The reporter said that the Cabinet organized and conducted the work for implementing the Party's economic policy, regarding it as its main task to put the country's economy on a normal track and provide the people with a stable and improved life by revitalizing the present production and more dynamically pushing forward the work for maintenance and reinforcement in all fields of the national economy in accordance with the action programme for socialist construction set forth by the Party last year.

Saying that the Korean people achieved remarkable successes in the struggle for economic construction and improvement of the people's standard of living, overcoming all sorts of unprecedented challenges and threats last year under the wise guidance of the respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un, the reporter said:

In hearty response to the Party's decision, major sectors of the national economy channeled efforts into the work for reenergizing the present production and maintaining and reinforcing it, thus fulfilling their yearly national economic plans and providing precious assets for economic development.

Last year, great construction campaigns were launched in a row despite the unprecedented ordeals and difficulties to build many monumental edifices suited to the appearance of a thriving nation in different parts of the country and strikingly demonstrate the development potentials of the DPRK.

Under the loving care of the Party, a legal guarantee was laid for providing the children with the best conditions for their upbringing and the material and technical foundations for the production of dairy products were consolidated nationwide and nutritive foodstuffs including dairy products were supplied to the children across the country.

On the occasion of the new school year, all the pupils and students of primary, junior and senior middle schools and those who were admitted to colleges and universities were supplied with new school uniforms and a complete set of school bags, shoes and things.

Last year, the sector of science and technology contributed to the economic development by carrying out the state sci-tech development plan including the major scientific research projects, in hearty response to the decision of the Fourth Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Progress was made in the work for shifting the national economy to a phase of stable development by decisively improving the economic management.

Last year, the Korean people won a great anti-epidemic victory, to be specially recorded in the world history of health, by displaying high sense of voluntary unity and successfully tackling the worst-ever upheaval since the founding of the country in a short span of time by dint of the all-people partnership and all-people resistance, in accordance with the most timely and scientific anti-epidemic policy advanced by the Party, in the face of the difficulties caused by the outbreak of the malignant epidemic.

The reporter stressed that the successes made last year in socialist economic construction were the precious fruits of the outstanding and seasoned leadership of the great Party and the indomitable struggle of the Korean people always remaining faithful to the call of the Party.

He pointed out that the Cabinet also revealed not a few shortcomings in last year's struggle to implement the decisions of the fourth and fifth plenary meetings of the 8th Central Committee of the WPK.

This year we are faced with the honorable duty to glorify the glorious year 2023 marking the 70th anniversary of the victory in the Fatherland Liberation War and the 75th founding anniversary of the DPRK as a year of great turn and change in the course of development of the Republic by further boosting the fighting spirit displayed last year, the reporter said, adding:

The Cabinet will provide powerful economic operation and command, regarding it as its main task to reenergize the production of overall sectors and units and complete the maintenance and reinforcement plan made by the Party congress in the main this year.

It will make sure that the economic indices and 12 major goals to be attained by all the sectors of the national economy are carried out without fail and that the fulfillment of this year's plan leads to the implementation of the medium- and long-term strategy for economic development.

The metal industry will put the existing production processes at metal factories on a basis of normal operation and perfect the maintenance and reinforcement of iron mines, iron works and steel plants in the main.

The chemical industry will maintain and overhaul the production processes and equipment of chemical factories and operate them at full capacity to normalize the production of chemical goods at a high level and push ahead with the building projects such as the establishment of C-1 chemical industry.

The electric power industry will increase the power production capacity and transmission capacity so as to fully meet the long-term demand for electricity of the national economy while concentrating efforts on repairing generating equipment and raising the efficiency and actively balancing the hydro and thermal power generation.

The state will take strong measures to supply equipment, materials, funds and things needed for coal production and coal miners' life, give definite precedence to prospecting and tunneling and introduce rational mining methods to decisively increase the coal production.

The mining industry will readjust and reinforce the production foundations of mines and smelting works and prioritize the supply of raw and other materials so as to increase production.

The machine-building industrial sector will increase the production of mechanical products urgently demanded by different sectors of the national economy and positively develop new modern machinery equipment while pushing ahead with the work to raise the level of modernization of machine-building factories.

The transport sector will carry out the freight transportation plan, including rail freight transport, and the material and technological foundation of the forestry sector will be consolidated to fulfill the log production plan and the afforestation plan.

The construction and building-material sector will powerfully propel the construction projects of important significance in the economic development of the country and the improvement of the people's living standard, including the construction of the Hwasong area in Pyongyang City and the rural housing construction, and push ahead with the work for creating the new cement production capacity for major construction projects and the rural construction.

The agricultural sector will increase the breeding of seeds of high-yielding strains with strong resistance to disastrous abnormal weather, introduce various cultivation methods and technology in conformity with the weather and climate conditions of the country and direct its effort to the production and repair of farming machines and the readjustment and reinforcement of irrigation system and facilities.

It will increase the production of meat, egg and dairy goods, holding fast to the four key factors in the development of livestock farming, and put efforts into the production of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and oil-bearing, sugar-bearing and other industrial crops so as to contribute to the people's diet.

The light industrial and regional industrial sectors will produce light industrial goods as planned while focusing their efforts on decisively improving the quality of consumer goods, raise the proportion of home-production of raw and other materials and speed up the readjustment and reinforcement of production processes.

True to the Party's childcare policy, the Cabinet will supply nourishments such as dairy products, kelp and fruits on a regular basis to all the children across the country.

The fishery sector will dynamically conduct fishing operations while accelerating the modernization and overhaul of fishing boats and equipment and do the fish farming and shallow-sea culture on a large scale.

Practical measures will be taken to vitalize the commerce with the improvement of the commercial management and service so as to contribute to the improvement of the people's well-being.

The land management and city management sectors will powerfully push forward with the work for giving a face-lifting to the land of the country and improving its ecological environment and direct efforts to repairing dwellings and public buildings and ensuring the project for supplying enough domestic water to provide the people with convenient and cultured living conditions and environment.

Through brisk construction of socialist culture, the level of overall science and technology will be decisively raised, the structure, contents and methods of education improved and the medical service steadily improved.

As the headquarters of the country's economy, the Cabinet will ensure the unified management of the national economy and find out and steadily perfect the optimized methods of economic management as required by the present reality and scientific reasons so as to develop the national economy in a stable and sustained way.

The national capability for overcoming health crisis and natural disasters will be further enhanced to defend the security of the state and the people and successfully ensure the socialist construction.

The premier vowed to carry through the important tasks set forth at the 6th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee, always and deeply mindful of the expectation of the Party and the people that entrusted the economic work of the country.