N. Korea vows support for science, technology

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed unsparing support for the country's science and technology sectors "to defeat enemies and to boost the economy," Pyongyang's media said Wednesday.

He made the pledge during his field guidance to the country's State Academy of Sciences in South Pyongan Province, the North's official Korean Central News Agency reported, without elaborating on the date of the trip.

"In the face of increasingly vicious schemes of isolation and suppression by imperialists, Kim stressed roles by scientists and technicians to win victory in the showdown with enemies," according to the KCNA.

Noting that science and technology is a driving force to build a thriving nation and to improve the people's living standards, Kim said it is "necessary not to spare investment," according to the report.

Calling scientists and technicians "precious treasures of the country," Kim also vowed to build a modern housing complex this year and suggested setting up "the world's best holiday home for scientists" on the shore of Lake Yonphung, the KCNA reported.

The trip is in line with the North's policy platform for 2014, which puts much emphasis on economic development. In his New Year's address, Kim pledged to rebuild the moribund local economy by boosting agriculture, construction and science-technology. (Yonhap News)