Party convention
North Korea’s rulers want to solve supply problems
North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un speaks at the meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party. Photo: – / KCNA / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
North Korea has suffered from chronic food shortages for years. Kim Jong Un can’t get the problem under control. Now he wants to start a new attempt.
At the end of his tenth year in power, North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un prepared the ruling Labor Party and the people for a “life and death battle” in the new year.
In his speech at the end of a five-day party meeting in Pyongyang, Kim focused on economic policy goals and overcoming supply problems. In addition, the further defense of the corona pandemic must be given top priority in state work, the state media quoted him as saying.
Kim: Strengthen defense capabilities
At the same time, Kim swore the participants in the meeting of the Central Committee to “militant tasks”. The aim is to strengthen defense capabilities. The military environment on the Korean peninsula and the international situation are becoming more unstable every day. On the other hand, he did not address his country’s nuclear weapons or the USA, which Kim described as the “main enemy” at a party congress last year.
According to observers, this could also be an indication that the diplomatically isolated leadership in Pyongyang is still no longer interested in talks with Washington. Because of its nuclear weapons program, North Korea is subject to harsh international sanctions that hamper its economic development. The US negotiations with North Korea have stopped moving for almost three years.
Big announcements
2022 will be a year of the “great life-and-death struggle,” which must be waged successfully, said Kim. The main task will be to implement the five-year plan decided last year “to bring about a meaningful change in the development of the state and in the living conditions of the people.”
According to the reports, Kim gave a lot of space to rural development in particular. The basic task is to increase agricultural production and “solve the country’s food problem completely,” said Kim, who was given power in late 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.
Due to natural disasters and its own mismanagement, North Korea has been dependent on outside food aid for many years. In addition, the corona pandemic has hit the country hard in the past two years. It closed its borders early on, which had a major impact on trade with China.