North Korea vowed to stage an all-out drive for prosperity as it
North Korea vowed to stage an all-out drive for prosperity as it unites behind new leader Kim Jong Un, ushering in 2012 with promises to resolve food shortages, bolster its military and defend Kim Jong Il’s young son “unto death.”
The pledge in North Korea’s annual New Year’s message, released by the official Korean Central News Agency, comes as the country enters a new era, with Kim Jong Un installed as Supreme Commander of the 1.2 million-strong military and ruling party leader following his father’s Dec. 17 death.
This year is a crucial one in North Korea’s history as it tries to build a “great, prosperous and powerful nation” befitting the April 2012 centenary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the new leader’s grandfather.
Still, the message acknowledged the country’s food crisis, saying “the food problem is a burning issue.” Pyongyang had been in talks with the United States on food aid, but they stopped because of Kim Jong Il’s death.
The United Nations has said a quarter of North Korea’s 24 million people need outside food aid and that malnutrition is surging, especially among children.