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Dictator Kim Jong Un at the party meeting in Pyongyang
Photo: AP
War rhetoric and big promises: Kim Jong Un, ruler in North Korea, has announced that he will solve the supply crisis in his country.
North Korea has suffered from chronic food shortages for years.
At the end of his tenth year in power, the dictator had prepared the ruling Labor Party and the population for a "struggle for life and death" in the new year. In his speech at the end of a five-day party meeting in Pyongyang, Kim focused on economic policy goals and overcoming supply problems. In addition, the further defense of the corona pandemic must be given top priority in state work, the state media quoted him on Saturday.
At the same time, Kim swore the participants in the meeting of the Central Committee to "militant tasks".
The aim is to strengthen defense capabilities.
The military environment on the Korean peninsula and the international situation are becoming more unstable every day.
On the other hand, he did not address his country's nuclear weapons or the USA, which Kim had described as the "main enemy" at a party congress last year.
Negotiations have stagnated for three years
According to observers, this could also indicate that the diplomatically isolated leadership in Pyongyang is still not interested in talks with Washington.
Because of its nuclear weapons program, North Korea is subject to harsh international sanctions that hamper its economic development.
The US negotiations with North Korea have not advanced for almost three years.
2022 will be a year of the "great life-and-death struggle," which must be waged successfully, said Kim.
The main task will be to implement the five-year plan decided last year "to bring about a meaningful change in the development of the state and in the living conditions of the people."
According to the reports, Kim gave a lot of space to rural development in particular.
The fundamental task is to increase agricultural production and "solve the country's food problem completely," said Kim, who was given power in late 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.
Because of several natural disasters and its own mismanagement, North Korea has been dependent on external food aid for many years.
In addition, the corona pandemic has hit the country hard in the past two years.
It closed its borders early on, which had a major impact on trade with China.
him / dpa