The 9th Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea took place at the Mansudae Assembly Hall on September 26 and 27.
It was convened at a time when all the people across the country are further accelerating the struggle to glorify this significant year as a year of great turn and change to be remarkably recorded in the development course of the DPRK by further promoting the great national pride and patriotic enthusiasm of having splendidly celebrated the 75th founding anniversary of the powerful and dignified state as a great revolutionary event to be specially etched in national history.
Present there were the deputies to the SPA, and as observers officials concerned in Pyongyang and local areas, including those of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the SPA Standing Committee, the Cabinet, armed forces and law enforcement organs and financial sector.
Taking the platform were Kim Tok Hun, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, vice-president of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and premier of the Cabinet, Choe Ryong Hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, first vice-president of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, Ri Pyong Chol, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, and other senior officials of the Party, the government and the military, the chairman and vice-chairpersons of the SPA, members of the State Affairs Commission and vice-chairmen, the secretary general and members of the SPA Standing Committee.
The session decided its agenda items:
First, on amending and supplementing some contents of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK
Second, on deliberating and adopting the law of the DPRK on ensuring the rights of the disabled
Third, on deliberating and adopting the law of the DPRK on irrigation
Fourth, on deliberating and adopting the law of the DPRK on public servants
Fifth, on reviewing the enforcement of the law of the DPRK on financial sector
Sixth, on renaming the National Aerospace Development Administration of the DPRK the National Aerospace Technology Administration of the DPRK
Seventh, on the organizational matter
Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, attended the discussion of the first agenda item as an observer.
When he appeared at the venue of the session, all the participants broke into enthusiastic cheers, looking up at him, symbolic of all victories and glory of the Party, the state and people and representative of the great dignity who opened up a new turning point of building an independent and self-defensive state and bolstering up the national defence capabilities and is leading confidently to dynamic success the long-term struggle for the comprehensive development of Korean-style socialism.
Pak In Chol, chairman of the SPA, presided over the session.
As the session was declared open, the national anthem of the DPRK was played.
Deputy Choe Ryong Hae, chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, made a report on the first agenda item.
The reporter said that the SPA is to deliberate and adopt the amendments and supplements to the Constitution in order to stipulate the position of the nuclear force in the national defence and the principle of state activities on the building of the nuclear force in the Socialist Constitution, the basic law of the Republic and the great political charter for building a powerful socialist country.
The epochal development of the nuclear force of the Republic and the signal successes in its economic and cultural fields and remarkable changes in the international arena, which have been witnessed over the past one year since the promulgation of the law on the state’s policy on the nuclear force at the historic 7th Session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly, clearly proved the validity and vitality of the codification of the state’s policy on the nuclear force, he stressed.
He referred to the weighty significance of fixing the principle of state activities on the building of modern nuclear force and the mission of the armed forces of the DPRK for the times in the Socialist Constitution on the basis of the successful codification of the state’s policy on the nuclear force.
Saying that reflected in the draft amendments and supplements are the contents that the DPRK, a responsible nuclear weapons state, further develops nuclear weapons to ensure the rights to existence and development of the country, deter war and defend peace and stability in the region and the rest of the world, and that the mission of the armed forces of the Republic is to defend the national sovereignty and territorial integrity and the rights and interests of the people, protect the socialist system and the gains of the revolution from all threats and guarantee peace and prosperity of the country with powerful military capabilities, he brought them up for deliberation at the session of the SPA.
The session adopted an ordinance of the SPA of the DPRK “On Amending and Supplementing Some Contents of the Socialist Constitution of the DPRK” with unanimous approval.
The unanimous adoption of the crucial agenda item for formulating the DPRK’s policy on the nuclear force as the basic law of the state, in the wake of codifying the policy at the 7th Session of the 14th SPA, is a historic event as it provided a powerful political weapon for markedly strengthening the national defence capabilities, including the nuclear force, consolidating the institutional and legal foundations for security guarantee and protection of national interests based on them and accelerating the comprehensive development of Korean-style socialism.
The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un made a speech.
He expressed his heartfelt thanks to the deputies to the SPA who exercised the most historic right of voting in reflection of the general will of all the Korean people and added a brilliant page to the history of the DPRK’s Constitution, and extended a noble tribute to all the people.
He reviewed the proud successes made this year, which is of great significance for the Korean revolution greeting a new period of upsurge and change in implementing the cause of building a powerful socialist country. And he referred to the orientation and policy tasks for the future struggle and called for concluding this year with a proud victory by waging a strenuous and substantial struggle by the end of the year.
When he finished his speech, all the participants gave enthusiastic cheers and applause, full of emotion and joy at having received the ever-victorious action programme for dynamically strengthening the matchless national power of socialist Korea, an immortal programme for promoting the building of an ideal society for the people.
