He personally initiated the reconstruction of the Pyongyang Sports Goods Factory founded in April, 1959 as required by the new century, underlining the need to provide a firm material foundation for sports development.

After choosing the site for the construction of the factory in the best place and guiding its layout, he named the factory Pyongyang Sports Apparatus Factory in January.

Looking round the room dedicated to the history of the factory, he emphasized that the party was directing great efforts to the sports development. He called upon the officials and employees of the factory to make devoted efforts out of patriotism and with the pride of working at the important post for translating into reality the party's plan for building a sports powerhouse.

He went round various places of the factory to acquaint himself with the construction of the factory and production there and varieties and quality of products in detail.

He said the factory was fully equipped with modern equipment in a rational way and put the production and management on a modern and IT basis on a high level as befitting the factory producing varieties of sports apparatuses in high demand among not only professional athletes but school youth and working people. As a result, the factory is capable of increasing the production of varieties of sports apparatuses as compared with that in the past, he added.

He said that the factory established a strict system for quality control to guarantee the quality of the products and produce sports goods in keeping with the international standard.

He noted the factory has an important duty to perform in order to carry out the party's plan for building a sports powerhouse and set forth tasks before it including the issue of putting production on normal footing and boosting it by properly working out a business strategy.

He said that it is very important to produce and supply the world-level sports goods as the traits of attaching importance to sports prevail throughout the country and the enthusiasm for sports is growing stronger than ever before and sportspersons have achieved good results under the leadership of the party.

Noting that the completion of the modern factory has made it possible to provide sportspersons and people with locally made quality sports equipment and goods, he stressed the need to produce sports equipment and goods urgently necessary to develop the professional sports field and popularize sports and make it part of everyday life by our own efforts and with indigenous technology and materials at any cost.

Kim Jong Un gave an instruction related to the commissioning of the factory.

He expressed expectation and belief that officials and employees of the relevant field and factory would successfully fulfill the honorable duty to put the country on the status of a sports powerhouse at an early date.

He was accompanied by Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the WPK, O Su Yong, vice-chairman of the C.C., the WPK, and Jo Yong Won, vice department director of the C.C., the WPK.