The young dictator gives first New Year's speech in 19 years and turns to Seoul: "Let us reunite the motherland without military tensions." But soon after indicates the army as "the true power" of a nation. 2013 "will be the year that North Korea will become an economic giant."

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Removing "all tensions" with the South and turning North Korea "into an economic giant", without forgetting that "only through the military power, the real strength of a nation, can you reach any development goal". This was the crux of the New Year's speech delivered yesterday by Kim Jong-un, the young North Korean dictator who is increasingly seeking to resemble his grandfather (and father of the country) Kim Il-sung.

Dressed in a traditional "Korean"jacket, Jong-un spoke in the Great Hall of the People, the puppet "parliament" of North Korea. The speech was broadcast on state television, the first in 19 years, since the father of the dictator, the late "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, who spoke live only twice from 1994 to 2011, the year of his death, while the grandfather preferred the radio.

During the speech, re-broadcast with great fanfare by the national media in China, the "courageous leader," said, "I wish a Happy New Year to our compatriots in South Korea and our friends in other countries. A national confrontation with Seoul can only lead in a war, and the reunification of the motherland is the most important objective among those that we have to achieve. "

2013, he added, "will be the year where we will see our country become an economic giant. The average lifestyle will become better than today, and thanks to agriculture and light industry, we can become an example for Asia and the world".  This step, some analysts say, recalls the propaganda of Kim Il-sung, and yet the first Korean dictator had support from the Soviet Union, China and the countries of the communist bloc for its relatively prosperous economy.

Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, however, the economy has declined: today half of the population (a total of 22 million people) live on less than 1 U.S. dollar a day and the national economy is dependent entirely on China, which in the last three years has shown increasing signs of intolerance towards Pyongyang's military provocations.  Above all, its nuclear program, which has equipped the country with the atomic bomb.

During the "reign" of the latest Kim, since Christmas 2011, there have already been two missile launches, the first in April failed, but that of December 2012 was successful. And the United Nations will meet tomorrow to decide how to punish the nation. With an eye on this situation, Jong-un concluded: "We must avoid a military confrontation, but we must always remember that only through military power, the real strength of a nation, can any development goal be reached."

 

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