It is now March when spring begins to shine its rays and young sprouts start to shoot. At this time of season, the whole country is busy planting trees on the occasion of the Tree Planting Day.

Whenever we greet this day, we look back over the practical example of patriotism shown by respected Comrade Kim Jong Un on the first Tree Planting Day after the demise of Chairman Kim Jong Il in order to make the socialist lands lush and green, cherishing the noble patriotic desire of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il who devoted great efforts into turning all the country’s mountains into dense forests.

It was on March 2, 2012, that respected Comrade Kim Jong Un inspected one of the units of the Korean People’s Army.

On that day, he said that the day marks a historic occasion when President Kim Il Sung, despite his busy schedule with many state affairs after liberation, climbed Moran Hill together with Chairman Kim Jong Il and Mother Kim Jong Suk and ignited the first torch of tree planting for the country’s welfare and development and lasting prosperity. Then, he planted the trees he had brought with him in company with the service personnel to this place permeated with the warm footmarks of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il.

On that day, looking back on the noble patriotic life of the Chairman who loved every blade of grass and every tree of the country, he said that it is the firm decision of our Party to energetically undertake tree planting as a mass movement so that the hills and fields of the motherland turn into a socialist fairyland thickly covered with trees. And he mapped out the grand plan to dynamically arouse the whole country to reforestation.

In hearty response to the grand plan and call of respected Comrade Kim Jong Un, reforestation- war against nature- was energetically carried out for the past ten years. During this period, great advances have been made in afforestation and forest protection by dint of army-people unity, self-reliance and self-development.

In the all-state and all-people struggle, large areas have been newly afforested and modern tree nurseries where production of tree saplings is put on a perfect scientific, industrial and intensive basis were built in all parts of the country. Mass movements such as movement for winning the title of Forest of Socialist Patriotism and movement for winning the title of Model County in Afforestation were vigorously waged fully displaying their might. As great efforts were also channeled to forest protection, big successes were achieved in the work for eliminating forest destruction caused by reckless felling of trees, taking adequate measures for preventing damages from blights and sufficiently solving firewood problem.

A turf institute specializing in turf research was newly organized at the State Academy of Sciences and good turf species were propagated widely. Now the mountains and fields of our motherland are changing into green forests being propelled by the work to plant trees of good species.

All of such achievements have been made possible thanks to the energetic leadership of respected Comrade Kim Jong Un who holds dear the lovely mountains of our motherland – the patriotic legacy of our great leaders – and devotes his heart and soul to looking after them.

The young trees he planted that day have now grown into tall and green ones, inspiring all the people across the country with zeal of patriotism and love for the native land.

Courageous Mettle of Young People of the DPRK

The Sixth Plenary Meeting of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, held in December last year, advanced it as an important task for construction this year to erect a characteristic street, consisting of over 4 000 flats, at the northern gateway to the capital city of Pyongyang in the sidelines of construction of 10 000 flats in the city, and decided to entrust the whole project to the Socialist Patriotic Youth League and Paektusan Hero Youth Shock Brigade.

As soon as the decision was made public, young people in Pyongyang and various other parts of the country, numbering over 100 000, volunteered for the project.

In his speech made at the ground breaking ceremony for the project held on February 25, Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said: I have no doubt that our young builders will create a dignified symbol of the development of socialism and its future, which will startle the world, at the northern gateway to Pyongyang by fully displaying the mettle of the Korean young people who are prepared to brave fire and water in response to the call of the Party and motherland and who love waging the revolution and working.

New Street in Pyongyang Seen on Artist’s Impressions

On February 25 this year, in the presence of Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for building a new street in the Sopho area in the capital city of Pyongyang.

This project envisages building a characteristic street with over 4 000 flats at the northern gateway to the capital city of Pyongyang in 2023 in the sidelines of construction of 10 000 flats as the second stage in the Hwasong area according to the plan of building 50 000 flats in the city, a task set forth at the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

When the project is finished, there will appear at the northern gateway to the capital city a splendid street, an ideal street for the people, with a grand street axis and residential quarters consisting of super-highrise apartment houses and other housesof different shapes in good harmony with public buildings. This will add to the modern character and splendour of Pyongyang.