Kim Tok Hun, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK and premier of the Cabinet, presided over the meeting.

Attending the meeting were members of the Cabinet including Vice-premiers Pak Jong Gun and Jon Hyon Chol.

Present there as observers were officials of organs under direct control of the Cabinet, officials of ministries, chairpersons of the provincial, city and county people's committees and officials of organs for agricultural guidance, major factories and enterprises.

Discussed at the enlarged plenary meeting was the agenda "On thoroughly implementing the decisions made at the 8th Congress of the WPK and the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party".

Pak Jong Gun, vice-premier of the Cabinet who doubles as chairman of the State Planning Commission, made a report.

The report analyzed and reviewed the reasons why the Cabinet and state economic guidance organs revealed again passive and self-protectionist tendency in drawing up this year's national economic plan for implementing the decisions made at the Party congress.

It brought up the measures for purposefully conducting the economic operations on the basis of the essentials of this year's economic work and carrying out without fail the national economic plan.

It put main stress on the need for ministries, national institutions, provincial, city and county people's committees and enterprises to establish the system of the state's unified guidance over economic work, as required by the Cabinet-responsibility system and Cabinet-centered system, and on the need to establish the system and order to work after defining their duty, authority and scope of work.

It underlined the need to put production on a normal track and positively promote upgrading and home production of raw and other materials and recycling by dint of science and technology by working out in a reasonable way and carrying out in a strenuous manner the goals of sci-tech development in all fields, which must be attained in the period of the five-year plan, on the principle of strategic concentration.

It urged officials to intensify the study on the methodological issues in improving the economic management, as required by the objective economic law and timely correct deviations manifested in practices and wage an intensified struggle for putting an end to unit specialization and self-centeredness that breach the state law and infringe upon the interests of people.

It set forth tasks for taking stronger measures to make constant efforts to complete the method of planning in accordance with the changing reality, level of development in productivity and the development of science and technology, and to ensure economic condition and legal environment for enterprises to independently and proactively conduct production and management activities, give full play to their creativity and promptly react to changing environment.

The reporter stressed the need for the economic guiding officials to surely orient the economic work to encouraging fresh innovation, bold creation and ceaseless advance, bearing in mind the way of carrying out the goals of this year's struggle lies in bringing about a fundamental improvement in their traits of struggle and working manner.

The enlarged plenary meeting heard speeches made by Kim Kwang Nam, manager of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, Ma Jong Son, minister of Chemical Industry, Ri Song Hak, vice-premier of the Cabinet, Choe Ryong Gil, vice-chairman of the State Planning Commission, Ju Chol Gyu, vice-premier of the Cabinet and minister of Agriculture, and others.

The speakers referred to detailed ways to carry out the goals to be attained by their fields and units in the period of implementing the five-year plan set forth at the Eighth Party Congress and to fulfill their tasks set forth at the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Party.

They expressed their resolution to make epochal achievements in attaining this year's goals by displaying extraordinary working ability, enthusiasm and devotion, always remembering the deep trust and expectations by the Party and the people.

The meeting discussed such issues as concentrating manpower, equipment, materials and fund on factories and enterprises in the fields of metal and chemical industries, solving technical problems arising in producing iron and steel with domestic fuel and improving the management control, business administration as required by the socialist system of responsible business operation.

It confirmed chronological plans for pushing ahead with the strengthening of their technical forces in close liaison with the scientific research field and realizing home-production of raw and other materials.

Also discussed at the meeting were proposals for finding out factors hindering the production and management activities and taking measures against them and studying and introducing realistic ways for putting production on a steady basis at all enterprises.

The meeting underlined the need to increase the production of consumer goods by recycling idle materials, by-products and waste materials and making a positive use of substitute raw materials and to tighten the connection of production and consumption among all fields and enterprises.

It also discussed such practical issues arising in unconditionally fulfilling the agricultural production plan as decisively improving the methods of management control with main emphasis on laying productive foundations of cooperative farms, and as restoring irrigation facilities and cropland.

The meeting stressed the need for the Cabinet to perform its duty as the economic headquarters of the country, and for all economic guiding officials to set forth the improvement of socialist economic management and promotion of sci-tech development as the essential ways of implementing the new five-year plan and fulfill their responsibilities and duties in the struggle for the economic construction and improvement of the people's standard of living.

On the basis of in-depth discussions, decisions of the Cabinet "On thoroughly implementing the five-year plan for national economic development set forth at the 8th Congress of the WPK" and "On thoroughly implementing the important tasks set forth at the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK" were adopted with unanimous approval at the meeting.