The respected Supreme Leader said in his New Year Address that as he looks back upon last year, when he worked strenuously on the road of achieving national prosperity, gaining great strength and wisdom from the pure minds of the dauntless people who invariably trusted and followed the Workers' Party of Korea even in the face of manifold difficulties and trials, he feels his heart swelling with the pride in waging the revolution shoulder to shoulder with a great people.

Kim Chon Su, department director of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, told KCNA:

The New Year Address indicates the milestone of victory. Studying the New Year Address, I was filled with confidence.

We will make great innovations in the drive to realize Juche-orientation and modernization of chemical industry this year, the third year of implementing the five-year strategy for national economic development.

We will phase the establishment of the C1 chemical industry on the basis of achievements made last year, push ahead with the projects for catalyst production base and phosphate fertilizer factory as scheduled, and renovate and perfect the sodium carbonate production line whose starting material is glauberite, thus laying a solid material and technical foundation of the chemical industry.

To Jong Chol, vice president of the State Academy of Sciences, said:

Through the New Year Address of the respected Supreme Leader, I knew well his noble idea of giving importance to science.

We will actively wage collective campaign of brains and intelligence to defend the Party Central Committee like defence scientists and workers who made great victories to demonstrate to the world that the plans and decisions of the WPK are a science and a truth and that they automatically mean their materialization.

We will focus all efforts on solving sci-tech problems arising in enhancing the independence and Juche character of the national economy this year as the respected Supreme Leader taught in his New Year Address that a shortcut to developing the self-sufficient economy is to give precedence to science and technology and make innovations in economic planning and guidance.