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AFP. 1 January 2002. North Korea's economic policy puts priority on welfare. SEOUL -- North Korea said Tuesday it would give priority to raising living standards, adding a breakthrough was made last year in rebuilding the isolationist country's economy. The Stalinist nation said in a New year message its economy has entered "a new phase of radical change" after several years of hardships. "Our socialist construction which experienced hardships for several years has now entered a new phase of radical change," said an editorial carried by government, ruling party and military newspapers. "What is most important in this regard at present is to speed up socialist economic construction to decisively improve the people's living standards." The editorial described 2001 as an "historic year when a breakthrough was made in the building of a socialist powerful nation". "Priority will be given to goods for the popular masses and to the solution of problems arising in improving people's daily life," it said. The editorial, which contained policy guidelines for 2002, called for greater efforts to ease the North's energy and food shortages and for particular attention to be paid to the information and technology industry and boosting agricultural production. The editorial urged North Koreans to accelerate an economic rehabilitation drive called Ranam, which refers to an industrial complex where workers allegedly achieved technical miracles despite a lack of materials and food. The Ranam drive, ordered by leader Kim Jong-Il, followed the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. The worst of North Korea's famine, which some estimates say killed 2.5 million people, has abated, UN agencies said. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
