Kim Jong-wandel: North Korea dictator has a new goal – politics abroad

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No more hostility towards the US, no more the nuclear weapons program …

North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un (37) has set himself a surprising target.

While he spent years flexing his muscles against the West, the people of North Korea suffered from mismanagement, natural disasters and food shortages.

And that’s exactly what Kim now supposedly wants to change!

Note for the change of course: In his speech at the end of the year, North Korea’s rulers talked more about tractor factories and school uniforms than about nuclear weapons or the USA.

The state media sounded that North Korea’s goals for 2022 were to revive the economy and improve people’s living conditions “in the great struggle for life and death”.

The main task will be to implement the five-year plan decided last year “to bring about a meaningful change in the development of the state and in the living conditions of the people”.

According to the reports, Kim gave a lot of space to rural development in particular. The fundamental task is to increase agricultural production and “completely solve the country’s food problem,” said Kim, who was given power in late 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

Photo: STR / AFP

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New Year’s Eve party for the townspeople in PyongyangPhoto: STR / AFP

The domestic political focus of the speech revealed the economic crisis the country has been in since it became even more sealed off due to the corona pandemic.

Is the pressure on Kim Jong-un just too great?

“Kim Jong-un has certainly stabilized his power base in North Korea in the 10 years of his rule, but he is probably not the absolute ruler like his father. This is due to the poor economic situation in the country, caused by the sanctions and the self-chosen foreclosure due to the corona pandemic, “explains North Korea expert Hartmut Koschyk (62) to BILD.

And further: “When he took office, he had promised the North Koreans two things: invulnerability through the nuclear and missile program he was promoting, but at the same time also improving living standards. His slogan: no Koreans have to tighten their belts like they did during the famine in his father’s time. He only kept his word to the military, the party and his family in terms of the nuclear program and certainly also achieved a gain in prestige through the summit diplomacy of the Trump era. “

Neujahrswechsel auf NordkoreanischPhoto: STR / AFP

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New Year’s Eve in North KoreanPhoto: STR / AFP

Can a change of course save North Korea from the abyss?

“The supply situation in the country is described as very poor to catastrophic and it is not yet possible to foresee how the poor economic situation will affect Kim Jong-un’s position of power in the medium and long term,” said Koschyk.

“Because there will be no short- and medium-term improvement here: no dismantling of sanctions, since no progress in negotiations on the nuclear issue with the USA is to be expected. With the Omikron variant, North Korea will continue to keep its borders with China and Russia closed so that trade will not get off the ground, ”predicts Koschyk.

The plenary session of the eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in 2021 ended with Kim Jong-un’s speech. The dictator has often used New Year’s addresses in the past to make significant political announcements.

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