Seoul, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un acknowledged that his country is facing its “worst situation,” as it addressed thousands of grassroots members of his ruling party during a major political conference in Pyongyang.
Experts say Kim is facing perhaps her most difficult time as she approaches a decade of rule, with the North Korean coronavirus blockade triggering a new shock over an economy devastated by decades of mismanagement and crippling sanctions led by the United States for its nuclear weapons program.
Korea’s official U.S. news agency said Kim made the comments during an opening speech at a meeting of Labor Party cell secretaries on Tuesday.
KCNA via Reuters
“Improving the standard of living of the people … even in the worst situation in which we have to overcome numerous unprecedented challenges depends on the role played by the cells, the grassroots organizations of the party,” Kim said.
He urged members to carry out the decisions taken at a party congress in January, when he promised to strengthen his nuclear deterrent under pressure from the United States and announced a new five-year national development plan. The congress came months after Kim, during another political conference, showed unusual candor by acknowledging that her plans to improve the economy were not succeeding.
During Tuesday’s speech, Kim also criticized the party’s grassroots units for unspecified “deficiencies,” saying they should be corrected immediately to ensure the party’s “healthy and sustainable” development.
Party cells, which consist of five to thirty members, are the smallest units of party authority that oversee operations and live in factories and other places. The network is an important tool for the Workers’ Party to perpetuate its power. The previous conference of cell secretaries was held in 2017.
Economic setbacks have left Kim with nothing to show for her ambitious diplomacy with former President Trump, which collapsed due to disagreements over the lifting of sanctions for denuclearization measures in the North.
So far, Pyongyang has rejected the Biden administration’s openness to talks, saying Washington must first rule out its “hostile” policies and has put pressure on resuming ballistic missile tests last month after a pause. of a year.