At a year-end party meeting, North Korea’s leadership declared a shift in the relationship between the two Koreas as one between two enemy states. Some North Koreans Daily NK spoke to said the declaration extinguished the small hope for unification they once had.
Speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK on Jan. 8: “We don’t know when reunification will happen, but in my heart, I was hoping that it would happen quickly so that we could live well like other countries. Now, however, it seems that reunification has become a completely impossible task, which is depressing.”
Another source in the country told Daily NK: “I didn’t have high hopes for reunification, but I thought it would happen someday. This meeting has convinced me that it won’t happen. I feel confused and disappointed.”
At the party meeting, Kim Jong Un stated: “It is unbecoming of our national character and status to discuss the issue of reunification with strange groups that are nothing more than colonial pawns of the United States just because of the rhetorical expression that we are kin.
“We must speed up preparations for a major change to pacify the entire territory of South Chosun by mobilizing all physical means and capabilities, including nuclear weapons in case of emergency,” Kim ordered, referring to South Korea.
Kim’s statement was a blatant reminder that North Korea will continue to provoke the South while focusing on developing its military capabilities, including nuclear missiles.
No more hope for unification?
North Koreans have been urged by their government to chant for decades “Our wish is reunification,” but many people in the country feel that it is “ridiculous” Kim claimed that unification cannot be achieved anymore.
During the year-end party meeting, North Korea’s leadership emphasized that unification was impossible, leading to discouragement among some people who had hoped that reunification would lead to a better life.
In fact, many North Koreans believe that rather than pouring resources into strengthening the country’s defense capabilities, the government should focus on stabilizing market prices so that people can make a living.
“The state says it has produced more grain than planned, but state-run food shops are closed for more than two weeks per month because there is no supply of grain,” one of the sources said. “Food prices have also started to rise since last month.”
He added: “The same is true for seafood and coal. We can only enjoy them once a year during the holidays, and the price of coal has exceeded KPW 300,000 per ton.”
However, at the year-end party meeting, North Korean officials claimed that “remarkable achievements in the overall people’s economy were outlined,” with the economy occupying all the “12 high points of People’s Economic Development,” including “a 103% increase in grain, a 100% increase in electricity, coal, and nitrogenous fertilizer, and a 105% increase in seafood products.”
While the party session touted the achievements of various economic sectors, there has been no real economic improvement for the people, one of the sources claimed.
“People don’t expect the state to do anything for them,” she said. “They just want to be able to move around freely to improve their lives and for circumstances to improve so they can do business and make a living.”
Translated by Robert Lauler.
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January 08, 2024 at 11:30AM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)