His significant speech serves as a militant banner and a great revolutionary document bolstering in every way the invincible might of our Republic, a true independent power and a genuine people’s government, and dynamically propelling the fresh victory and great advance of the cause of building a socialist power of Juche.
The session discussed the draft laws of the DPRK on ensuring the rights of the disabled, irrigation and public servants as next agenda items.
Deputy Kang Yun Sok, vice-chairman of the SPA Standing Committee, made a report on the second, third and fourth agenda items.
The reporter noted that the relevant draft laws reflect the principled issues arising in thoroughly guaranteeing the WPK’s policy for ensuring the rights of the disabled and the fulfillment of the programme for the rural revolution in the new era and further consolidating and developing the state and social system.
He explained chapter by chapter the contents of the relevant draft laws, including the regulations for thoroughly ensuring the socio-political, economic and cultural rights of the disabled and making sure that they enjoy a worthwhile life as the masters of the state and society, the legal requirements for realizing the irrigation of agriculture at a higher level and ensuring the sustained and stable development of agricultural production, and the regulations for ensuring the correct implementation of the Party and the state’s policies and improving the state management by building up the ranks of public servants.
The SPA Standing Committee brought up the draft law of the DPRK on ensuring the rights of the disabled, the draft law of the DPRK on irrigation and the draft law of the DPRK on public servants for deliberation at the session, under Article 95 of the Socialist Constitution.
Speeches on the second, third and fourth agenda items were made by Deputies Kim Sung Du, Ho Song Chol, Pak Myong Son, Sin Kwan Bong, Jon Sung Guk and Ho Song Ho.
Speakers recognized that the law of the DPRK on ensuring the rights of the disabled provides all persons with disabilities with better working and living conditions and develops the trait of helping them throughout society and thus makes it possible to give full play to the advantages of the Korean-style socialist system.
They also expressed their opinions that the law on irrigation is of important significance in propelling the increased grain production and the socialist rural development by stepping up the perfection of the overall irrigation system of the country and the law on public servants serves as an institutional guarantee for ensuring the smoothness of the state activities by improving the political consciousness, practical qualifications, strong organizing ability and executive ability of public servants, who are directly responsible for the state administration.
After examining and supplementing the deputies’ constructive opinions, the session adopted the ordinances of the SPA of the DPRK “On Adopting the Law of the DPRK on Ensuring the Rights of the Disabled,” “On Adopting the Law of the DPRK on Irrigation” and “On Adopting the Law of the DPRK on Public Servants.”
The session discussed “On reviewing the enforcement of the law of the DPRK on financial sector” as its fifth agenda item.
Deputy Pak Jong Gun, vice-premier of the Cabinet and concurrently chairman of the State Planning Commission, made a report.
The reporter analysed and reviewed the success, experience, deviation and lesson drawn from the enforcement of the law on financial sector, with regard to the importance of the work to put the state financial system on a scientific basis in keeping with the requirements of the developing reality, and referred to the urgent practical matters arising in substantially propelling the development of the state’s economy by reinforcing and perfecting the unified financial control system of the state.
Other speakers expressed their determination to make all sectors and units strictly abide by the requirements of the law on financial sector by redoubling their efforts, aware of the heavy duty before the Party, the state and the people and thus financially guarantee the implementation of the resolutions of the Eighth WPK Congress.
At the session, a resolution on the fifth agenda item was adopted with unanimous approval.
The session discussed “On renaming the National Aerospace Development Administration of the DPRK the National Aerospace Technology Administration of the DPRK” as its sixth agenda item and adopted a resolution on it with unanimous approval.
It discussed the organizational matter as its seventh agenda item.
Members of the Cabinet were newly appointed.
An Kyong Gun was appointed as minister of Machine-building Industry, Ri Sun Chol as minister of State Construction Control, Jon Chol Su as minister of Land and Environment Protection, Kim Kwang Jin as minister of Food Procurement and Administration, and Paek Min Gwang as president of the Central Bank.
Members of sectional committees of the SPA were recalled and by-elected.
Deputies Choe Kun Yong, Pak Chang Ho and Ri Yong Chol were by-elected as members of the Legislation Committee of the SPA.
Pak In Chol, chairman of the SPA, made a closing address.
The 9th Session of the 14th SPA successfully finished its work amid the revolutionary consciousness and enthusiasm of the participants to fully discharge their important obligations as the representatives of the people and masters of administration, single-mindedly upholding the great Party Central Committee that is powerfully demonstrating to the whole world the dignity and mightiness of the DPRK with its extraordinary idea and leadership.
KCNA