Seoul, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un acknowledged that his country is facing the “worst situation ever” when he addressed thousands of base members of his ruling party at a major political conference in Pyongyang.
Experts say Kim may be facing his most difficult moment as he approaches a decade in rule, with North Korea’s coronavirus blockage further shaking an economy ravaged by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions on its nuclear weapons program.
The official North Korea Central News Agency said Kim made the comments during an opening speech at a meeting of the Labor Party cell secretaries on Tuesday.
KCNA via Reuters
“Improving the living standards of the people … even in the worst situation where we have to overcome unprecedented challenges depends on the role that the cells play, the grassroots organizations of the party,” said Kim.
He urged members to implement decisions made at a party convention in January when he pledged to strengthen his nuclear deterrent under US pressure and announced a new five-year national development plan. The Congress came months after Kim showed unusual candor at another political conference in acknowledging that his plans to improve the economy were unsuccessful.
During Tuesday’s speech, Kim also criticized the party’s basic units for unspecified “shortcomings” that he said needed to be promptly corrected 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 lives 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 took place in 2017.
Due to the economic setbacks, Kim has failed to reveal his ambitious diplomacy with former President Trump, who collapsed over disagreements about lifting sanctions for the North’s denuclearization moves.
Pyongyang has so far rejected the Biden administration’s overture to the talks, saying Washington must first abandon its “hostile” policies and increase pressure by resuming ballistic missile testing last month after a one-year pause. .