N. Korea to unveil new 5-year economic development plan in Jan. 2021
- 4 years ago
북한, 내년 1월 8차 당대회…새 국가발전 5개년계획 내놓는다
Back in 2016, North Korea's freshly minted leader, Kim Jong-un, held the country's first ruling Workers' Party's congress in three decades and laid out an ambitious five-year economic plan to build what he called a "great socialist country" by 2020.
On Thursday, in a rare move, he admitted that the plan had failed and said he'll come up with with a new one early next year.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
North Korea says it'll unveil its new five-year economic development plan at the 8th Workers' Party congress in January 2021.
That's earlier than scheduled... since its current five-year plan... which was presented during the seventh party congress in May 2016... is supposed to still be underway.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who presided over the Central Committee meeting on Wednesday... acknowledged the current plan wasn't working out as expected.
He blamed unexpected and inevitable challenges that prevented the regime fulfilling its plans for economic development.
Pundits suspect the move is to find a way to divert some of the blame for not achieving many of its goals that have been hamstrung by international sanctions as well as the prolonged fight against the COVID-19 pandemic... which led the North to shut its border with China, its biggest trading partner.
"The North Korean regime is trying to persuade the people that there were extenuating circumstances for its failures... rather than actually tackle the problem by evaluating national strategies, policies or structural problems."
The expert said it's too early to tell what exactly the North has in mind for its new plan... but despite Pyeongyang's emphasis on "self-development" back in January, this is unlikely to be the basis of the plan.
The key issue in the upcoming five-year plan is whether the regime takes into consideration the course of action towards denuclearization in order to seek economic development.
The timing of the North's new five-year plan will come a matter of weeks after the U.S. presidential election... raising expectations North Korea may also disclose its new external policies... amid the continued deadlock in the denuclearization talks between Pyeongyang and Washington.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.
Back in 2016, North Korea's freshly minted leader, Kim Jong-un, held the country's first ruling Workers' Party's congress in three decades and laid out an ambitious five-year economic plan to build what he called a "great socialist country" by 2020.
On Thursday, in a rare move, he admitted that the plan had failed and said he'll come up with with a new one early next year.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
North Korea says it'll unveil its new five-year economic development plan at the 8th Workers' Party congress in January 2021.
That's earlier than scheduled... since its current five-year plan... which was presented during the seventh party congress in May 2016... is supposed to still be underway.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who presided over the Central Committee meeting on Wednesday... acknowledged the current plan wasn't working out as expected.
He blamed unexpected and inevitable challenges that prevented the regime fulfilling its plans for economic development.
Pundits suspect the move is to find a way to divert some of the blame for not achieving many of its goals that have been hamstrung by international sanctions as well as the prolonged fight against the COVID-19 pandemic... which led the North to shut its border with China, its biggest trading partner.
"The North Korean regime is trying to persuade the people that there were extenuating circumstances for its failures... rather than actually tackle the problem by evaluating national strategies, policies or structural problems."
The expert said it's too early to tell what exactly the North has in mind for its new plan... but despite Pyeongyang's emphasis on "self-development" back in January, this is unlikely to be the basis of the plan.
The key issue in the upcoming five-year plan is whether the regime takes into consideration the course of action towards denuclearization in order to seek economic development.
The timing of the North's new five-year plan will come a matter of weeks after the U.S. presidential election... raising expectations North Korea may also disclose its new external policies... amid the continued deadlock in the denuclearization talks between Pyeongyang and Washington.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.