North Korea kicked off a new loyalty campaign to get people to work more as part of its five-year economic plan announced at its seventh ruling party congress, state controlled media said Sunday.
  
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a joint conference of officials from the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), government, economic sector and military was held Thursday through Saturday, where participants agreed to launch the "200-day campaign of loyalty" that aims to bolster national growth.
  
"They discussed ways to thoroughly carry out the five-year strategy for the state economic development and important measures for attaining the goal of building a socialist power," the media outlet said.
  
It said premier Pak Pong-ju, who made the report at the gathering, stressed that the country must do its utmost to successfully conclude the campaign as proclaimed by leader Kim Jong-un.
  
Kim outlined his new five-year economic growth plan running from this year to 2020 at the four daylong congress.
  
Pak then called on officials to devotedly carry out the decisions reached at the key WPK meeting by making sure that all the issues discussed are successfully put into practice.
  
The latest announcement comes on the back of Pyongyang concluding its "70-day campaign of loyalty" program just before the start of the rare congress that took place early this month. That campaign ran from mid-February to May 2.
  
The new effort is being pursued as the United Nations sanctions take bite, and the country finds itself more and more isolated from the outside world. The global body slapped its toughest sanctions to date on the reclusive country for its fourth nuclear test in January and the firing off of a long-range missile the following month.
  
Pyongyang has not shown any signs so far it will back down and give up its nuclear program.
  
Kim already proclaimed the North a "responsible nuclear state" and emphasized the country will only use the program as a deterrence against threats to its sovereignty.
  
The KCNA, meanwhile, said premier Pak Pong-ju; Choe Thae-bok, chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly; and North Korea's defense chief Pak Yong-sik were at the joint meeting. (Yonhap)