No Solution at the North Korean Plenary Meeting... "Food Shortage Resolution Unlikely"

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, emphasized the necessity of achieving this year's agricultural production targets at the Workers' Party plenary meeting, where 'agricultural issues' were a major agenda item. North Korea self-assessed that the plenary meeting marked a 'turning point to promote revival,' but since the conclusions mainly focused on appeasing public sentiment rather than presenting concrete solutions, it is expected that resolving the food shortage in the short term will be difficult.

According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 2nd, Chairman Kim appealed as a conclusion of the expanded meeting of the 7th plenary session of the 8th Central Committee of the Party, held over four days from the 26th of last month to the day before, saying, "For the comprehensive development of socialist construction, for the dignity of our country and the welfare of the people, let us resolutely capture the 'grain heights' this year and successfully achieve the prospective goals of agricultural development."

Kim Jong-un delivering a speech at the plenary meeting.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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At the 6th plenary meeting held at the end of last year, North Korea presented 'grain' as the first of the 12 important heights that must be achieved this year. Chairman Kim emphasized that rural issues are a 'strategic problem' that must be solved and urged, "It should be a fundamental principle of agricultural production guidance to focus on raising the yield per unit of information at all farms."

He pointed out measures to increase agricultural production, including ▲ vigorous promotion of irrigation construction ▲ distribution of 'new and efficient' agricultural machinery ▲ reclamation of tidal flats and expansion of arable land area. To realize these, he also urged the Agricultural Committee, Agricultural Research Institute, and Meteorological and Hydrological Bureau to fulfill their respective roles. However, these measures had already been presented before, so it is difficult to say that any new meaningful conclusions were drawn to increase agricultural production.

In addition, the meeting addressed the 'establishment of discipline for fulfilling the people's economy plan' and 'improvement of the national financial and fiscal business.' Chairman Kim emphasized, "We must intensify the fight against acts that weaken the organizational power and execution ability of the Cabinet and thoroughly direct and subordinate Party work to the execution of Party policies." Regarding the 'improvement of national financial and fiscal business,' Premier Kim Tok-hun reported on improving banking operations and establishing a scientific national financial system.

In particular, in his closing remarks, Chairman Kim self-assessed, "(Through this plenary meeting) we have established more definite measures to firmly place agriculture on a stable and sustainable development track within the next few years and created a turning point that can promote the comprehensive revival of the country."

In September 2012, North Korean farmers in Kaesong are sorting harvested corn in the field. [Image source=Getty Images]

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It is known that North Korea has recently experienced a surge in starvation deaths across various regions due to food shortages. The reconvening of the plenary meeting within just two months signals the urgency of the situation. However, contrary to the confident self-assessment, reports from North Korean media did not present any effective solutions or concrete implementation plans. Only propaganda aimed at appeasing public sentiment was evident. Experts also believe that resolving the food shortage will not be easy.

Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, evaluated, "There is no new content regarding food production increase, and there is no mention of the grain policy that caused the current food shortage, so it is expected that the supply policy centered on control will continue. The issues raised in the improvement of national financial and fiscal business suggest difficulties in financing for fiscal operations." He added, "The fact that some parts of the decision documents were kept confidential suggests that some clauses from the 6th plenary meeting may have been revised or that the target heights were lowered."

Professor Im Eul-chul of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University said, "This year is the second year for realizing the 'New Era Rural Revolution Program,' and the fact that the Kim Jong-un regime treated agricultural issues as a separate agenda at the plenary meeting indicates its importance," but he pointed out, "Although they discussed urgent tasks and practical measures to find a breakthrough, based on the reported content alone, it is difficult to find new goals, strategies, or concrete implementation plans."

An official from the Ministry of Unification told reporters on the same day, "There is nothing particularly new regarding food production increase, and most of the content repeated existing tasks while emphasizing the role of rural guidance institutions," adding, "There was no mention of grain policy, so it seems that it was either not discussed or kept confidential. The Analysis Bureau is conducting an analysis of the details."

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