SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has admitted that his economic development plans have failed to open the first full-fledged ruling party congress in five years, state media reported on Wednesday.
In an opening speech to the congress that began on Tuesday, Kim said that “almost all sectors were well below the targets set” under a five-year development plan set out at the 2016 congress, according to the news North Korean official agency.
“We should further promote and expand the victories and achievements we have achieved at the expense of sweat and blood, and prevent the painful lessons from being repeated,” he stated.
The Labor Party Congress, one of the largest propaganda shows in the North, is intended to help Kim show a concerned nation that is firmly in control and drive unity behind her leadership in the face of COVID-19 and other economic challenges. growing.
But some observers are skeptical that the scenario-run congress will find fundamental solutions to North Korea’s difficulties, many of which stem from decades of economic mismanagement and Kim’s intense search for expensive nuclear weapons destined for to head to the continental United States.
Kim, 36, is holding the congress, which is expected to last a few days, amid what may be the toughest challenge for her nine-year government and what she has called “multiple crises.”
Authoritarian North Korea is one of the poorest countries in Asia and the already besieged economy is being hammered by pandemic-related border closures with China, the main economic life line in the north, the consequences of a series of natural disasters last summer and U.S.-led persistence. sanctions for the nuclear program.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office later in January, is likely to maintain sanctions and avoid any direct meeting with Kim until North Korea takes significant steps toward denuclearization.
The congress met in Pyongyang to determine “a new line of struggle and strategic and tactical policies,” with the presence of thousands of delegates and observers, KCNA reported.
In his speech, Kim described the current difficulties facing his government as “the worst” and “unprecedented,” according to KCNA.
Kim called for a new five-year plan and reviewed the current state of North Korea’s metal, chemical, electrical and other industries and set unspecified tasks for future development, KCNA said.
It’s not the first time Kim has been outspoken about flawed systems and policies. Last August, he acknowledged the economic “shortcomings” caused by “unexpected and inevitable challenges.” He also said last year that North Korea lacks modern medical facilities and that anti-disaster conditions in coastal areas are “poor.”
Few experts doubt Kim’s grip on power. But a prolonged coronavirus-related blockade could be further destabilizing the food and foreign exchange markets and worsening livelihoods in North Korea. Some observers say this could diminish Kim’s authority.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said “the fundamental problem” is that “Kim wants economic growth that keeps the regime afloat while maintaining nuclear weapons.”
“Pyongyang is likely to demand relief from sanctions just to reduce tensions rather than progress in denuclearization,” he said.
U.S.-led sanctions tightened after Kim’s unusually aggressive missile and nuclear testing executive in 2016 and 2017. They maintain a ban on important export items such as coal, textiles and seafood. However, Kim has still repeatedly insisted on expanding his nuclear arsenal to deal with what he calls American hostility.
Kim entered into talks with President Donald Trump in 2018, but his diplomacy has been blocked for about two years due to sanctions disputes.
The pandemic, typhoons and floods last summer – which destroyed homes, farmland and other infrastructure across North Korea – have further damaged the North’s economy.
After an annual closure of the border with China, North Korea’s main trading partner, the volume of bilateral trade fell by about 80% in the first 11 months of last year from the corresponding period of 2019, analyst Song Jaeguk told the IBK Economic Research Institute in Seoul. North Korea’s GDP was estimated to fall by 9.3% in 2020, he said.
After the sharp fall in foreign trade, North Korea experienced a threefold increase in imported food products such as sugar and condiments in the markets, while its factory exploitation rate dropped to the lowest level since Kim took power due to shortage of raw materials, the South Korean spy agency told lawmakers in late November.
“I can’t think of a single word to describe the hardship the situation the North Koreans are going through instead of saying they are suffering terribly,” Song said. “If the coronavirus pandemic continues, they will suffer more.”
Kim has been pushing to burn an image as a concerned leader.
State media said Kim sent New Year’s Day cards to ordinary citizens in what Seoul called the first such letters from a North Korean leader in 26 years. During a speech in October, Kim shed tears as she thanked people for resisting the hardships. He has also made an unusually high number of visits to rural areas affected by typhoons and floods.
Officially, the congress is the party’s highest-level decision-making body, although key day-to-day decisions are made by Kim and her inner circle. Delegates gathered at the congress are expected to support Kim’s new initiatives without much debate. Congress would still give Kim a chance to consolidate her authority by announcing a new vision, appointing loyal lieutenants to key positions, and demanding a stronger unity behind her leadership.
Many experts say North Korea has no choice but to keep its borders closed as the pandemic continues around the world, because its public health system remains broken and a major outbreak could cause serious consequences. Despite taking draconian antivirus measures, North Korea has said it has found no case of the virus in its soil, a claim widely questioned by foreign experts.
KCNA photos from the congress showed no participants, including Kim, wearing masks sitting side by side.
During the congress, the North may issue conciliatory messages regarding ties with the incoming Biden administration, highlighting its traditional ties with China and Russia, Seoul Unification Ministry said in a report on the outlook. of the congress.
Kim did not mention the United States or South Korea in his speech Tuesday. He is expected to make a few more speeches before the congress ends.
Some experts say Kim will probably not launch any major provocation soon because this will further obscure the possibility of early talks with the Biden government, which faces many urgent internal problems.