One day in July 1976, Chairman Kim Jong Il visited the Naegok Hot Spring in Pochon County, Ryanggang Province of the DPRK together with officials after seeing the spectacular sunrise on Mt Paektu.

After estimating the temperature of the hot spring water gushing out with his hand and water quantity, the Chairman looked around the surroundings and taught the ways to build a modern sanatorium and cultural and welfare facilities in the area.

Then he told officials that it is good to build more bath-houses for the visitors to Pochonbo and Samjiyon should be built.

When an official said that the railroad going through the village must be removed in order to build more bath-houses, the Chairman noted that if the forestry railway was rebuilt in other place, many bath-houses could be built.

That day, the Chairman gave officials detailed instructions to make sure that the hot spring made a positive contribution to promoting the people's health, including the direction to build the bath-houses and their management and operation method and remedies.

After the Chairman visited the Naegok Hot Spring, the railway going through the village was rebuilt in a distant place, and the happy laughter of the people, instead of whistling, resounded in the hot spring. -0-