The leader put the economy at the heart of his New Year’s speech while the country has experienced in 2020 its largest recession for two decades.
Le Monde with AFP
Unlike previous years, where his new year speech focused on his diplomatic policy, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-One, placed the economy at the heart of his speech, reported on Saturday 31 December, the state media. The leader has made economic development and the food situation its priority at a plenary meeting of the workers’ party in power.
The North Korean regime, which is under the full international sanctions because of its prohibited military programs, suffers from food shortages and pain to feed its population. The pressure on the North Korean economy has been reinforced by the closing of the borders ordered to fight against the pandemic.
“It is important to cross a decisive step in solving problems related to the daily needs of the population,” said Kim Yong-one speech, according to the official North Korean news agency KCNA.
Risk of famine according to the UN
The North has recorded in 2020 its largest economic recession for two decades, according to the central bank of South Korea. The leader had recognized in June that his country was facing a “stretched food situation”.
In October, a UN Human Rights expert warned that the most vulnerable were “threatened with famine”.
The leader, who succeeded his father Kim Jong ten years ago, indicated at the meeting of his party that the fight against the pandemic was one of the main objectives of the coming year . “Emergency measures against the epidemic must be placed at the top of the national priorities and be vigorously implemented … without the slightest release, gap or the slightest fault”.
In his speech, he did not mention directly neither the United States nor South Korea, confined to declare that Pyongyang would continue to strengthen its military capacities. “Increasingly unstable military environment in the Korean Peninsula and the international situation require the capacity building of National Defense”, “said KCNA, quoted by KCNA who did not give more details on what that means.
The deterioration of the economic situation related to the pandemic did not prevent Pyongyang from developing its armament program, according to a United Nations report published in October. Negotiations with the United States are neutral since the failure, in 2019, from the meeting between Kim Jong-one and the US President Donald Trump, then President of the United States.