Day 3 Plenary Meeting Continues in North Korea... "Strengthening Legal Supervision and Control over Economic Plan Execution"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Workers' Party of North Korea has continued its 2nd plenary meeting for the third day, indicating that it will strengthen legal supervision and control over the execution of economic plans. Criticism was also raised against government officials who set low plan targets.

Korean Central News Agency reported that at the third day of the 2nd plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party, "(General Secretary Kim Jong-un) pointed out the importance of strengthening legal supervision and control over the establishment and execution process of the people's economic plan."

Furthermore, General Secretary Kim emphasized enacting and perfecting new sectoral laws in the legal field to remove unreasonable elements that hinder the execution of the people's economic plan, thereby improving production and construction efficiency. He also stressed strengthening the roles of legal institutions, including the prosecution, to ensure the people's economic plan is promptly and accurately implemented.

General Secretary Kim emphasized, "All sectors and units must absolutely obey in vigorously carrying out legal struggles against all illegal acts occurring in economic activities."

Criticism of passivity and self-preservationism was also raised. Korean Central News Agency reported, "(General Secretary Kim) declared that this plenary meeting was convened at a very timely and necessary moment in the sense that it was able to identify and correct ideological illnesses such as passivity and self-preservationism inherent among the cadres."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Following General Secretary Kim's report, discussions on the agenda continued. At this session, criticism was raised against self-preservationism that sets low targets to avoid responsibility for failing to meet goals. The news agency reported that Party Secretary Jo Yong-won sharply criticized the Central Committee of the Party and government officials responsible for setting the main plan indicators pitifully low during the discussion.

He pointed out issues such as "the problem of generally lowering the people's consumer goods production plan in the light industry sector by citing unfavorable conditions, the problem of daring to lower the target of 10,000 households promised by the Party Central Committee to the capital city citizens this year in the construction sector, the problem of artificially lowering the power production plan in the electric power industry sector, and the problem of not actively organizing fishing activities in the fisheries sector to provide fish to the people."

Chief Prosecutor Woo Sang-chul of the Central Prosecution Office also said, "We will aggressively and continuously conduct legal supervision over units that have fenced themselves off and violently violate the socialist economic management order outside the control of the law," and "We will thoroughly control and suppress any acts that hinder the leading role of the Cabinet."

The plenary meeting will specifically discuss the tasks to be carried out this year by each sector and draft a resolution.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The fact that the Workers' Party of North Korea held a plenary meeting one month after the Party Congress is analyzed as a correction for the promotion of follow-up measures. It reveals an urgent desire to properly fasten the first button in the first year of the newly announced national economic development five-year plan.

This is in line with the previous 2nd plenary meeting, which empowered the Cabinet responsible for the economy and mentioned the introduction of a Cabinet responsibility system. Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies analyzed, "They are warning that if results are not achieved or illegal acts are committed by thoroughly introducing a Cabinet responsibility system for the implementation of the five-year plan and imposing unlimited responsibility on Party organizations, there will be ruthless consequences."

During the three plenary meetings, there was only mention that "General Secretary Kim presented the policy direction for inter-Korean and foreign affairs," but no specific inter-Korean or foreign messages were delivered. Professor Yang said, "The reason North Korea is cautious in sending inter-Korean and foreign messages is based on the 'normalization logic' of possessing nuclear forces and achieving economic development to lead inter-Korean and US relations on an equal footing," adding, "It seems similar to the 'build first, unify later' approach of the 1960s and 1970s when we were inferior to North Korea."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.