The economic situation of the DPRK was very difficult in 1957.
In 1945 when Korea was liberated the Korean people took over the simple colonial industry from the old society. Even the industry was totally destroyed by the war unleashed by the imperialists.
However, for 14 years since 1957, the DPRK people dashed forward in the spirit of Chollima under the banner of self-reliance, thus implementing the socialist revolution successfully and fulfilling several rounds of long-term plans for socialist industrialization. In those years, industrial production increased every year at a high speed of 19.1 per cent on an average. As a result, they produced for 12 days the industrial products which had been done for one year in 1944 when Korea was not liberated. Powerful heavy industry bases with the machine-building industry as the core as well as modern light industry factories were built in large numbers in every part of the country and mechanization, irrigation, electrification and chemicalization were completed with success in the sector of rural economy. In a word, the Korean people brought about a historic change of building the country, which had been a backward colonial agricultural one, into a socialist industrial state.
The DPRK was changed in a short period of 14 years, from 1957-1970, into a socialist industrial state with powerful heavy industry, modern light industry and developed agriculture, capable of improving the people’s living and managing the economy on its own.
Accordingly, the DPRK was listed on the full-fledged member among the world advanced countries and its people freed themselves for ever from the position of being humiliated and neglected because of their past backward economy.
