North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un launches the first productivity campaign. The introduction of the bill is to revive the economy, which has seen a fall due to sanctions and floodings.
The 80-days battle
The Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, calls for an 80-day battle at a meeting of his ruling Workers’ Party. Earlier this week, on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reports, “We will still face the challenges, yet there are many goals we have to attain within this year,” a report from the meeting said.
According to NK News, Kim last issued a similar call in 2016 to finish up projects before a Party Congress. North Korea’s latest campaign aims to complete tasks just in time for the rare political meeting, conducted in January. It is for the next Party Congress.
The significance of the battle
North Korea is heading toward its most significant economic contraction since 1997, as COVID-19 led to border closures as well as the destruction of large swathes of crops due to flooding.
Kim then issued a rare warning for North Korea’s economy in August. He told party leaders that his country is “facing unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects,” adding that his development goals had been “seriously delayed.”
Reflecting back
The productivity campaigns allow North Korea to divert resources and personnel to priority projects. It was thus offering quick fixes for an economy facing shortages of oil, building materials due to sanctions related to its nuclear weapons program.
In recent months, Kim has also lashed out at cadres over what he saw as lax virus management. The leader further blasted the people responsible for constructing his showcase Pyongyang General Hospital.
North Korean Politburo starts ’80-day battle’ ahead of January Party Congress – https://t.co/A4jSGjgGi0
— NK NEWS (@nknewsorg) October 5, 2020
Kim Jong Un on the big day
Coming to the Politburo meeting. VC of the Workers’ Party Ri Pyong Chol and the chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army Pak Jong Chon got promotions. North Korea on Saturday is set for significant festivities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its ruling Workers’ Party.
Satellite images indicate that Kim is preparing for a military parade, which he has used to show off his latest missiles.
This time North Korea watchers are looking for an intercontinental ballistic missile that incorporates solid-fuel technology. Such missiles would be quicker to deploy and launch than the current liquid-fuel models. Thus, using such missiles would give the U.S. less time to take it out on the pad or intercept the rocket in the air.
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