North Korean Leader Urges Action on Local Economic Development

Kim Jong Un of North Korea has strongly demanded improvements in the local economy, stating, “The fact that we are unable to provide even necessities to the local people is a serious political issue that our party and government cannot ignore today.”

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 25th, Kim made this statement at the 19th expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held on the 23rd and 24th.

He criticized, “Some policy guidance departments and economic institutions have been merely talking without finding realistic and revolutionary possibilities in improving the material and cultural life of the local people.”

He also expressed disappointment, saying, “Even at this plenary meeting, a passive attitude was taken by building local industrial factories only in a few cities and counties where conditions are favorable, and the rest of cities and counties took a passive attitude, just urging preparedness for building.”

He warned the meeting participants that if this attitude continues, “We must admit without excuse or pretext that we cannot execute our party’s economic development policy accurately and bring about a distinct change in people’s lives at any time.”

He continued, “The current overall local economy is in a very pathetic state without even basic conditions,” and repeatedly emphasized, “Being passive does not fit constitutionally. Can we do it? We must and will do it. We must do it.”

Kim emphasized, “Our party’s local development 20×10 policy is not an ideal or propagandistic thing that has been discussed in the past, but a huge transformative line decided based on a practical plan.”

The local development 20×10 policy is a national strategy for regional economic improvement announced by Kim in his administrative policy speech at the 10th meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly on the 15th. It involves building modern local industrial factories in 20 counties yearly to improve the people’s primary material and cultural life level in 10 years.

He instructed the building of local industrial factories in two counties in each province yearly and mentioned a plan to mobilize the People’s Army for this purpose sequentially.

Kim signed the order “On Mobilizing People’s Army Units for the Struggle to Implement the Decision of the 19th Expanded Meeting of the Political Bureau of the 8th Central Committee of the Party to Create a Local Industrial Revolution.”

He also revealed, “The party center will evaluate the party nature, people’s nature, and responsibility of the provincial, city, and county party secretaries in charge of the local development policy execution,” signaling that he would hold the party’s local officials accountable.