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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is pictured riding a white horse up Mt. Paekdu

The official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) reported on Oct. 16 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, during a visit to Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province, said that the key takeaway of 2019 was North Koreans’ ability to “pave the avenue to development and prosperity our own way.” While riding a white horse up Mt. Paektu, Kim also conceived of “a great operation to strike the world with wonder again” in 2020, the Rodong Sinmun also said.

“No matter what persistent efforts the enemy may make, we can live well with our own efforts and pave the avenue to development and prosperity our own way,” Kim said, adding that this was “a review of the year 2019.” The remarks that Kim made during on-the-spot guidance at a construction site in Samjiyon County were printed on the first two pages of the Rodong Sinmun, along with 28 photographs.

“The pain the US-led anti-DPRK [North Korea] hostile forces inflicted upon the Korean people has now turned into anger,” Kim said. “We should pave the way with our own efforts to continue to live well-off in the great spirit of self-reliance so that the enemies feel pain in their stomach and head.”

“The situation of the country is still difficult owing to the ceaseless sanctions and pressure by the hostile forces and there are many hardships and trials ahead of us,” Kim said, while adding that “we should neither want help from anyone nor lend an ear to any temptation.”

where he conceived of “a great operation to strike the world with wonder again

Kim’s remarks suggest that he will hold to his strategic line of focusing on the economy while waiting for his desired outcome instead of making hasty changes in relations with the US or South Korea in the hope of having sanctions lifted. Notably, the Rodong Sinmun article is focused not on directly criticizing the US or South Korea but on comforting and encouraging the North Korean public, who are feeling the bite of protracted sanctions.

Kim’s on-the-spot guidance in Samjiyon County comes six months after a Rodong Sinmun story on Apr. 4 emphasizing that “construction projects in Samjiyon County are a fierce class struggle and political struggle.” This was Kim’s second field guidance since the North Korea-US working-level talks in Stockholm; this visit and an earlier one to Farm No. 1116, where KPA Unit 810 develops new varieties of crops (reported in the Oct. 9 edition of the Rodong Sinmun), were both focused on the public livelihood and the economy.

After personally reviewing the second phase of construction projects at Samjiyon County (including the Samjiyon County People’s Hospital and Dental Hospital and the Samjiyon Blueberry Drink Factory) that are nearing completion, Kim said that everything was satisfactory and that he was deeply impressed by the work. Kim was accompanied by WPK First Vice Director Kim Yo-jong and WPK Propaganda and Agitation Department Vice Director Hyon Song-wol.

A story on the newspaper’s third page said that Kim “rode a white horse to the top of Mt. Paektu in the first snow” and printed eight related photographs. Kim “was accompanied by senior officials of the WPK Central Committee” on his horseback ride up the mountain, the paper said.

” according to a Oct. 16 report by the Korean Central News Agency. (Yonhap News)

As the officials with Kim watched his moments of deep contemplation, they were “convinced that there will be a great operation to strike the world with wonder again and advance the Korean revolution a step forward,” the paper reported.

Kim has previously ascended Mt. Paektu prior to crucial episodes in his rule: shortly before the execution of Jang Song-thaek (February 2013); before the third anniversary of the death of his father and former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, marking the end of the official mourning period (November 2014); and before a major shift in his foreign policy in 2018 (December 2017).

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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