Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
North Korean leader prioritizes economic growth
A cement-making factory in North Korea's city of Sunchon. Yonhap
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
How to spur economic growth was one of the main topics of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's New Year's address, Tuesday. He devoted half his speech to emphasizing the need for economic expansion.
“We need to strengthen the might of our socialist self-dependent economy,” he said. “We must achieve the strategic goals of the state's economic development, based on our own technical skills, resources, a creative spirit of the people and revolutionary passion.”
The speech on the state's ambitions comes at a time the regime has pledged to give up its nuclear program and focus on building the economy.
Last April, at a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, Kim vowed to place priority on developing the economy, stating Pyongyang had completed work on its nuclear capability.
It is Kim's plan to take denuclearization steps to lift sanctions that have been placed by the United Nations Security Council and individual states, to enable economic development.
He said in the speech that it is an “urgent task” to vastly boost North Korea's electricity production. This would be done by focusing investment on renovating existing facilities to maximize power production, he said.
Kim also referred to building hydroelectric power facilities and developing tidal, wind and nuclear energy.
North Korea is known to have a power shortage, which widely cripples its industries. Electric trains do not run on time due to power shortages, according to a South Korean official who inspected the North's railways recently.
Kim referred to the need to strengthen regulations in the transport industry, including the railways.
He also mentioned improving construction design and techniques, including developing local districts to the level of Samjiyon County. Samjiyon has its own airport, many upgraded homes and buildings and a new recreational center for youths.
Kim also referred to the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area that is being created and building other tourist zones.
Tourism is one of the areas the North Korean leader wants to develop as a source of revenue. He mentioned a willingness to resume tours to Mount Geumgang in the North.
Kim also expressed willingness to resume operation of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North's city of Gaeseong, which was shut down over the North's missile and nuclear provocations in February 2016.
He also said the country needs to invest more in science and technology projects and cultivate experts in the field, saying innovative education is needed to enable this.