 SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il voiced confidence that his country will become a "thriving" nation during visits to modernized machine plants, Pyongyang's media said Tuesday.
| You betcha, little man ... |
Kim's visits to the Pukjung Machine Complex and the Rakwon Machine Complex in the North Phyangan Province, which borders China, came two days after he inspected a naval unit.
"You have to stand up to see that, sir."
"I AM standing up!" |
Kim "stressed that the DPRK's (North Korea) cause of building a thriving nation is sure to be successfully accomplished thanks to such heroic workers as the (province's) workers", the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English language report.
The Pukjung complex originally started as a heavy oil engine manufacturer after the 1950-53 Korean War, but "has turned into a large machine-building center making a great contribution to the nation's shipbuilding industry and the development of economy," the report said. Kim "expressed great satisfaction over the fact that the workers of the complex produced efficient machines as required by the new century," it said.
Kim also praised workers at the Rakwon complex who have newly manufactured a "modern" oxygen plant.
| It's not enough that they don't have food, the Norks don't even have enough oxygen ... |
| It's a "modern" factory. What it actually makes is moderns. Or maybe it's the "modern" brand of oxygen. Has an extra couple of neutrons or something. With the right advertising campaign, the customers will snap it up. |
Kim was accompanied by Kim Phyong-hae, chief secretary of the North Phyongan provincial committee of the Workers' Party, Kim Ki-nam, a secretary of the party's central committee, and party department directors, Pak Nam-gi and Jang Song-thaek, the KCNA said. Kim had a photo session with the workers, it added.
Kim's latest trip was his 105th this year. He made 74 trips and 54 trips during the same period last year and in 2007, respectively, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.
| Wants to see all the sights before he kicks off? |
| Perhaps he is introducing the current #1 son, a.k.a. The Kid, hoping hard the Kim mystique will offset his severe lack of age and gravitas. |
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