ID :
77159
Thu, 08/27/2009 - 09:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/77159
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean leader orders 'self-reliance' under U.N. sanctions
SEOUL, Aug. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il urged provincial units to increase efforts to provide for themselves, state media said Wednesday, a possible acknowledgment of the country's lack of resources in the face of U.N. sanctions.
"Many things are in short supply or insufficient to meet our demand, but that
doesn't mean we should depend on the outside forces to resolve this situation,"
Kim said in a June 25 speech to ranking officials of the Workers' Party, the
military and economic organizations, according to the Korean Central Broadcasting
Station, a state-run radio station.
The so-called "self-reliance" slogan has been a major doctrine for the North's
frail economy, which lacks access to loans from international institutions like
the World Bank. The country now faces tougher financial sanctions and a trade
embargo under U.N. Resolution 1874 that was adopted just after its second nuclear
test in May. Cash inflows to the country are strictly scrutinized for their
possible link to its weapons programs.
"So as to become a pioneer of self-reliance in this era of a new revolutionary
upsurge, one has to be determined to fight on one's own, with or without support
from higher places," Kim said, apparently referring to the central government.
Workers "should stand on their own and put fuel on the fire of the great upsurge
even if money, equipment and materials are not provided" by the central
government, he said, praising the recent construction of the Wonsan Youth Power
Station on the country's east.
Kim, 67, has considerably raised his field activities this year in a sign that he
is recovering after a reported stroke in August last year. Lingering skepticism
about his health appeared to subside after he held hours of separate talks with
former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South
Korea's Hyundai Group, earlier this month.
Kim did not mention U.N. sanctions in the speech, but his forthright
acknowledgment of shortages in resources may be a reference to the difficult
situation Pyongyang now faces.
Kim also ordered science and technology development, saying "Time has already
passed when you could make things out of a hammer."
North Korea aims to build a "great prosperous and powerful nation" by 2012, the
birth centennial of the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, and when the current
leader turns 70.
In 2008, North Korea's economy grew for the first time in three years, recording
3.7 percent, but its gross national income still accounted for less than 3
percent of South Korea's, or US$24.8 billion compared to $934.7 billion.
"Many things are in short supply or insufficient to meet our demand, but that
doesn't mean we should depend on the outside forces to resolve this situation,"
Kim said in a June 25 speech to ranking officials of the Workers' Party, the
military and economic organizations, according to the Korean Central Broadcasting
Station, a state-run radio station.
The so-called "self-reliance" slogan has been a major doctrine for the North's
frail economy, which lacks access to loans from international institutions like
the World Bank. The country now faces tougher financial sanctions and a trade
embargo under U.N. Resolution 1874 that was adopted just after its second nuclear
test in May. Cash inflows to the country are strictly scrutinized for their
possible link to its weapons programs.
"So as to become a pioneer of self-reliance in this era of a new revolutionary
upsurge, one has to be determined to fight on one's own, with or without support
from higher places," Kim said, apparently referring to the central government.
Workers "should stand on their own and put fuel on the fire of the great upsurge
even if money, equipment and materials are not provided" by the central
government, he said, praising the recent construction of the Wonsan Youth Power
Station on the country's east.
Kim, 67, has considerably raised his field activities this year in a sign that he
is recovering after a reported stroke in August last year. Lingering skepticism
about his health appeared to subside after he held hours of separate talks with
former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South
Korea's Hyundai Group, earlier this month.
Kim did not mention U.N. sanctions in the speech, but his forthright
acknowledgment of shortages in resources may be a reference to the difficult
situation Pyongyang now faces.
Kim also ordered science and technology development, saying "Time has already
passed when you could make things out of a hammer."
North Korea aims to build a "great prosperous and powerful nation" by 2012, the
birth centennial of the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, and when the current
leader turns 70.
In 2008, North Korea's economy grew for the first time in three years, recording
3.7 percent, but its gross national income still accounted for less than 3
percent of South Korea's, or US$24.8 billion compared to $934.7 billion.
