North Korea’s Party-run publication Rodong Sinmun launched a diatribe against international sanctions on the front page of its February 27 edition, calling the measures an “economic blockade” that is destroying the country’s ability to develop.
“Our independence, our right to exist, and our right to develop are being obliterated by the economic blockade being carried out by the US and its puppets,” the article said.
The article also stressed the need to “furiously boost” coal-powered electricity production. “Today, our coal and electricity production is the destiny of socialism and the frontline of the battle against our enemy’s barbaric sanctions,” the article said.
“Electricity is fundamental to the people’s economy, and coal, the food of the Juche system, is an important resource. If we raise the spirit of our great development, we can boost our efforts in the coal and electricity sector,” it continued.
Another article on page 5 of the February 27 edition focused on the idea of “self-reliance,” laying out a detailed plan of action.
“We must fight to make the mining process at coal mines automated and more efficient, and improve the diversification of transportation. The coal mines should be well-managed and compressors and winches must receive proper maintenance,” the article stated.
The article serves as a typical “lead-by-example” message of encouragement, lauding the efforts of coal miners in the Tokchon region making pumps and air compressors, and urging readers to “trust in the great coal miners.”
“Knowing the situation in our country, how can anyone sit with their palms open, waiting for help?” it added, encouraging ordinary people to actively contribute their own trucks for coal transport.
The North Korean authorities are squarely blaming the US and the international community for their economic difficulties and shifting the burden of the problem on to ordinary people. With UN Sanctions Resolution 2371 preventing the North from legally exporting coal, the authorities – who no longer receive payments for coal – have halted production and are thus hoping to encourage normal residents, who will not receive remuneration, to step in and restart production.
But the people of North Korea are apparently not so easily convinced.
According to a source in South Pyongan Province, the people suffering the most are the workers of both affected industries in North Korea and from companies being expelled from China. Without the security of government-sponsored jobs, these workers are highly skeptical that the authorities will provide anything in exchange for answering the latest calls to production.
“The government does not even provide them with a salary, and when the survival of the workers is threatened, (the government) remains concerned only with its own survival,” she said. “When (the government) shows no sincere efforts to improve the situation, it’s impossible to make the workers voluntarily contribute.”
The Chinese authorities have recently stepped up efforts to enforce trade sanctions against the North, increasing the number of inspections and rejecting any items found to contain hydraulic machinery, for example. These developments are likely to make it more difficult for North Korea to accomplish its plans to shift to a more “self-reliant” economy.
