11/7 Tass 36
PYONGYANG, July 11 (Itar-Tass) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has visited the exhibition of commodities at department store No 1 in Pyongyang, noting the importance of upgrading the production base of the country’s light industry. The Secretary General of the of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) and Chairman of the National Defence Commission for several hours was examining the displayed clothing, footwear, food products, school supplies and household appliances, and, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), was satisfied with their quality. According to Kim Jong Il, the light industry of the country “every day achieves new successes in line with the WPK policy aimed at improving the population’s living standards.” “We need to turn consumer products manufacturing into a mass movement,” stressed Kim Jong Il, accompanied by a large group of the party officials.
“Only when shops are filled with plenty of quality products for various purposes,” he added, “officials responsible for this sector will be able to announce the successful completion of their mission as public servants.”
Kim Jong Il also stressed that the WPK is determined “to make an epochal revolution in the improvement of living standards of the population and create a mighty power in 2012, when the 100th anniversary of the birth of the DPRK founder Kim Il Sung will be marked.”