A dictator who admits mistakes, it is not common ... And yet, by opening the congress of the ruling party, the first in five years and only the eighth in the history of North Korea, Kim Jong Un has does his mea culpa.
In front of the 7,000 delegates, the strongman of Pyongyang drew up an observation of the failure of the five-year economic development plan adopted in 2016.
According to him, the results are "well below our objectives in almost all areas", according to the official North Korean agency KCNA.
“We intend to analyze in depth […] our experiences, lessons and the mistakes made,” he added, wearing a black suit and bearing the effigies of his father and grandfather on his lapel. who preceded him at the head of North Korea.
A new economic plan
It must be said that the country, which has never stood out for its openness to others, has even more withdrawn into itself with the coronavirus pandemic even if officially no case has been identified.
Trade with China is now only a tiny fraction of its usual level, and many embassies have closed or drastically reduced their staff ...
Except that this mea culpa perhaps hides an even stronger takeover of Kim Jong Un. The country, according to analysts, should reaffirm its ambition of self-sufficiency via a new economic plan.
On Sunday, ruling party organ Rodong Sinmun called for unwavering loyalty to the Supreme Leader, saying a "spirit of unity" was needed to ensure a "victorious" year.
"Reaffirm hostility towards the United States"
Kim Jong Un, who had his sister Kim Yo Jong elected as officials of the presidium of the congress, will also be able to strengthen his stature in the country as supreme leader and heir to the Kim dynasty, in power for seven decades.
He intends to carry out mass mobilization campaigns, asking North Koreans to work 80 days of overtime and take on new tasks to support the economy.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
But above all, a few weeks before the election of Joe Biden in the United States, the North Korean leader wants to make a show of force with a gigantic military parade.
In 2016, during the previous congress, the military parade lasted four days.
"Trump gone, North Korea will reaffirm its traditional hostility towards the United States with a foretaste of its future provocations," said Go Myong-hyun of the Asan Institute for Political Studies to AFP .
Because between Kim and Joe, tender love is already far away.
Kim called Joe Biden a "mad dog" who should be "beaten to death".
For his part, Joe Biden called Kim a "thug".
This promises strong discussions in the coming months ...