34. During the reporting period the DPRK oriented the country’s economic development towards creating an affluent and cultured life of the people and solved all problems arising in economic construction to satisfy the demands and in the interests of people. Currently, the DPRK is channeling all its efforts into successful implementation of the 5-Year Strategy for National Economic Development (2016–2020). Implementation of the targets set out in this strategy will bring further progress in the enjoyment by people of their economic, social and cultural rights and their livelihood in particular. In the past three years tangible achievements were made in the sectors directly affecting people’s living like foodstuff, footwear, textile and other sectors of light industry, public transport, etc.
1. The right to health
35. During the reporting period the DPRK set it as the main target of the health sector to further improve the public health service to increase the average life expectancy of the population, reduce the infant mortality rate, increase the rate of assisted delivery by skilled health workers and bring other key health indices into line with those of the world’s most advanced countries and provide people with more hygienic living conditions and healthier environment. Strenuous efforts were made for the attainment of these targets such as developing health sector strategy for the implementation of the 5-Year Strategy for the National Economic Development, increasing State investment in this sector and taking necessary institutional and practical measures. The expenditure on public health during the reporting period accounted for 6.6% of GDP on average.
36. Mid-Term Strategy for the Development of the Health Sector of the DPRK (2016–
2020), Malaria Control Strategy (2014–2017), Tuberculosis Control Strategy (2014–2017), Multi-Year Plan for Integrated Immunization (2016–2020) and other branch-related strategic
coordination of the implementation of these strategies the Department of Strategy was created in the Ministry of Public Health.
37. Modern medical institutions like Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital, Ryugyong Dental Hospital and Health Oxygen Factory were built, a great number of hospitals and medical appliance factories upgraded and measures were adopted for the capacity-building of medical workers including the improvement of education of medical universities and refresher courses for serving doctors, all of which contributing to improving the quality of preventive and medical treatment. With a view to placing the hygienic and anti-epidemic work on IT basis, the real-time surveillance and notification system through the Intranet was developed and introduced across the country in 2015, and proactive efforts were made to introduce latest developments in medical science and technology and methods of treatment into medical service.
38. The nationwide telemedicine system, set up in 2009, connecting online the central hospitals with those in provinces, cities (or districts) and counties, were efficiently operated, enabling people to better enjoy the benefits of the free medical care system. As of 2018, the telemedicine system covered 6 central hospitals, 36 provincial hospitals and 190 cities (or district) and county hospitals. Over the past five years thousands of people across the country received treatment through this system, and the referral rate to higher hospitals reduced by 50%.
39. Considerable efforts were made to bring the manufacturing process of pharmaceutical and medical appliance factories into line with the GMP standards, with the result that quality of medicine improved and their variety and quantity increased. The information system of cold chain management, developed in 2018, is of great significance in securing vaccines in a planned manner and using them in a rational way. This system has made it possible to collect real-time data on the retaining of cold chain facilities by the central down to the grassroots units and the number of population, pregnant women and under-1 children, as well as the total amount of vaccines stored, warehousing, delivery and remaining stock, and take immediate measures to address issues that may arise.
40. Mineral water factories were built in areas where sources of quality mineral water were identified and stores set up in many parts of the country to provide people with quality drinking water. The quality of tap water was improved as a result of the introduction of purification and disinfection technology by use of nano technology.
41. Average life expectancy of the population increased from 70.3 in 2014 to 73.3 in 2017, while mortality rate per 1 000 population dropped from 8.5 in 2014 to 8.3 in 2017.
2. The right to education
42. DPRK, regarding education as the most important undertaking on which the future of the country hinges and the improvement of its quality, environment and conditions as the first and foremost national issue, increased investment in education and took a number of initiatives for its development. During the reporting period the expenditure on this sector accounted for 8.6% of GDP on average.
43. Mid-Term review of the implementation of the Decree on Introduction of the Universal 12-Year Compulsory Education was conducted at the 2nd Session of the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly in September 2014. Implementation of the Decree was again reviewed at the 5th Session of the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly in September 2017, at which the decision was adopted on further perfecting the general secondary education system and fundamentally improving the contents, forms and methods of education.
44. The National Strategy for the Development of Education (2015–2032) was developed and issued by the Education Commission in 2014, and stage-by-stage goals were set for its implementation. The 5-Year Strategy for the Development of Eduation (2016–2020) and the Action Plan for the Improvement of the Quality of Primary and Secondary Education (2017–
2020) are under implementation. With 2017 and 2018 set as the Years of Science and Education, positive efforts were made to bring about a fresh turn in the educational sector as a whole and to upgrade the conditions and environment of education at all secondary-level schools in particular.
45. Innovative measures were put in place to improve the quality of education: In 2016 the timeframe of over 60 vocational colleges was extended by one year and their curricula and contents of education revised, thus raising the the quality of vocational education to a higher level; In 2017 about 100 secondary technical schools in 9 fields were newly established to provide education in a manner suited to the economic and geographical features of the particular region and individual characters of students; In 2018 secondary technical schools specializing in IT were set up in all provinces; The curricula of the universities of education and teacher-training colleges were revised with the aim of improving the quality of teacher training; Positive efforts were made to raise the level of IT application to education, with the result that as of 2018 all universities and colleges, as well as a large number of schools built up Intranet, which are connected online to the national computer network, making it possible for students and teachers to access the materials necessary for their study, teaching and scientific research; In 2017–2018 several scores of schools were turned into model schools equipped with mulifunctional classrooms, quality educational apparatuses and fixtures, laboratories, outdoor study sites, traffic gardens and adequate amenities, and all other schools are following suit.
