North Korea’s Kim Warns of ‘Arduous March’ as Economic Problems Bite

SEOUL—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on officials to brace for a prolonged campaign to tackle the country’s worsening economic problems, comparing the crisis to the 1990s famine that claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Mr. Kim had previously warned of North Korea’s mounting challenges, which range from the impact of U.S. economic sanctions to summer floods. Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, Pyongyang also shut down foreign tourism in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, and trade with China—which accounts for roughly nine-tenths of North Korea’s total annual trade—plunged 75% last year, according to Chinese trade data.

Concluding a conference of low-level members of the ruling Workers’ Party on Thursday, Mr. Kim instructed delegates to embark on what he called an “Arduous March” to relieve the growing economic problems, according to state media. For North Koreans, the term evokes the long period of starvation in the 1990s when the country’s highly-centralized economy struggled to cope with a series of natural disasters and the end of support from the former Soviet Union.

The upheaval led to the emergence of underground markets and unofficial cross-border trade with China as millions of ordinary North Koreans struggled to survive after frequent flooding devastated farmlands, prompting the U.S. and United Nations to provide food aid.

Mr. Kim’s remarks come as Washington is conducting a review of its North Korea policy following discussions with officials in Seoul and Tokyo.

Earlier this week, Mr. Kim told the conference that North Korea was facing its “worst-ever situation” and “unprecedentedly numerous challenges.”

North Korea analysts cautioned that his remarks don’t necessarily mean that there is a threat of mass starvation on the same scale that the country endured in the 1990s. Rather, it was a message from the regime that it sees no likelihood of immediate relief from its current slump.

“If Kim had an exit plan he would present a way forward but he’s referring to the past because he doesn’t see a solution for the current economic situation,” said Cheon Seong-whun, a former South Korean national security official. “For the North Korean people, this is a devastating message.”

North Korea’s strict Covid-19 measures appear to have played a significant part in worsening an economy already weakened by the effect of U.S.-led sanctions imposed for its nuclear program.

The regime appears concerned about its ability to respond if the infection spreads widely, and recently withdrew from the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, citing the risk of its athletes contracting Covid 19.

The few remaining international aid workers left Pyongyang in the last few months as North Korea’s Covid restrictions took effect and officials also moved to curtail trade along its border with China, contributing to what could be a 10% slide in economic output last year, according to a recent estimate from Kim Byung-yeon, a professor of economics at Seoul National University. He used data from South Korea’s central bank going back to 1990 to calculate the scale of the slump. The largest previous decline was 7.1% in 1992.

Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday warned of a difficult campaign ahead to relieve the country’s economic problems.
PHOTO: /ASSOCIATED PRESS

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-koreas-kim-warns-of-arduous-march-as-economic-problems-bite-11617975639