Photo: Associated Press/Hyung-Jin Kim
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hailed what he described as achievements and victories that have boosted national power and raised the country's prestige this year as he opened a key political meeting to set new policy goals for 2024, state media reported Wednesday.
Experts said North Korea will showcase its advances in weapons development as well as economic achievements amid lingering international sanctions and economic woes related to the pandemic during the ruling Labor Party's year-end plenary session this week.
In his speech on the opening day of the meeting, which began on Tuesday, Kim defined 2023 as "a year of great turnaround and great change in both name and reality, in which (North Korea) has left a big footprint in the glorious course of development in its efforts to improve national strength and raise the country's prestige," according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
KCNA said North Korea has made rapid progress in its defence capabilities this year following the November launch of its first military space satellite and the introduction of other sophisticated weapons.
KCNA also reported that North Korea has seen a rare good harvest this year as the country completed construction of new irrigation systems ahead of schedule and met major agricultural state targets. It said modern streets, new homes and other buildings have been built in Pyongyang and elsewhere around the country.
Even according to a recent assessment by South Korea's State Administration for Rural Development, North Korea's grain production this year is estimated at 4.8 million tonnes, up 6.9 % from last year's 4.5 million tonnes, thanks to favourable weather conditions.
The party meeting, which is expected to last a few days, will review state projects from this year and set new goals for next year. In recent years, North Korea has published the results of its meetings, including Kim's closing speech, on state media on Jan. 1, allowing him to skip a New Year's address.
Hong said the focus outside North Korea will be on what he says about relations with the United States, China and Russia, and on steps he will take to consolidate Kim's leadership as he turns 40 next month.
Last week, North Korea test-fired its most advanced solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, which is designed to hit the US mainland. North Korea said it will launch the Hwasong-18 missile, the third of its kind this year, in 2023.
On November 21, North Korea launched its first military spy satellite into orbit.
The launch of the Hwasong-18 missile and spy satellite was part of a series of weapons tests North Korea has been conducting since last year. Kim says he has been forced to expand his nuclear arsenal to cope with growing hostility from the US and its allies towards the North.
In recent years, the North Korean economy has been severely damaged by pandemic-related restrictions and sanctions, according to monitoring groups, but there are no signs of a humanitarian crisis or social chaos.
Associated Press Jiwon Song/JaV
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