North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has emphasized the importance of agriculture and pledged to improve living standards in rural areas, state media said Tuesday. Kim spoke on Monday during a photo session with participants in the 10th Congress of the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea (UAWK), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Ha praised the workers for boosting grain production and stressed the party "remains unshakable in its plan and decision to make the faithful agricultural workers enjoy the benefits of ideal society, highly civilized and prosperous, earlier than anyone else." He also called on the union to "play the role of the ideological agitator and vanguard that accelerates the rural development," describing it as the union's "primary duty." The congress, held in Pyongyang from Friday to Saturday, marked the union's 80th founding anniversary, and took place in the first year of implementing the policy direction set at the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPA) in February. The UAWK is one of North Korea's four major workers' unions, alongside the Gener