On May 9th, the seventh Workers' Party Congress in North Korean history came to a close. Following the event, multiple publications on the topic have shown up in the state-run Rodong Sinmun. Today, we will take a scrupulous look at these publications and try to discern truth from distortion. Joining us is secretary general of the Association for North Korean Defectors, So Jae Pyong. 

1. As expected, the May 10th issue of Rodong Sinmun is plastered with headlines and photos of the recent Workers¡¯ Party Congress. Most of these photos are of Kim Jong Un. There is a lot of chatter that he had a difficult time at the event. What do you think? 

Well, Rodong Sinmun only published pictures of Kim Jong Un posing. However, sitting down at the congress all day long, for multiple days in a row, would certainly be rough for someone in his physical condition. During his address, which ran for three hours consecutive, his voice was hoarse and his bearing shoddy. In the video, we can see that he started the address by placing his speech on the podium and reading, but by the halfway point, he was holding it and sort of leaning on the table in front of him.

Interestingly, we saw him holding the script close to his face while reading, which is an indicator of poor eyesight for someone his age. Also, his voice is not the sonorous voice of a man in his 30s, but the gravelly voice of a man in his 50s. It¡¯s clear that he is in less than ideal shape and is easily fatigued. 

2. The last page of the May 10th issue is loaded with various pleas to the military and populace. They advocate ¡°continuing to progress the dominance of socialism at ¡®Mallima Speed¡¯.¡± How do you think North Koreans are reacting to this type of rhetoric?

According to everyone in North Korea with whom I've spoken regarding the event, the people couldn¡¯t care less about these pleas or their leader¡¯s address. They were completely drained from the "70-Day Battle" leading up to the congress and were eagerly awaiting its finish. Furthermore, the people were hoping for policy change regarding the markets and agriculture--their means of survival--but nothing substantive was mentioned. 

Furthermore, there is a lot discontent with the various slogans emphasizing this new ¡®Mallima Speed¡¯. They are saying, ¡°We barely made it by on ¡®Chollima Speed¡¯ [a slogan from previous eras], why would ¡®Mallima Speed¡¯ be any better?¡± They are calling it Kim Jong Un¡¯s anachronistic propaganda. North Koreans are upset with a leader that is unabashedly ignorant of his people. 

Especially notable is the fact that when asked about the congress and related messaging, most people show indifference. Their bodies were in front of the TV watching the congress, but their minds were at the jangmadang [market economy].

3. Let¡¯s move on to the May 13th issue. On the front page, there is a commemorative photo with every participant at the congress. Both the background and the picture itself are quite spectacular. I would wager there is a propaganda agenda at play here, but I¡¯m curious how the people think when they see a photo like this.

The age of influencing people through a photo like has long since passed. North Koreans grimace at this picture and call it ¡°Kim Jong Un and the cadres¡¯ Party¡± and ¡°a disgraceful sight that has nothing to do with the real people.¡± There is also talk that some even spit on the picture after seeing it, criticizing its irrelevance to their lives. 

4. We saw an article emphasizing grain production on page five of the 13th issue of the Rodong Sinmun entitled, ¡°This Year¡¯s Uphill Battle for Grain¡± and then again on the front page on the 16th issue, ¡°Band Together for the Rice-Planting Battle.¡± It would appear that North Korea is still dealing with their chronic grain underproduction. What seems to be the problem?

The main problem is that even the farmers themselves are suffering from hunger and are therefore turning their attention away from their official farm duties and working private secret farms on the side. This is because they till the earth tirelessly all year long on their official farms only to have their produce taken away for the military and State rations. They are only met with poverty and starvation based on this system so it¡¯s easy to see their lack of drive to work hard for more production. Based on this, they have no other choice but to have an almost forced production system on the collective farms. The government needs to implement some kind of policy to improve the quality of the lives of these farmers but that just simply isn¡¯t the case. Farmers have zero interest in the production of their crops because of this system. They¡¯re really only focused on their separate, private crops. I think the only way to alleviate the hunger and poverty that citizens are suffering from is to completely do away with this type of quota system.

5. After the congress there was a mass rally, ¡°Rise up for the construction of the great socialist state¡± in Nampo, South Hwanghae Province. Everyone had already suffered working on the "70-Day Battle" for the party congress, but then were bothered with more preparations even after it had ended. Do you think this created more dissatisfaction among citizens?

From what I¡¯ve gathered from my sources in North, those that participated in the party congress all returned to their homes on May 16th. Those that returned first from the congress to Nampo, South Hwanghae Province did indeed hold a mass rally, which can really only be considered forced labor considering how exhausted residents are from the protracted mobilizations preceding the Party Congress. I predict that some citizens will probably be relatively vocal about their discontent.