In his opening-day speech at the meeting that began Tuesday, Kim Jong Un defined 2023 “as a year of great turn and great change both in name and reality, in which (North Korea) left a great trace in the glorious course of development in the efforts to improve the national power and enhance the prestige of the country,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

KCNA reported that North Korea achieved a rapid advancement in its defense capabilities this year, as the country launched its first military spy satellite in November and introduced other sophisticated weapons during the year.

KCNA also stated that North Korea reported a rare good harvest this year owing to new irrigation systems built ahead of schedule and met major agricultural objectives set by the government.

According to South Korea’s state-run Rural Development Administration, North Korea’s grain production was estimated at 4.8 million tons, a 6.9% increase from last year’s 4.5 million tons.

Kim Jong Un’s year-end meeting: What expert said?

Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, said Pyongyang avoided publicly detailing this year’s economic projects at the meeting but used rhetoric to boast of its advancing military programs. 

Hong further said that attention outside North Korea will focus on what Pyongyang will say about relations with the United States, China and Russia, and the steps it would take to solidify Kim’s leadership as he turns 40 next month.

North Korea’s achievements in 2023

Last week, North Korea test-fired its most advanced ICBM, the solid-fueled Hwasong-18, third of its kind this year, which is designed to strike the mainland US. On November 21, North Korea put its first military spy satellite into orbit, though outside experts question its high-resolution imagery.

(With agency inputs)

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Published: 27 Dec 2023, 06:03 PM IST