Interview: “The Implementation Status and Completion Prospects for the Five-Year National Economic Development Plan”

Researcher Ri Ki Song, Economic Research Institute, Academy of Social Sciences

“Unprecedented Transformation: Maintenance and Reinforcement Projects Secure Growth”

The implementation of the Five-Year National Economic Development Plan presented at the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea is nearing its final stages. We spoke with Ri Ki Song (82, Merited Scientist, Academician, Professor, Doctorate) of the Academy of Social Sciences’ Economic Research Institute about the current status of the plan’s implementation and its completion prospects.

— I’d like to hear an overview of the economic achievements of the past four years.

Since the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, a grand transformation has taken place in the struggle to implement its decisions. The national economy as a whole is now making powerful progress and significant achievements have been achieved.

The achievements are, first, that the country’s self-reliant economic foundation has been further solidified and the overall national economy has firmly maintained its growth momentum.

Second, that ongoing production has been revitalized, resulting in tangible results in improving the well-being of the people.

These achievements were achieved through the maintenance and reinforcement strategy presented at the 8th Party Congress.

Reviving ongoing production and maintaining and reinforcing it are fundamental issues that must be addressed to achieve sustained and stable economic development during the five-year national economic development plan.

By revitalizing ongoing production, all economic sectors and units can implement their plans step-by-step and period-by-period, meeting the productive demands of economic development and the people’s living needs.

The maintenance and reinforcement project builds new industrial facilities based on the latest science and technology and reinforces and modernizes production processes. This expands and strengthens the overall economic production base and capacity, paving the way for sustained economic growth.

For example, the project to install an energy-saving oxygen-fired blast furnace and a 15,000㎥/h oxygen separator at the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex is underway.

The Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex has installed a Korean-style energy-saving oxygen-fired blast furnace. (Korean Central News Agency)

— In recent years, various sectors of the economy have shown remarkable growth trends. What is behind this?

The self-reliant economic foundation, further solidified over the past four years, has firmly maintained the steady growth of the national economy.

This is due to the Party’s efforts to implement its strategy of maintenance and reinforcement, which have resulted in significant progress.

By 2023, the central task of economic development was to revitalize production across all sectors and units, while essentially completing the maintenance and reinforcement plan decided upon by the 8th Party Congress.

This was because completing the maintenance and reinforcement plan ahead of time was crucial for securing the implementation of the Five-Year Plan.

There were two reasons for this.

First, the goal of implementing the Five-Year Plan was established based on the premise of expanding the production capacity of all sectors and production units of the national economy.

Second, a certain period of time was required for the technical completion of construction projects to build new production capacity before they could operate according to design specifications. Just because a building is erected and equipment is installed does not mean production will be fully realized. It will take one to two years to fully utilize its capabilities. Therefore, the maintenance and reinforcement plan had to be implemented ahead of time.

The vigorous struggle to essentially complete the maintenance and reinforcement projects in 2023 has yielded significant results, solidifying the economic growth trend and leading to even greater achievements in 2024.

— The attainment of the 12 goals for the national economic development for two consecutive years is also a significant achievement.

This is the result of actively promoting the revitalization of existing production.

To revitalize existing production, the national economic plan must be unconditionally implemented.

In 2023, the 12 goals for the national economic development were attained, many maintenance and reinforcement projects were completed and production yielded actual results. Last year, the 12 key targets were also successfully captured.

The plan implementation rate in 2024 is significantly higher than in 2023. This is because the units that implemented the maintenance and reinforcement plan have achieved results. The legitimacy of the maintenance and reinforcement strategy has been confirmed.

The metallurgical and chemical industries are particularly crucial.

By attaining the 12 goals for the national economic development in various sectors, including the metal and chemical industries, we solidified the overall growth trend of the national economy and achieved tangible results directly related to the well-being of the people.

In agriculture, with active scientific farming practices, fertilizer supply and irrigation facility repairs, we exceeded last year’s grain production plan by 107%.

The housing issue is no different. Even countries that boast about material wealth are unable to resolve the housing problem in their capitals, a global reality. However, in our country, the construction of 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang is progressing vigorously, solidifying the prospect of Pyongyang as the first capital in the world to solve the housing problem. In accordance with the Rural Revolution Program for the New Era, rural housing construction is being promoted and construction of housing in the Komdok district is also progressing.

Truly, a groundbreaking transformation has occurred in occupying the twelve key sites. Thus, significant progress is being made in improving the people’s lives.

“Further Accelerating the Era of Comprehensive Socialist Development”

In “The Implementation Status and Completion Prospects for the Five-Year National Economic Development Plan” (Part 2), we heard from researcher Ri Ki Song about the projects for 2025, the final year of the five-year plan.

— Since the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, an era of comprehensive socialist development has begun.

Since the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, an era of comprehensive socialist development has begun. To accelerate comprehensive socialist development, two conditions must be met.

First, a political and ideological foundation must be established, uniting the entire society in patriotism under the leadership of the Party. Another is the material and technological foundation that dramatically amplifies the growth potential and driving force of a self-reliant economy through the implementation of the Five-Year Plan.

In the first year of the Five-Year National Economic Development Plan, the task of building 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang was set, a period of great prosperity in the capital city construction began and the implementation of the New Era Rural Revolution Programme is expanding the scope of transformative rural rejuvenation.

In line with the new childcare policy for future generations, a system has been established to provide nutritious foods, including dairy products, to daycare centers and kindergartens.

Furthermore, with the implementation of the “20x10 Local Development Policy”, local industrial plants have sprung up in 20 cities and counties within a year, demonstrating their vitality.

