NK paper calls for scientific development conducive to actual growth, production

North Korea's official newspaper called Wednesday for drawing up science and technology development plans in a way that truly contributes to economic growth and production, saying some plans are put together in a "perfunctory" manner.

"Some units have shown a tendency of drawing up plans for the development of science and technology in a perfunctory manner without concrete calculations," the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the ruling Workers' Party, said.

"Rather than making plans such as vowing to carry out a certain number of development tasks this year, they should devote themselves to selecting a task desperately needed for normalizing production and achieving development of the next level even if they choose just a single task," the paper said.

The paper emphasized the role of economic policymakers in deciding and carrying out major development tasks, urging them to see firsthand what is necessary in the field and workplaces by having serious discussions with workers.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has repeatedly stressed the importance of science and technology as a way to build a self-reliant economy and called for less dependence on imports.

At a rare party congress in January, Kim blamed lack of advancement in science and technology as a reason for failing to meet the country's five-year economic development objectives and called for technological advancement and localization of key materials in the next five years. (Yonhap)