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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un thanked the public for their trust and support “in difficult times” and wished them happiness and good health in his first New Year cards sent to his people.
Kim typically gives a televised speech on January 1, but is generally expected to ignore it this year as he will address the country’s first ruling party convention for five years in early January.
“I will work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true,” Kim said in her letter, according to the Korea Central News Agency.
“I thank people for having consistently trusted and supported our party even in difficult times,” he said. “I sincerely wish all families across the country greater happiness and beloved people good health.
North Korea is one of the most cloistered countries in the world, and it’s virtually impossible to independently confirm whether its 25 million people have received Kim’s cards. These cards were said to have been the first sent by a leader to North Korea since 1995.
Kim, who succeeded his father as North Korean leader at the end of 2011, faces the most difficult challenges of his nine-year reign due to the pandemic, several natural disasters last summer and the persistent sanctions led by the United States in a diplomatic impasse over its nuclear program.
Kim will likely use the Workers’ Party Congress as a place to gather stronger unity and set new development goals for the next few years.
The closure of North Korea’s border with China, its main trading partner, due to the pandemic is hurting the economy. Bilateral trade volume in the first 11 months of 2020 has fallen by around 79% compared to the same period in 2019, said analyst Song Jaeguk of the IBK Seoul Economic Research Institute.
The congress, the first since 2006, is officially the party’s supreme decision-making body, although the real day-to-day decisions are made by Kim and his close associates. The rubber body of delegates is expected to approve Kim’s new initiatives without much debate.
State media did not say exactly when the meeting will take place. In 2006, the congress was held for four days.
As the New Year dawns, large crowds have taken to Pyongyang’s main square to watch fireworks, a concert and a flag-raising ceremony. State television showed people wearing masks and thick coats, waving and standing close to each other.
North Korea has always claimed to be coronavirus-free – a claim questioned by outsiders. But experts also say that any outbreak was probably not generalized, so North Korea considered it prudent to hold big events like the party congress in Pyongyang.
Also on Friday, North Korea said it had carried out “an 80-day battle,” a productivity campaign it often launches to get citizens to work overtime and report higher production numbers. important before major political events. During the congress, experts say North Korea is likely to emphasize building a stronger self-sustaining economy to tackle the hardships in an attempt to get people to work harder.
KCNA said that “the all-people move forward in self-reliance” have won “a proud victory in the historic 80-day battle”. He said the North Koreans had met or exceeded the newly set quotas in factories, mines, farms, flood recovery works, anti-coronavirus measures and various other areas.
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