46. The State directed special attention to removing distinctions between town and countryside in the level of secondary education. In 2016 1~2 rural schools in each city and county were transformed into model schools with fine educational conditions and environment, and efforts are being made in accordance with an annual plan to generalize their examples to other rural schools. A detailed analysis of the realities of education at rural schools was made, and competent teachers from provincial, city and county seats and trainers of refresher course centers for serving teachers at provincial, city and county level were tasked with assisting rural teachers to improve their teaching abilities.
47. With a view to preparing all the members of society as intelligent workers with the intellectual level of a university graduate, a target of making them well-versed in science and technology was set and positive efforts were made for its attainment. Measures were adopted to expand the coverage of the national network for dissemination of science and technology centering on the Sci-Tech Complex and improve the operation of regional and sectoral sci-tech learning spaces. As a result, as of 2018 all factories and enterprises and almost all farms set up their sci-tech learning spaces, enabling working people to learn latest science and technology. Many counties, to say nothing of provinces and cities, established digital libraries, where working people access not only e-books and multimedia at their libraries but also e-materials posted on the websites of the Sci-Tech Complex and the Grand People’s Study House and attend distance lectures. Education through TV and other mass media was provided in a more diverse and in-depth fashion, providing people with good conditions for life-long learning.
48. The distance education system was further improved, producing its first batch of graduates in 2015. 22 unversities across the country set up distance education colleges or faculties, where thousands of working people learn to their hearts’ content the latest science and technology in the fields of their interest. Starting from 2017 distance education via the national mobile communication system became available, enabling people to learn at any time and at any place.
3. The right to food
49. With the amending of the Law on Farms in 2014 and 2015 and the adoption of the Regulations on Responsible Management of Farms in 2015, a new method of agricultural management was introduced, empowering farms to undertake management on their own initiative and in a creative manner and stimulating farmers to enhance their responsibility and role in the production and management. Major efforts were directed to doing farming on a scientific and technological basis, introducing advanced farming methods, breeding high-yielding strains that are suitable to the climatic and soil conditions of the country and increasing the proportion of farm work done by machines. As a result, cereals production steadily increased year by year, making big strides in solving food problem.
50. In accordance with the Regulations on the Operation of Cereals Stores adopted in 2015, cereals stores were set up in designated places for the purchase and sale of surplus food
from/to people, which contributed to stabilizing the price of cereals and implementing food administration policy of the State.
51. Various steps were also taken to increase production in the sectors of fishing and animal husbandry, which are of equal importance in addressing food problem. As a result, material-technical foundations of the fishing industry were strengthened, fisheries output increased and seafood processing bases upgraded, thus improving people’s diet. A large-size stockbreeding base which went into operation in 2017, and has 50 000 hectares of pasture and processing units of livestock products is making a great contribution to bettering people’s diet.
4. The right to housing
52. The DPRK continued to pursue the policy of building dwellings at its expense and providing them free of charge to people, thus offering them sufficient conditions for leading stable and cultured life. For instance, Mirae Scientists’ Street, Ryomyong Street and Wisong Scientists’ Dwelling Area housing thousands of flats and hundreds of public service establishments were built in 2015–2017, where scientists, teachers and other common people are living a civilized life in flats provided to them free of charge.
53. Tens of thousands of dwellings were also built or renovated in provinces, cities and counties, as well as in villages. For instance, the South Hamgyong Province built hundreds of flats for scientists, North Hwanghae Province built or renovated thousands of houses for farmers and the municipality of Nampho built a model farm village.
54. The State ensured that priority is given, when constructing power stations, to building new houses for people who have to be relocated to a different area for the sake of the project, and to building new hostels and houses for workers when new factories are built. For instance, when building the Paekdusan Hero Youth Hydropower Station, hundreds of dwellings equipped with quality furniture and daily necessaries were built, before anything else, for the people whose houses were in the to-be-submerged area.
55. During the reporting period the State took emergency measures for the construction of dwellings for people in the areas affected by such disaster as floods and heavy rain, and concentrated all efforts on the relief of the disaster victims so that they could soon resume normal life. For instance, 1 800 houses were newly built within 40 days in Rason when it was hit by floods in 2015, and 11 900 houses were newly built and 15 000 renovated within 60 days in the North Hamgyong Province that suffered unprecedented floods in September 2016.
5. The right to cultural life
56. A series of measures were put in place to satisfy the increasing demands of people for better cultural rest: scenic spots were spruced up; recreation areas such as parks and pleasure grounds, as well as theatres were newly built or remodelled. For instance the Nature Museum and Central Zoo were built in 2016 as the excellent bases for cultural and leisure activities, and for education, while recreation grounds, water parks and funfairs equipped with modern facilities were set up in provinces, cities and counties, providing people with good conditions for enjoying diverse cultural and leisure activities.
57. In 2018 alone scores of indoor stadiums, sports grounds and other sports facilities were set up or renovated, and sports parks in many parts of the country were equipped with sporting apparatus fit for use by children and elderly people. Inter-provincial sports tournament which is open not only to workers, farmers, officers and youth but to kindergarten children and housewives, and other event-specific competitions were organized several times a year, enhancing, as never before, public interest in and enthusiasm for sports. The successful performance of the sportspersons of the DPRK at international sports games and championships during the reporting period was a fruitful result born of its policy on making sports an everyday activity.
58. In-house health homes were newly set up or existing ones refurbished in a number of factories and enterprises, to provide 15 or 30-day accommodation to workers, while the State provided at its expense 15, 20 or 30-day accommodation at holiday homes to workers doing tiresome labour.
59. Construction projects of Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area and Yangdok Hot Spring Tourist Resort are in full swing, which will be completed by this year and serve to providing people with better conditions for leading a cultured life.