Lack of military attire among WPK officials at anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death

Posted on : 2018-12-18 17:02 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Wardrobe adjustment likely a political message underlining “economy first” policy
The front page of the Dec. 17 edition of the Rodong Sinmun
The front page of the Dec. 17 edition of the Rodong Sinmun

On the seventh anniversary of the death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim’s son and successor Kim Jong-un repeatedly emphasized the slogan of “building a powerful economy.” This is a notable message, given concerns expressed in some quarters that Kim was planning to adjust his strategic focus on the economy. In addition to the ongoing deadlock in North Korea-US negotiations, Kim hadn’t made any public appearances since performing an “on-the-spot guidance” at a shoe factory in Wonsan (reported by the Rodong Sinmun on Dec. 3).

The Rodong Sinmun reported on Dec. 17 that Kim Jong-un had “visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the seventh anniversary of the passing of Comrade Kim Jong-il,” which the paper described as “the nation’s supreme day of remembrance.”

Kim Jong-un “urged us to remain strong in our fight to fully achieve the plans and dreams of the General [Kim Jong-il] without yielding a single step,” the newspaper said.

Especially notable is the photo of Kim’s visit to the palace that ran on the Rodong Sinmun’s front page. Not one of the “senior members of the Central Committee of the [Workers’] Party [of Korea]” who are standing next to and behind Kim are dressed in military attire. Aside from Kim himself, who is wearing a Mao suit, all of them are dressed in Western-style suits. During previous memorial services for Kim Jong-il, who had pursued a songun policy of “military first,” high-ranking officials wearing military uniforms had initially stood on both sides of Kim Jong-un. But they had gradually moved a few rows behind Kim as their status decreased, during this service, military uniforms disappeared altogether.

This wardrobe adjustment is being seen as a deliberate political message to the outside world underlining that North Korea is holding to its new strategic line of “focusing all energy on building a socialist economy,” which was adopted during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) on Apr. 20. This line means that the North has “shifted from ‘military first’ (nuclear weapons) to ‘economy first’ (a pursuit of peace),” according to former South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok.

“Our greatest duty today is to build a powerful economy. We must boldly wage war to increase production and creativity,” said a commemorative editorial printed at the top of the second page of the Rodong Sinmun. In another memorial piece, the Rodong Sinmun claimed that, over the course of his life, Kim Jong-il had conducted “on-the-spot guidance on some 14,290 separate occasions” while covering “some 1,674,610 ri [10ri is around 4km; about 670,000km].”

“He was working for the strength and prosperity of the nation and for the happiness of its people,” the article said, once again placing the emphasis on the economy.

“This is seen as a message that [the North] means to hold to the line of focusing on the economy that was adopted in the plenary session of the WPK Central Committee on Apr. 20,” said an official in the South Korean government.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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