PYONGYANG, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) commended scientists, researchers and officials of the country's major defense research institutions for their contributions to bolstering national defense, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday.
Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, awarded state commendations, ranging from the title of DPRK Hero and Gold Star Medal to the First Class Order of the National Flag and the Order of Kim Il Sung, to the major contributors during a meeting at the headquarters of the WPK Central Committee a day earlier, the report said.
It added that the DPRK's defense science and research sector has developed what it called "exclusive technologies" conducive to strengthening war-fighting capabilities and deterrence, in line with the policy of modernizing the country's armed forces at the Ninth Congress of the WPK.
Expressing his appreciation for the "exclusive, innovative" military sci-tech achievements in the defense science and research field, the DPRK leader called them "a great revolution that opened up a sure prospect for radically improving the modernity of our army's combat weapon systems." ■