Kim Jong-un thanks North Koreans for their ‘trust and support’ in New Year message
- New Year’s Day is carefully watched because for years it has been among the biggest events on the North Korean political calendar
- Kim’s next big address will be watched for the first signals of his approach to the US after Joe Biden‘s November election victory
He said he will “work hard to bring earlier the new era in which the ideals and desires of our people will come true”, the official KCNA news agency reported on Friday morning. It said he thanked “the people for having invariably trusted and supported our Party even in the difficult times”.
Beyond that, though, it’s unclear what if anything Kim has planned. New Year’s Day is carefully watched because for years it has been among the biggest events on the North Korean political calendar, an occasion for its rulers to address their people and the world.
The secretive state has so far said nothing about whether Kim will return to tradition and personally deliver an address on Friday, or surprise the world again like last year when he released a more than 4,000-word report instead. Kim could also save his rhetorical ammunition for a Workers’ Party Congress planned for early January – one of his most substantial political events since he took power almost a decade ago.
Kim’s last public speech in October at a military parade featured a rare show of emotion when he appeared to cry when he talked about economic struggles and the international sanctions. He also rolled out several new weapons designed to strike US and allied forces, including the world’s largest road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile.
Kim last appeared in North Korean state media on Wednesday in a report about him presiding over a politburo meeting. The body, among other things, set an early January timetable for North Korea’s first party congress in five years.
Any speech may give clues about Kim’s willingness to revive stalled talks to wind down his nuclear arsenal in return for easing sanctions choking North Korea’s economy. The sanctions squeeze has been exacerbated by natural disasters and Kim’s decision to shut borders due to the coronavirus – pushing the economy toward its biggest contraction since famines in the 1990s.
Biden’s camp has signalled more room for negotiations, and the president-elect’s choice for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has backed a negotiated settlement with North Korea that first freezes and then rolls back its nuclear programme in return for rewards.
“The Biden administration, as a first order of business, won’t be casting about for a splashy new deal to offer Kim Jong-un,” said Glyn Davies, a former US chief envoy for North Korea during the Obama administration who helped broker a deal to temporarily halt nuclear and long-range missile tests.
“Once consultations with our negotiating partners yield points of consensus,” Davies said, “feelers can be made to Kim Jong-un to start again down the path to denuclearisation, in exchange for some combination of concessions.”
