Diploma and medals of the February 16 Science and Technology Prize, the top prize in the sci-tech field of the country, were conferred on several projects conducive to the economic development of the country and the improvement of the people’s living standards.

Certificates of the February 16 Science and Technology Prize were awarded to 134 scientists, technicians and lecturers of Kim Il Sung University, Kim Chaek University of Technology, Pyongyang Han Tok Su University of Light Industry, the State Academy of Sciences, the Musan Mining Complex, the Agrochemistry Institute of the Academy of Agricultural Science, the Academy of Poultry Science, etc.

Kim Il Sung University established a process for producing high-pressure sealing rings for compressors and other sealing products with superior technical and economic indices by developing a nano-material synthesis technology and a scientific interfacial treatment and uniform composition technology.

Kim Chaek University of Technology contributed to putting the metal industry on a Juche basis by developing and completing a steel-making method based on an oxygen converter and ultra-high-power electric arc furnace, a process for producing activated quicklime and a process for refining molten iron using carbon monoxide gas instead of argon gas, thus making it possible for the Hwanghae Iron and Steel Complex to improve the quality of steel and establish a new heavy-duty rail production process.

After scientifically elucidating the characteristics of the formation of volcanoes and the evolution of magma in Mt Paektu, scientists and technicians of the State Academy of Sciences selected 30-odd typical geological relic sites including Lake Chon and Rimyongsu Falls which were formed during volcanic activities and newly proved their scientific value, thus contributing to registering the Mt Paektu area as a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Scientists, technicians and lecturers of the Control Machine Institute of the State Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Food and Consumer Goods under the Ministry of Regional Industry and several universities established a method of designing clothes for optimizing the production of garments and improving their quality and an integrated production system capable of putting the management of offshore farms on a scientific basis, thus contributing to setting up the production processes at regional-industry factories and offshore farms on a high level.

Hamhung University of Hydraulic Engineering developed a safety assessment method based on a three-dimensional analysis of the structure of the Ryongnim Dam of the Huichon Power Station, thus ensuring the slide stability of the dam in a scientific way.

The Pyongyang cutting-edge biotechnology development company of Kim Chaek University of Technology developed phytosine, a physiological activator, in a Korean way and, on that basis, analysed its components and established a production process. They also scientifically verified the effect of phytosine on the growth of crops and introduced it into the agricultural field, thus providing a scientific and technological guarantee for increasing the yield of rice, wheat and maize and making a great contribution to boosting agricultural production.

The Academy of Agricultural Science developed the seed coating agent “Phungnyonmo No. 1” capable of scientifically providing the conditions for the growth of rice seedlings, which is urgently needed in the advanced cultivation of nutritive cold-bed rice seedlings and greenhouse rice seedlings, and established the method for its industrial production, thus contributing to expanding the cultivation area of nutritive cold-bed rice seedlings across the country and putting rice cultivation on a scientific and industrial basis.

The Academy of Poultry Science of the Agricultural Commission made a great contribution to developing the country’s animal husbandry technology by breeding “Pyongyang Chicken No. 1” and solving technical problems arising in establishing its purebred maintaining and improving system and the raising and tending methods.