North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for another “hard march” to deal with the dire economic situation. It is the first time he has compared the current economic woes to the famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the 1990s.
Kim Jong Un has previously said North Korea faces the “worst ever” situation due to a combination of factors, including a Communist virus pandemic, U.S.-led sanctions and last summer’s natural disasters.
North Korean monitoring groups have not found any signs of mass starvation or humanitarian disaster. But Kim Jong Un’s comments suggest he is taking the current economic difficulties seriously. Foreign observers see this as the biggest test Kim Jong-un has faced in his nine years in power.
“There are many obstacles and difficulties ahead of us, so our struggle to implement the decision of the 8th Party Congress will not be smooth,” Kim Jong-un told the most junior cadre branch secretaries of the Workers’ Party on Thursday (April 8), according to the Korean Central News.
Kim Jong-un said, “I am determined to ask the Korean Workers’ Party organizations at all levels, including the central committee and branches, to conduct another more difficult ‘hard march’ to ease the hardships of our people even a little.”
Kim Jong Un made the remarks in a speech at the closing ceremony of the congress of branch secretaries of the Workers’ Party. In his opening speech at the congress on Tuesday, he said it was up to the grassroots secretaries of the Workers’ Party to improve the livelihood of the people in the face of the “worst situation.”
During the party congress in January, Kim Jong Un ordered officials to build a stronger self-sustaining economy, reduce dependence on imports and manufacture more consumer goods.
Analysts believe North Korea’s current economic problems stem from decades of mismanagement, self-imposed isolation and sanctions over its nuclear program.
Data from China show that trade between North Korea and its largest trading partner and aid donor, China, fell 80 percent last year after North Korea took strict measures due to the pandemic, including closing its borders.
Experts believe North Korea has no choice, as a serious outbreak of the Chinese communist virus could have dire consequences for its crumbling health care system.
A spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry told reporters Friday that there are multiple signs that North Korea is taking steps to loosen its grip on China’s borders, including its own reports that it has built new anti-virus facilities along the border and adopted new regulations on sterilizing imported goods.
North Korea has relied on international aid for years following the famine of the mid-1990s. This was exacerbated by the loss of Soviet aid, mismanagement and natural disasters. The exact number of people who died in the famine is unclear, with accounts ranging from hundreds of thousands to 2 or 3 million.
Some experts believe that North Korea’s continuing plight will not lead to famine because China will not let it happen. They say China fears a flood of North Korean refugees crossing the border or fears it will lead to the creation of a pro-U.S. unified North Korea.
North Korean official media reported that when Kim Jong Un exchanged messages with Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping last month, Xi expressed his determination to “provide a better life for the people of both countries.” Some analysts believe this indicates that the Communist Party will soon provide North Korea with much-needed food, fertilizer and other supplies that were lacking during the pandemic’s border closure.
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