Kim Jong-un admits North Korea is going through its “worst days” and economic problems

Seoul – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inaugurated the congress of North Korea’s only party, the Workers’ Party, state propaganda reported today, acknowledging the country’s economic hardships and ignoring any direct mention of United States at a time when the dialogue on disarmament is still at a standstill.

“The safest and fastest way to meet the many challenges we now face is to do our best to strengthen our own power and our capacity for self-sufficiency.”, Kim said in his speech, delivered on Tuesday but reproduced today in its entirety by the KCNA news agency and the Rodong newspaper.

Such was Kim’s proposal after admitting that the results of the five-year plan approved at the previous 2016 congress “were in most areas far below what was expected” and that the country is going through his “worst days.”

A year of difficulties

Although speaking in negative terms is an unusual gesture for the regime, it is already the second time that the North Korean leader admits the difficulties the country is going through, affected in 2020 by the passage of three typhoons and the effects of the pandemic of COVID-19.

On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party, held on October 10, Kim acknowledged in tears the shortcomings facing the citizens of a country already affected by international sanctions. and that in addition it locked and locked its borders at the beginning of the pandemic.

This has minimized foreign investment and trade (some reports already mention commodity shortages in Pyongyang’s supermarkets) and seems to be pushing the airtight country into the worst crisis since the terrible famine of late of the nineties of the last century.

The supreme leader spoke at the inaugural session of the eighth congress of the Workers’ Party, in which a new five-year economic plan will be presented, of the existence of “external and internal” obstacles to the country’s economic development, without providing further details.

He also spoke of proposing new strategies to achieve “national reunification and promote foreign relations,” without specifying anything else.

Silence around Biden

As many predicted, Kim made no direct mention of the United States in his speech, which is common at this political event, the most important in the country but focused on designing domestic policies and restructuring the organization chart of the regime.

In any case, and in the face of the impending change of government in Washington, the event is expected to throw clues about the regime’s weapons program and its plans in the diplomatic field, where it has remained silent in recent months. to the point of not just mentioning Joe Biden’s election victory in the U.S. presidential elections.

After three summits between Kim Jong-un and incumbent President Donald Trump, talks on denuclearization are at a standstill following the failure of the 2019 Hanoi summit, where Washington considered Pyongyang’s disarmament offer insufficient and left. refuse to lift sanctions.

An appointment surrounded by secrecy

For unknown reasons, the opaque regime has kept this time secret the exact date of the start of the congress and indicated only that it would be “in early January”.

According to state media, about 5,000 people, including delegates and party leaders, and about 2,000 guests are taking part in the council, surpassing 2016 figures.

The published photos in turn showed Kim inaugurating the congress at Pyongyang’s April 25 House of Culture in front of a packed auditorium where no one wore a mask.

The country has told the World Health Organization (WHO) that it has tested nearly 12,500 people and has not yet detected a single case of COVID-19.

Still, their prevention protocols remain a mystery, as North Korean media in turn routinely show citizens wearing outdoor caps or disinfection equipment wearing protective clothing.

A promotion for Kim Jo-Jong?

Beyond speculation about whether the regime will resume gun tests once Biden takes office to try to force a resumption of negotiations or opt for a different route, this congress also raises the possibility that the leader’s sister, Kim Jo -jong, climb the roster of the match.

Kim Jo-jong, a member of the political bureau that this year has gained even more prominence by standing on many occasions as a spokesman for the regime, has so far been appointed as part of the Presidium for this congress.

Satellite images indicate that the regime is in turn preparing a parade to put an end to the event, the closing date of which is unknown.

If it lasts four days, as in 2016, the appointment would end on Kim Jong-un’s birthday, in what would be a gesture aimed at strengthening his figure and loyalty to the party in time of scarcity.