Kim Jong-un publishes New Year's letter instead of giving speech
전체 맥락을 이해하기 위해서는 본문 보기를 권장합니다.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un published a letter on Jan. 1 in which he "pledg[ed] once again that I will always remain faithful to the great people [of North Korea]."
On Jan. 1, the Rodong Sinmun devoted its entire front page to a 90-word letter including this pledge, which the newspaper said had been sent "to all the people, greeting the hope-filled new year, Juche 110 (2021)."
이 글자크기로 변경됩니다.
(예시) 가장 빠른 뉴스가 있고 다양한 정보, 쌍방향 소통이 숨쉬는 다음뉴스를 만나보세요. 다음뉴스는 국내외 주요이슈와 실시간 속보, 문화생활 및 다양한 분야의 뉴스를 입체적으로 전달하고 있습니다.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un published a letter on Jan. 1 in which he “pledg[ed] once again that I will always remain faithful to the great people [of North Korea].”
On Jan. 1, the Rodong Sinmun devoted its entire front page to a 90-word letter including this pledge, which the newspaper said had been sent “to all the people, greeting the hope-filled new year, Juche 110 (2021).”
In the letter, Kim said, “I offer thanks to the people for having invariably trusted and supported our Party even in the difficult times.”
“In the new year, too, I will work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true,” he also wrote.
“As we greet the new year, I extend my heartfelt greetings to all the people,” Kim said.
“I sincerely wish all the families across the country greater happiness and beloved people, good health,” he continued.
Kim’s letter differed in both content and format from his typical New Year’s address. It was markedly shorter than his previous addresses, and did not mention any major policy objectives.
Analysts said Kim may have forgone a New Year’s address because of his plans to deliver a speech including a “general project report” at the 8th Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Congress “to be held in early June,” which is to outline the “strategic tasks for the new stage of struggle” in domestic policy, inter-Korean policy, and foreign policy. In 2020, Kim substituted his New Year’s address with speeches delivered between Dec. 28 and 31, 2019, at the fifth plenary session of the 7th WPK Central Committee. This means Kim has not given a New Year’s address for two consecutive years.
It was also the first time that a North Korean leader released a letter or congratulatory message on Jan. 1 rather than a New Year’s address since 1995 — the year after the death of North Korean founder and Kim Jong-un’s grandfather Kim Il-sung — when then leader Kim Jong-un sent a short congratulatory message on Jan. 1 beginning with the words, “We greet the new year having spent 1994 crying bitter tears.”
At the top of the second page of its Jan. 1 edition, the Rodong Sinmun published a report that Kim had “visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at 00:00, January 1, 2021 together with the delegates to the 8th Congress of the Party [WPK].”
According to the newspaper, Kim visited the palace’s mausoleum where the bodies of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state and “offered them his New Year's greetings in the deepest reverence.” Also present for Kim’s visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun were “members of the Party Central Committee leadership body and the delegates to the Party Congress,” including WPK Central Committee Political Bureau Presidium members Choe Ryong-hae, Ri Pyong-chol, Kim Tok-hun, and Pak Pong-ju.
Page 6 of the same edition of the Rodong Sinmun was devoted to a Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) report that characterized the “80-day campaign” from Oct. 12 to Dec. 30 of last year as an “all-people advance by dint of self-reliance” that had achieved a “shining victory.”
A New Year’s celebratory performance, flag-raising ceremony, and fireworks display held at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang from 11 pm on Dec. 31 into early in the morning on Jan. 1 were broadcast live by Korean Central Television and covered in detail in the Jan. 1 edition of the Rodong Sinmun.
By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer
Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
Copyright © 한겨레. All rights reserved. 무단 전재, 재배포 및 크롤링 금지.
- ‘조급함’과 ‘올드함’은 이낙연의 적이다
- 수요일부터 북극 한파 강타…‘한낮 기온’도 영하 10도 아래
- 인도산 아스트라 백신 2월까지 수출 금지…한국도 영향 받나
- 본능보다 학습…‘나의 갑오징어 선생님’
- 박영선, 페북 연재물서 “서울의 꿈” 언급…서울시장 출마 초읽기
- 정세균 “화이자 백신 도입 2월로 앞당길 것…막바지 협상 중”
- 아침 드라마도 아니고…재혼·동거남까지 ‘위장 전입’ 부정 판치는 청약 시장
- 미·영은 ‘백신쪼개기’, 유럽은 ‘늑장확보’ 논란
- 주식시장 ‘1월 효과’? 통계로 따져보니…
- 박범계, 2만여㎡ 임야 재산신고 누락…“고의 아니지만 불찰”