Pyongyang, November 4 (KCNA) -- Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, gave field guidance at the Nampho Shipyard on November 2.
He was accompanied by Jo Chun Ryong, secretary of the C.C., WPK.
He was greeted at the shipyard by leading officials of the Shipbuilding Institute and the shipyard.
The Nampho Shipyard is pushing ahead with the project to modernize its overall production lines and also making progress in the building of a new warship, under the tasks of the warship building sector set forth by the Second Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the WPK and the decision made at the First Enlarged Meeting of the WPK Central Military Commission.
Comrade Kim Jong Un learned in detail about the master plan for updating the shipyard and then about the economic organization for the modernization project and the progress in the project.
He referred once again to the opinion of the WPK Central Committee on the historical need to accelerate the expansion of capacity of the Nampho Shipyard and other major shipyards and their technical upgrading.
The strategy for developing the shipbuilding industry set forth by the Party Congress clearly indicates the specific orientation for expanding the capacity of the existing shipyards and increasing the operation rate of all the shipyards, he said, adding that the implementation of this strategy means the updating of major infrastructure of the state which is of key importance in rapidly developing the country's marine industry for the future economic prospect, defending the security of the sea border and maritime sovereignty and exercising the strategic deterrent.
In particular, it is vital and important requirement of the times to rapidly bolster up the surface and underwater combat power for defending the national sovereignty in the sea under various threats, he said. Stating that the necessity to completely upgrade the combat power of the navy at present is attributable to the circumstances which compels us to contain the nuclear blackmail and threat of the enemies in the region, the source of creating the new geopolitical situation and substantially and gravely affecting the national security, he said that the timely adopted development plan in the shipbuilding industrial sector is a responsible option in view of the national prosperity and security and an expression of action for the just will to ensure the prosperity and development of the country and defend its peace.
Saying that the advanced and hi-tech shipbuilding base is essential for building a powerful naval force which no one can provoke, Comrade Kim Jong Un stressed the need for the shipyard to set the standard goal of modernization in terms of raising the higher efficiency in the aspects of quality and productivity and in the direction of saving manpower and establish an intelligent integrated production system which comprehensively controls the whole course of shipbuilding, thus opening a new path and creating model experience in the development of the shipbuilding industry.
He set forth the important principle and tasks for modernizing the shipyard, including the issues of highly automating all the elements of production process, constructing one more ground dock to create the capacity for building and repairing ships at the same time, and correcting the irrational matters in the layout of the shipyard's buildings.
He also stressed the need to pay due attention to employing more promising talented persons in the field of designing and building the ships and increasing the number of those engaged in that field.
Saying that our inviolable maritime sovereignty is guaranteed only by the most responsible efforts and practical and advanced defence technology, he affirmed that if all shipyards of the country are modernized as planned by the Party Central Committee, a great revolution will take place in the development of the shipbuilding industry.
That day, Comrade Kim Jong Un went round the warship building site of the Nampho Shipyard.
He said that the building of latest-type warships in succession is a proof of the actual development of our shipbuilding sector, which increases confidence in the prosperity and development of our shipbuilding industry. He noted that if the talented shipbuilding group is combined with excellent advanced technology at once, our country will take a seat on the front row of the world's most powerful shipbuilding industry.
He expressed great satisfaction, looking at a warship under construction which is incomparably huge and browbeating than the destroyer built last year.
The new warship, designed to carry out its complex operational mission in consideration of the present-day warfare, the world trend of development and the specific situation of our country on the basis of comprehensive analysis of the development history of warships which many countries have updated through many repeated research in the historical changes, is being built into a combat system with the one and only capabilities from the designing stage, he said, referring to the important military significance of an aggregate of the huge combat power.
Comrade Kim Jong Un stressed that the necessity to possess the most developed and powerful warship is proved without words by the recent geopolitical environment and hostile acts of the enemies, and therefore, the urgency is being highlighted than ever before and it is because we should defend the country, ensure sovereignty and deter all threats.
He asked the workers of the Nampho Shipyard and all the builders involved in the modernization of the shipyard to respond to the sacred mission entrusted by the revolution with their consistent devotion and responsible efforts for the security and prosperity of the country.
His field guidance to the Nampho Shipyard serves as a warm encouragement to the development and might of our shipbuilding industry, which is playing a key role in attaining the strategic target for developing the national industry and bolstering up the national defence capabilities through radical leap forward and revolutionary acceleration, and a significant occasion in adding confidence and courage to its sky-high spirit and advance. -0-
