Kim Jong Il, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), called for efforts to improve education, state media said on Wednesday.

Education was linked with the fate of a country, Kim said while visiting a middle school in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province, state media said, without giving the date of the visit.

He called on schools to implement the "study-first policy" of the ruling party and train the younger generation to be "competent talents capable of contributing to the cause of building a great prosperous and powerful nation with high caliber," state media said.

Kim also visited a food factory, a cigarette factory, and a branch bank in Hoeryong.

The top leader has paid visits to farms, factories and army units in different parts of the country since February.

Source:Xinhua