The “20x10 Local Development Policy” has added three essential targets: the construction of modern hospitals, multi-functional comprehensive service centers and grain management facilities in cities and counties.

This is an era of comprehensive socialist development, with simultaneous rise in all sectors of the economy and culture, transformation not only of the capital but also of the provinces, bringing about profound changes not only in cities and rural areas, villages and mountain villages, but also in the ideological and spiritual realms of the people.

We have ushered in a new era of change in the provinces. (Completion ceremony of the Songchon County Local Industrial Plant, December last year, Korean Central News Agency)

— I would like to hear about the projects for 2025, the final year of the Five-Year Plan.

The overall direction of the 2025 project is twofold: successfully completing the Five-Year Plan and effectively advancing preparatory work for entering the next stage of development.

We must focus on establishing a new sectoral structure for the chemical industry.

Furthermore, we must make significant strides in bringing about real changes in the people’s lives.

In the construction sector, we must actively pursue the construction of 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang and the construction of the Komdok district.

In agriculture, we must unconditionally achieve the grain production target set by the Party and, in light industry, we must accelerate efforts to improve the quality of consumer goods.

Regarding the issue of effectively advancing the preparatory process for entering the next stage of development this year, we must focus on developing the machine-building industry and economic infrastructure, given the current state of the national economy’s growth momentum.

This is an era of machine-centric thinking, where machines determine the quality of all products. We must design and develop high-speed, sophisticated and intelligent cutting-edge machinery.

In terms of economic infrastructure, we must ensure a sustainable supply of electricity.

The next critical infrastructure issue is easing transportation strain.

In the agricultural sector, strengthening the material foundation to firmly place agricultural production on a stable and sustainable development track, while simultaneously building a strong workforce capable of carrying forward the Rural Revolution Program, are crucial preparatory tasks for entering the next stage of development.

Furthermore, the scientific community must collectively rally behind the success of the Five-Year Plan and achieve results that will pave the way for a new stage of development.

— What is the driving force behind our style of comprehensive socialist development?

First and foremost is the grand vision, extraordinary foresight, exceptional leadership and creative methods of Marshal Kim Jong Un, who leads the construction of a powerful socialist nation.

The era of comprehensive socialist development has been ushered in by the outstanding leadership of the respected Marshal. Through his far-sighted foresight and energetic exploration, he has set forth new, development-oriented goals and directions, time-wise and with a far-sighted perspective, and has continuously created epochal examples through simultaneous creation.

Second, we must firmly believe in self-reliance and strengthen and promote the political and ideological power of the people.

The Ryongsong Machine Complex produced large compressors desperately needed by fertilizer factories and created the Chollima Spirit of the new era.

This year, the entire nation responded to the call of the working class at the Sangwon Cement Complex, and a nationwide campaign to increase production and save money is underway.

This is the power of ideology and spirit, and it is here that lies the great secret to the accomplishment of the Five-Year Plan.

Third, the foundation of a self-reliant economy embodying the Juche ideology possesses tremendous development potential.

While the economy suffered during the Arduous March, we have further strengthened and developed our self-reliant economy through our own efforts, despite all sanctions and blockades. Over the past decade, the overall economic management system has been reorganized and the driving force behind national economic development has been amplified, establishing a material and technological foundation that can guarantee the stable and sustained growth of the overall economy.

We have not relied on others, even under sanctions, and we will continue to develop our economy on our own. What we believe in and rely on is the boundless strength of the people, our own development potential and our line of self-reliant economic construction.

While we are not yet abundant in all things, this is not a problem.

Going forward, we will eliminate all differences between the capital and provinces, cities and rural areas, and build a society where the entire nation lives in prosperity unparalleled by the world.

Our Republic, where the people are the masters and their ideals are realized, will flourish as a powerful socialist nation.

Reporter Kim Suk Mi from Pyongyang

Researcher Ri Ki Song

A Long-Time Economist’s Dream

A leading figure in the Korean economic community gave a clear assessment of the current state of the economy. He stated that the national economy as a whole is now making powerful progress thanks to the tremendous transformations that have taken place since the 8th Party Congress.

◆ This expert voice is Ri Ki Song, a researcher at the Economic Research Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences. Having spent his entire life as an economist, he feels a unique appreciation for today’s reality, where the overall economic growth trend remains firmly established. He has lived in Pyongyang since he was seven in 1950. He has consistently witnessed the capital’s transformations, from the period of building a new fatherland, the Fatherland Liberation War, postwar reconstruction, the Arduous March, the forced march and the current era of comprehensive socialist development. However, he stated that he has never witnessed such astonishing transformation as today. The new home in Kyongru-dong, which he received in recognition of his contributions to the economics community, is also beyond his imagination.

◆ He asserts that while not everything is abundant yet, this is not a problem. The basis for this is the country’s own development potential, which has allowed it to develop its economy without relying on others even under sanctions. In particular, over the past decade, a material and technological foundation has been established that can guarantee the stable and sustained growth of the overall economy. Building on the foundation of a self-reliant economy, forged through countless challenges, the Korean economy is firmly entering a period of upward growth.

◆ Researcher Ri Ki Song has instilled confidence in the homeland among Chongryon officials and Koreans in Japan through his independent perspective, popular commentary and scientific analysis of the current state of the Korean economy. “I want to live at least ten years until the local industrial revolution is complete, witness our country’s profound transformation with my own eyes and boast to the world”, — this is his cherished dream, now in his eighties. I sincerely hope he will grow old and live to see that day.

― Choson Sinbo, 8 September, 10 September and 11 September 2025.