North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for another “grueling march” to overcome serious economic difficulties.
The leader of the totalitarian state seems to be comparing the situation to famine in the 1990s, when hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation, the AP reported.
Earlier, Kim complained that the country was facing the “worst” situation due to various factors, including the coronavirus pandemic, international sanctions and natural disasters, but now for the first time publicly drawing a parallel with the deadly famine.
Organizations monitoring the situation in the DPRK have not detected any signs of mass starvation or humanitarian catastrophe. But Kim’s comments suggest how seriously he looks at the country’s difficulties. According to observers, this is the biggest test since the beginning of his rule, which began 9 years ago.
“There are many obstacles and difficulties ahead of us, and so our struggle to implement the decisions of the VIII Party Congress will not be easy at all and without problems,” Kim warned members of the ruling party, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“I have decided to ask the organizations of the Korean Workers’ Party at all levels, including the Central Committee and the secretaries of the entire party, to undertake another very ‘exhausting march’ to alleviate the difficulties facing our people, even a little,” he said. DPRK.
“Exhausting campaign” is a phrase used by DPRK officials in connection with the famine of the 1990s, when the country was dependent on international aid for years. The resulting famine was the result of suspended Soviet aid, mismanagement and natural disasters. It is not clear exactly how many people died, ranging from hundreds of thousands to 2-3 million.
Kim delivered a speech at the end of the party’s meeting with thousands of party members. During the first day of the forum on Tuesday, the DPRK leader said that improving public life amid the “worst situation” would depend on party nuclei.
During a party congress in January, Kim ordered a stronger self-sustaining economy, reduced dependence on imports and more consumer goods. But North Korea’s problems are the result of decades of mismanagement, self-imposed isolation and sanctions over its nuclear program, analysts say.
Chinese data show that North Korea’s trade with China, Pyongyang’s largest trading partner, shrank by 80 percent last year after North Korea closed its border because of the coronavirus.
Some experts believe that North Korea’s difficulties will not lead to famine because China will not allow it. They added that China was worried that a possible wave of North Korean refugees could flood the border or establish a pro-American united Korea.
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