DPRK state TV airs recorded work report of ruling party's central committee

DPRK's leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the first congress of the country's ruling Workers' Party in 36 years, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang, May 6, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

PYONGYANG - The state TV of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday aired the recorded work report of the central committee of the ruling party delivered by Kim Jong-un, the top leader of the country, at the 7th party congress.

Kim started the three-hour speech by reviewing and lauding the past achievements of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) accomplished under the leadership of two late leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, in building a thriving country and in the development of the military.

He laid out tasks for the ruling party in terms of completing the socialist undertakings, improving people's livelihood, independent reunification of the Korean Peninsula as well as further strengthening of the party.

In the speech, Kim mapped out a five-year plan for national economic development from 2016 to 2020, and emphasized that it was imperative to fully implement the five-year strategy for growing the national economy.

Kim said the objectives of the economic development plan are to vitalize the people's economic growth in all aspects, ensure balanced development between various economic departments, and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth.

The nation's top priority should be given to efforts to rid the country of electricity shortage, he said, adding that the targets for electricity output set by the party must be met during the five-year period.

He then instructed that epoch-making progress should be made in the production of coal, metals and railway transportation.

On the development of national defense and nuclear power, Kim described the DPRK as a responsible nuclear weapons state, saying it will strive for world denuclearization and faithfully fulfill obligations of nuclear non-proliferation.

The DPRK, as it has already made clear, will not resort to nuclear weapons first unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes, Kim said.

The DPRK will in the long run hold fast to the strategic line of "Byungjin," or the parallel development of nuclear weapons and the national economy, Kim said, as long as the nuclear threat posed by imperialists continues.

The WPK has worked hard for the implementation of the strategic line of pushing forward economic growth and nuclear development at the same time, which was required by the prevailing situation and the revolutionary cause, he added.