North Korea, Kim reappears in the ‘model city’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in more than a month, visiting the new model city of Samjiyon, wanted by a regime seeking to consolidate its authority and image in a period marked by pandemics and famines. . The visit to the northern city, which was reported in the country’s media, was organized on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the leadership of Kim, head of a country cut off from the rest of the world since the Coronavirus pandemic began. With its ski slopes, commercial and health facilities and homes for thousands of families, the city – on the border with China – projects a very different image from that of a nation prostrated by extreme poverty. Samjiyon is a major economic project developed by Pyongyang to support the idea that North Korea is thriving despite international sanctions on its nuclear program, North Korean experts cited by the Washington Post comment. For Kim, quoted by KCNA, the official news agency, the city’s buildings reflect “the high degree of loyalty, strong will and commitment of our people” and the “iron will” of committed North Korea. to “achieve prosperity our way”. The city is located near Mount Paektu, a symbolic place in the country because it occupies a central place in the tradition of the founders of North Korea and where Kim’s family claims to have its roots. The completion of the project was scheduled for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party last year, but construction has been slowed by the pandemic. Kim’s visit was organized in time for the final construction phase, which is expected to be definitively concluded by the end of this year. “It’s about cementing Kim Jong Un’s legacy as it approaches its 10th anniversary,” says Jean H. Lee, a Korea expert at the Wilson Center. “Kim wants to reinforce the myth that he is ruled by divine mandate”. Projects like Samjiyon’s are particularly significant for Kim, at a time when the country is experiencing extreme economic hardship after nearly two years of closure due to the pandemic that has cut off the flow of most goods and food into the country. At his last public appearance in mid-October, he showed off North Korea’s latest nuclear and other weapons, including a version of a “hypersonic” weapon. The dictator hadn’t been seen in public for 35 days, his longest absence since 2014.