[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] North Korea held its first training session for city and county party secretaries with Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party, in attendance.
The Workers' Party's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on the 4th, "The 1st training session for city and county party secretaries was held on the 3rd at the headquarters meeting room of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party," announcing this development.
Rodong Sinmun described the meeting as "the first in the history of the Party," emphasizing that the training session was a significant opportunity to enhance the functions and roles of the Party organizations in cities and counties, strengthen the Party's combat power, and develop and improve the local economy and people's livelihoods. General Secretary Kim attended the session to provide guidance, along with city and county party secretaries nationwide, provincial party secretaries, and officials of the provincial party committees.
In his opening remarks, General Secretary Kim stated, "Innovating city and county party work is meaningful in transitioning the entire front of socialist construction to a new stage of development and promoting balanced and simultaneous development nationwide," adding, "Our socialist construction, which has entered a new phase, urgently requires the establishment of a strong driving force to fully promote the strengthening and development of cities and counties."
The "new phase" is interpreted as referring to the new five-year economic development plan established at the 8th Party Congress. Following the plenary meeting's emphasis on the Cabinet's role in formulating and implementing economic policies, this session appears to urge even the Party's grassroots organizations to strive for the execution of economic policies.
Regarding this, General Secretary Kim said, "Since the 8th Party Congress has outlined important policy directions enabling cities and counties nationwide to develop independently and diversely, everything now depends on the diligence and roles of the secretaries in charge," and added, "The Party Central Committee has resolved to prepare this training session to raise the practical level of city and county party secretaries and improve their working style, thereby creating a new turning point for city and county development."
During the training session, the achievements, experiences, shortcomings, and causes observed in the recent annual work of city and county party secretaries were analyzed, and improvement measures were devised. Jo Yong-won, known as a close aide to General Secretary Kim and Secretary of Organization of the Party Central Committee, delivered the report.
The report analyzed the shortcomings in the work of city and county party committees. Criticisms were directed at neglecting internal Party affairs, failing to guide administrative and economic work, and insufficient implementation of the principle of putting the masses first. Secretary Jo pointed out, "If we do not invest effort in internal Party affairs and work with people, and focus only on administrative and economic work without maintaining a revolutionary Party spirit, our Party work cannot become the driving force accelerating the revolutionary advance."
Meanwhile, at the meeting, the Party Central Committee announced rankings of city and county party committees based on their execution of Party policies by city and county. Rodong Sinmun did not disclose detailed rankings.
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