[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, has appeared in public activities for the first time in about a month.
Korean Central News Agency reported on the 5th, "The 1st Political Bureau meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party was held on the 4th at the Party Central Committee headquarters," adding, "Comrade Kim Jong-un presided over the meeting."
This is the first report of Kim's public activity in 28 days since the news of a commemorative photo with military family art troupe members was reported by state media on the 7th of last month.
At the meeting, North Korea decided to convene the 3rd plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party in early this month. General Secretary Kim evaluated, "The smooth progress of state affairs is facing many challenges and constraints," but added, "Many planned projects are being promoted prospectively through the ideological enthusiasm of the entire Party and people and the fighting spirit of self-reliance."
He continued, "At this point, it is necessary to convene a plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee to accurately summarize the overall state affairs of the first half of the year and to devise additional measures to promptly correct biased issues."
This plenary meeting is the first in about four months since the 2nd plenary meeting held from February 8 to 11. At the 2nd plenary meeting, General Secretary Kim pointed out problems in the economic plan formulation process established by the Cabinet in detail and replaced the Party's economic chief within a month, emphasizing the economy.
The upcoming 3rd plenary meeting is expected to be an opportunity to analyze the achievements and problems of the economic plan, including whether the established economic plan has been properly implemented, and to find points for improvement.
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