North Korean Workers' Party General Secretary Kim Jong-un visited an exhibition of light industry clothing and footwear, highlighting the production achievements of local industrial factories built under the "Regional Development 20×10 Policy."

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported today (October 20) that General Secretary Kim, accompanied by key party and government officials, expressed satisfaction the previous day while touring the "National Clothing and Footwear Exhibition-2026," held under the theme of "Fervor for New Product Development and Quality Improvement."

His daughter Ju-ae, dressed in a pink skirt suit, and his wife Ri Sol-ju also accompanied him on the inspection.

More than 270 production units, including major light industry factories and newly built city and county garment factories, submitted around 70,700 clothing items across some 30 categories and about 170,000 pairs of footwear across some 60 categories to the exhibition.

Kim expressed satisfaction, noting that this year's exhibition, held annually every October, "clearly demonstrates the leap and substantial development of the light industry sector, which focuses on quality improvement and new product development in all aspects while heightening competitive fervor," adding that it "intuitively shows the development trajectory of our light industry."

He assessed that "dozens of stylish, high-quality clothing and footwear products exhibited by local light industry factories, including city and county garment factories newly built under our party's regional development policy, are standing proudly shoulder-to-shoulder with central products."

He went on to emphasize, "This is a clear demonstration of the validity and vitality of our party's policy aimed at eliminating regional differences and disparities between cities and rural areas, and achieving simultaneous, balanced development nationwide."

To bridge the urban-rural divide, North Korea has been pursuing the "Regional Development 20×10 Policy," under which modern factories, hospitals, and public service facilities are to be built in 20 cities and counties each year for 10 years starting from 2024.
 
(Photo: Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News)