NK’s Kim calls for ‘80-day campaign’ to boost economy

[수친구]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over a politburo meeting on Monday, the KCNA reported on Tuesday. (KCNA-Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for a nationwide “80-day campaign” in a bid to revive the country’s ailing economy and attain its goals before a congress next year, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim announced the decision during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party held the previous day, according to the North’s official Korea Central News Agency. The key party meeting comes as the communist regime’s economic woes are believed to have been exacerbated due to the coronavirus pandemic, severe flooding damage from typhoons and long-lasting international sanctions.

Stressing that there are only some 80 days left until the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party in January, Kim said the remaining time is the “period of year-end struggle” and the last phase of carrying out the five-year economic plan announced during the Seventh Congress in 2016, calling the entire party and the whole country to wage another all-out campaign.

“We have performed historical feats with our costly efforts, boldly overcoming unprecedentedly grave trials and difficulties this year, but we should not rest on our laurels,” the report said. “We still face the challenges that cannot be overlooked and there are many goals we have to attain within this year.”

In 2016, Kim held the congress and announced its first five-year economic plan since the 1980s, vowing to boost its economy. Kim, however, made a rare admission of failure in achieving the stated goals in August due to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, flooding and international sanctions against the regime. He then announced the country would hold a congress in January to decide a new five-year economic plan.

The report also added the nation is faced with a “heavy and responsible” task of successfully holding events to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea slated for Saturday. Pyongyang is preparing a massive military parade to mark the occasion, with experts expecting the North to unveil new “strategic weapons” as it has previously warned.

During the meeting, Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party and the person at the helm of the North’s missile and nuclear weapons development, and Park Jong-chon, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, were granted the title of marshal of the KPA.

It appears the promotion of the North’s key military leaders is to show the North’s efforts to strengthen its self-reliance in defense through development of missiles and a nuclear program, while commending the recent military’s recovery effort on flood damage.

Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong also attended the meeting, making another public appearance after a visit accompanying the leader last week to a flood-damaged village, which marked her first public appearance in over two months.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)

[수친구]

exacerbate [igzǽsərbèit]
① 악화시키다 ② 더하게 하다 ③ 더욱 심하게 하다
words exacerbating a quarrel 싸움을 부채질하는 말.
laurel [lɔ́ːrəl]
① 월계수 ② 월계수 비슷한 나무의 총칭 ③ (집합적으로 단수·복수 취급) 월계수의 가지 ④ …을 월계관으로 장식하다
a laurel wreath 월계관
win laurels 영예를 얻다, 칭송을 받다

[수친구]

내 기억과 생각에는 박통 시절의 경제 개발 5개년 계획은 수출에 역점을 두었다. 상대적으로 싼 가격에 힘을 입어 경제가 조금씩 나아졌고 그 바탕에 기술력도 향상을 가져왔고 다시 이 두요소가 점차적으로 근대국가로 발돋움을 하게작용한 것 같다. 북한의 경우 이런 방식을 도입한다 하더라도 국제적 경제 제재가 풀리지 않는 이상은 어려울 것이다.
제품의 질과 가격이 어느 순간에 갑자기 뛰어난 경쟁력을 갖추어질 리가 없다. 그렇다면 결국 핵협상을 통한 해결책 외에는 달리 방법이 없을 것이다. 북한은 군사강국의 길을 포기하든지 경제발전의 도약을 포기하고 현 체제를 살려 약간의 실마리를 찾아나가는 방법 밖에는 없을 것이다. 당신이라면 어느 길을 선택하겠는가?
나라면 군사 강국을 포기하지 않는 길을 선택하겠다. 문제는 이 길을 선택했을 때 인민의 지지를 받을 수 있을 것인가가 문제다. 인간은 사흘 뒤에 잔치집에서 잘먹자고 그 동안 굶는 것을 거부한다.
그러면 가장 좋은 방법은 북한의 지도자층이 검소한 생활로 모범을 보여 주어야 한다
권력층이 호화생활을 하면서 인민들에게 참고 미래를 바라보자는 구호는 먹혀 들어갈 수 없다.