Kim compares N. Korea’s economic woes to famine
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for waging another “arduous march” to fight severe economic difficulties, for the first time comparing them to a 1990s famine that killed hundreds of thousands.
Mr. Kim had previously said his country faces the “worst-ever” situation due to several factors, including the pandemic, U.S.-led sanctions and heavy flooding last summer. But it’s the first time he publicly drew parallel with the deadly famine.
North Korea monitoring groups haven’t detected any signs of mass starvation or a humanitarian disaster. But Mr. Kim’s comments suggest how seriously he views the current difficulties — which observers say are the biggest test of his nine-year rule.
“There are many obstacles and difficulties ahead of us, and so our struggle for carrying out the decisions of the Eighth Party Congress would not be all plain sailing,” Mr. Kim told lower-level ruling party members on Thursday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“I made up my mind to ask the WPK (Workers’
Party of Korea) organizations at all levels, including its Central Committee and the cell secretaries of the entire party, to wage another more difficult ‘arduous march’ in order to relieve our people of the difficulty, even a little,” Mr. Kim said.
The term “arduous march” is a euphemism that North Koreans use to describe the struggles during the 1990s famine, which was precipitated by the loss of Soviet assistance, decades of mismanagement and natural disasters. The exact death toll isn’t clear, varying from hundreds of thousands to 2 million to 3 million, and North Korea depended on international aid for years to feed its people.
Mr. Kim’s speech came at the closing ceremony of a party meeting with thousands of grassroots members, called cell secretaries.
During the party congress in January, Mr. Kim ordered officials to build stronger self-supporting economy, reduce reliance on imports and make more consumer goods. But analysts are skeptical about Kim’s push, saying the North’s problems are the result of poor management, self-imposed isolation and sanctions over his nuclear program.