Taking the opposite stance to that of Kim Jong Il when he visited China in August, Rodong Shinmun has reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to the \u201cJuche economy\u201d and its appropriateness.<\/p>\n
In China last month, Kim is said to have told his guests, \u201cAfter reform and opening, China is alive everywhere due to rapid development,\u201d a comment that was picked up and supported by Rodong Shinmun early in September.<\/p>\n
However, through its editorial on the 18th, \u201cJuche Realization Is the Banner of Our Economic Revival and Leap Forward,\u201d the Chosun Workers\u2019 Party insisted, \u201cThere is no bigger sin than handing over a lame economy begging from others to the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
It explained, \u201cThere is no time like the present, when the principles of Juche realization stand out in front with their universality and it is the trend of economic development to develop one’s own materials and concentrate on using them.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe can live wealthily enough with the development of our inexhaustible materials for generations and prepare enough funds for the construction of an economically strong state,\u201d it went on. <\/p>\n
The editorial pointed out, \u201cLiving by relying on foreign powers is a selfish way to be; being rich only for that one generation.\u201d <\/p>\n
Regarding the contradictory direction of the editorial when compared to the positive tone since Kim\u2019s visit to China, one anonymous defector who was associated with the Party said, \u201cJust like with his visit to Shanghai in 2001, regardless of how highly Kim Jong Il praises Chinese development, the Kim Jong Il regime\u2019s principals do not change.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been many cases of China not accepting Kim Jong Il’s requirements,\u201d the defector went on, \u201cso Kim turned sullen and made a gesture to get on China\u2019s nerves. This seems like a similar case, so the North\u2019s authorities have asserted again the need for a self-supporting economy. Nothing has changed in terms of economic principle.\u201d <\/p>\n
Another such case occurred in the mid-1990s, during negotiations while North Korea was trying to obtain Chinese help with its light industry sector. At the time, China requested compensation for Chinese Peoples\u2019 Liberation Army fallen soldiers during the Korean War, so the negotiating mood immediately froze. Annoyed, Kim Jong Il ordered Chosun People\u2019s Army Chief of Staff Kim Young Chun to sell two sets of missile to Taiwan. This order was officially circulated by cadres\u2019 lectures so that it would leak out to China. Several days later, there was a sudden unofficial visit by Kim to Dandong. <\/p>\n
Whether or not the Kim Jong Il regime is really going to reveal changes to its economic policies is one point of interest for the Party Delegates\u2019 Conference, which is scheduled to begin on the 28th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taking the opposite stance to that of Kim Jong Il when he visited China in August, Rodong Shinmun has reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to the \u201cJuche economy\u201d and its appropriateness. In China last month, Kim is said to have told his guests, \u201cAfter reform and opening, China is alive everywhere due to rapid development,\u201d a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":13248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n