Rodong Sinmun is North Korea’s Party-run
publication, which is used for propaganda to glorify the leadership. Today,
we’ll have the opportunity to analyze its contents with Seo Jae Pyong, secretary general of The Association for North Korean Defectors.
The
first page of the Rodong Sinmun on June 28 ran a lead story encouraging the
fulfillment of the five-year economic growth plan presented by Kim Jong Un at
the 7th Party Congress in May. This article was timed for publication directly
before the Supreme People’s Assembly was held. What explains this timing?
Legislation and ordinances are needed to
realize the policies laid out by the five-year economic development plan, which was presented in May at
the 7th Workers’ Party Congress. The Rodong Sinmun is thus being used as a
publicity vehicle to gain the support of the residents for the five-year
strategy for economic development.
Even if the economic plan is faithfully
attempted, do you think that the strategic goals it outlines are practical
given the current political climate?
To provide a bit of background on North
Korea’s previous economic plans: The first seven-year economic plan was suspended in
mid-operation, and the second seven-year plan was declared to have been
completed but it was not wholly fulfilled. Kim Jong Un expressed his intention
to make this current five-year plan different by carrying it out to completion
at the Party Congress. However, under a realistic assessment, there are
practically no people in North Korea who believe the new policies will be
completely implemented. The ordinary folks in North Korea assume the Party is
simply broadcasting its goals, but given the current environment, they don’t
believe the plan can be accomplished.
I think the reason Kim Jong Un is trying to
enforce these goals is because he knows that since the second seven-year plan
was established in 1980, the country has been more or less rudderless in terms
of top-down economic strategy. That is why he has announced the new plan and
will try to implement it. He needs to clearly state what the goals are so as to
justify assertively ‘encouraging’ the residents to pitch in. You can look at
the five-year plan as a political structure that validates coercive policies
such as the “200-Day Battle,” a mass mobilization currently underway which
forces residents to work on various for no compensation.
The fact the Kim Jong Un is expressing
some interest in economic development can be interpreted as a positive sign.
The problem is that the residents are the ones who will have to do the grunt
work to make the plan possible, so it makes me wonder about their take on
the five-year plan.
Many residents were quietly hoping that
marketization policies would be announced at the 7th Party Congress. Instead,
the bulk of the content was directed at propping up the so-called “Byungjin
Line,” which supports the simultaneous development of nuclear weapons and the
economy. This came as disappointing news for ordinary folks, particularly after
they witnessed the gifts and feasts presented to convention participants.
The money for this lavish treatment was
raised by the hard work of the residents. Therefore, the fact that the policies
announced at the Congress did not bestow benefits to ordinary residents came as
a particularly painful blow. Because of this history of disappointment, most
people are apathetic about the five-year plan and will continue to wait for a
strategy that delivers real benefits for them, such as further marketization.
Rodong Sinmun carried a story titled,
“When Labor Mismanagement Is Not Addressed,” pertaining to a general labor
strike in South Korea on page 6 of the June 23 issue. The purpose of the
article is to persuade North Koreans that labor conditions in the South are
comparatively inferior. However, this is a curious way of doing so since North
Korean workers lack the right to strike. Therefore, doesn’t this kind of
article actually expose an injustice in North Korea? .
In North Korea, there isn’t even a commonly
used word for ‘strike.’ The word only appears in articles like this one that
report on South Korean news. And since the idea of striking is taboo in North
Korea, it’s not a word that can be used freely. In fact, merely uttering the
word is seen as resistance to the regime, and as such the use of the word has
been extinguished through intimidation.
If that is the case, then, what is the
current status of laborers in North Korea? Is it fair to say that their status
has changed in recent years?
North Korean laborers do not and have never
had a high social status. North Korea touts itself as a society dedicated to
the working class, but in reality it is a society dedicated to the Workers’
Party. It is said that workers have rights, but the situation is much different
in truth. Kim Jong Un wields absolute power of the Workers’ Party. The
laborers, in turn, are forced to dedicate their loyalty and labor to him in a
system akin to slavery, depriving them of their most basic rights.
This has been a closer look at North
Korea’s state newspaper, Rodong Sinmun. I’d like to thank Mr. Seo,
secretary general of the Association for North Korean Defectors, for
speaking with us.
