to us but are trying in every way to find our Achilles heel in order to use it for their cunning designs.

In particular, the question of the cohesion and solidarity of the Party ranks remains as before the most important question in the intra-Party life of our Party, especially since our Party is still a young Party and still has vestiges of factionalism in it.

These are very important issues raised by the Korean revolution and our Marxist-Leninists should solve [them] creatively.

Workers of the ideological front should put an end to dogmatism and formal approaches to the matter, a characteristic feature of which is in the mechanical imitation of the foreign, and display greater boldness and initiative in the study and development of Marxist-Leninist theory in connection with the reality of our country.

Workers of science, literature, and the arts should exhibit greater activity and creative initiative and creative activity in their research.

But our scientific workers need to express their views and results more boldly in the area of their research activity and promote the development of scientific theory through free open discussion and polemics.

Our writers and workers of the arts should create more works which correctly and deeply reflect all the aspects of the lives of our people in the most diverse form, and literary critics are obligated to launch well thought-out and substantiated criticism in a careful analysis which could give practical assistance to writers and workers of the arts in their creative activity.

We should always remember the bitter lesson when factionalism caused us enormous damage in the revolutionary movement in our country before liberation and in the revolutionary movement in South Korea after liberation.

Striving to even more stoutly uphold the unity and solidarity of the Party we should as before wage a struggle for the elimination of the vestiges  of factionalist ideology which still exists in our Party and maintain high political vigilance with respect to all and every phenomena which might cause even the slightest harm to the unity of our Party.

As stated above, in the future we should strengthen the collective leadership, develop intra-Party democracy in every way, and strengthen intra-Party criticism, especially criticism from below.

As is evident from the experience of other Parties, in a Marxist-Leninist Party actions are impermissible which allegedly are to serve to develop democracy and strengthen criticism, but in essence are directed only at weakening Party discipline and Party unity.

Concerning intra-Party democracy, in the charter of our Party it is said, "The subordination of a Party member [is] to the Party organization, the minority to the majority, of lower bodies to higher bodies of the Party and of all Party organizations to the Central Committee of the Party". For a Marxist-Leninist Party intra-Party democracy is democracy with the presence of centralism, which ensures the unity of will and action of all Party members, and centralism can be correctly maintained only on the basis of a democracy which supports the creative initiative of the Party masses.

While upholding iron discipline inside the Party we should vigorously fight the vestiges of any hostile ideology and its manifestations, and at the same time as this try to create in Party life such an atmosphere in which there is mutual trust, solidarity, and mutual support among comrades. Party unity is first of all ensured by the high ideological commitment of the Party masses.

Therefore the Party should arm its members with Marxism-Leninism and the experience of the revolutionary movement in our country and increase work to educate them in the spirit of selfless devotion and selfless service to the Party, and an ardent love for the motherland, in the spirit of proletarian internationalism.

In conditions when we are directly confronted by the aggressive forces of imperialism, which seized the southern part of our motherland, we should always maintain high political vigilance, performing majestic and difficult tasks in the cause of the peaceful reunification of the motherland and the building of socialism in the northern part of the republic, and thereby firmly defend the unity of our Party, and strengthen it still further into a united cohesive combat detachment which can successfully perform its leading and directing role in any difficult situation.

The translation was received from the Korean friends, and checked with the original by Rozanov and Suvorov.

[50s pages of the original Korean text follow]