In a rare admission, North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un acknowledged the dire living conditions in his country during a recent government meeting.
Speaking to the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim expressed concern over the stark disparity in living standards between urban and rural areas.
Kim Jong Un stated, "Today, failure to satisfactorily provide the people in local areas with basic living necessities including condiments, foodstuff and consumption goods has arisen as a serious political issue that our Party and government can never sidestep," as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The Supreme Leader urged government officials to take responsibility for the deteriorating quality of life, particularly those who have been complacent. He insisted that they should "admit without saying a word or an excuse" their inability to implement the Workers' Party of Korea's agenda.
Kim Jong Un's speech, characterized by lengthy and complex statements, highlighted the plight of impoverished rural communities. He emphasized the urgency of developing the countryside, a project he described as a "great revolutionary stage."
"As we are now in the course of effecting a great change for the project of developing the countryside, which was already raised, through a grand struggle, fully aware of the importance and urgency of the building of a new socialist ideal rural construction in the light of the demand of the turning phase for ushering in a period of socialist comprehensive development, it is easier said than done to undertake and strictly carry out the overall development of regional industry, another front and another great revolutionary stage," Kim said, according to KCNA.
This candid address is a departure from the regime's usual rhetoric, which often boasts of good governance and societal prosperity. North Korea, however, remains one of the world's poorest nations, plagued by economic mismanagement and crippling international trade sanctions.
A South Korean Unification Ministry official, as reported by Yonhap News Agency, said, "North Korea had concentrated its resources in Pyongyang to secure support for the regime among its core population. But resources have become more scarce amid continued sanctions."
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