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.