Always Believing in the Working Class

Whenever a difficult matter cropped up in socialist construction, President Kim Il Sung believed in the workers and aroused them to break the deadlock.
When the DPRK made public the control figures of the first Five Year National Economic Plan, experts in foreign countries that had long managed the socialist planned economy thought of it as “impossible”.
The plan for 1957, the first year of the Five Year Plan was 21% higher than the estimated figure of 1956.
The increased production of steel was the most important link in implementing the task of the first year of the Five Year Plan.
From this the December plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea decided to let the Kangson Steel Plant (At that time) produce 10 000 tons more steel than envisaged the following year.
Late in December 1956 President Kim Il Sung visited the Kangson Steel Plant and talked face with face with officials there.
After acquainting himself with the real state of steel production for a long time, he asked the officials if they had any ways to increase steel production.
The officials failed to answer. The President wanted to discuss the matter with workers.
The officials were sorry they were unable to guide him into a proper meeting hall.
Saying that he didn’t care about such a thing and went to a place where workers gathered.
Looking around the workers, he said he wanted to discuss the problem of increased steel production and explained in detail to the workers the difficult situation of the country.
He said: “In implementing the plan for 1957 we need lots of funds and materials, but we lack everything. In particular, we suffer from an acute shortage of steel and the people are badly off. What is worse, the anti-party, counter-revolutionary factionists who have wormed their way into the party are attacking it in front and the revisionists and great-power chauvinists are exerting pressure on us, along with US imperialists and south Korean puppets kicking up frantic rows ‘northward march’ ”.
The Party believes only in the working class, the main force of our revolution and expects a great deal from you. It is none other than you that should smash passivism and conservatism and settle the shortage of steel.”
Adding that if they produce 10 000 more steel the following year, it would help the country greatly, he earnestly called on the workers to break through the difficult situation.
At this the workers said: “We would produce not 10 000 tons more, but 20 000 or 30 000 tons more. Please don’t concern yourself about steel.”
Theirs was not an empty talk.
Encouraged by the trust of President Kim Il Sung, the workers boldly introduced different inventions and technical innovation proposals for the increase of rolling capacity.
As a result, they produced 120 000 tons of steel billets in a blooming mill which had been regarded as capable of turning out 60 000 tons.
The beacon fire of great revolutionary upsurge raised by the workers of Kangson sparked off a collective drive, bringing about miracles and innovations.
Like this, President Kim Il Sung built a powerful socialist country by relying on the inexhaustible strength of the working class.
One December day in 2008 leader Kim Jong Il visited Kangson.
Saying that only when the Kangson workers rush forward courageously, can the other workers across the country advance more rapidly, he kindled the flames of a new revolutionary upsurge and thus brought about miracles and innovations in the building of a powerful nation.
Today the working class of Korea united single-mindedly around the dear respected Kim Jong Un, is filled with a resolve to build a prosperous state, the lifelong desire of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il.