Kim Jong-un Surprised by Cuba Diplomatic Ties and Strikes... Repeated Calls for "Self-Reliance"

Concerns Over North Korea's Control Weakening Amid Chinese Workers' Strikes
Kim Jong-un: "Must Maximize the Explosion of Public Mental Strength"
Distancing from Cuba, Which Established Diplomatic Relations with South Korea, by Erasing News

Chairman Kim Jong-un [Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korea is emphasizing self-reliance day after day and is focusing on internal cohesion. As weaknesses in the North Korean regime have been exposed due to the unexpected diplomatic relations between South Korea and Cuba and a large-scale riot by North Korean workers dispatched to China, it is interpreted that North Korea is concentrating on strengthening internal control by emphasizing local economic development and economic discipline.

On the 26th, the Workers' Party of Korea's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported in an article titled "Vigorously Launching an Ideological Offensive to Implement Local Development Policies" that Chairman Kim Jong Un said, "Party organizations and workers must vigorously carry out a revolutionary ideological offensive to maximally unleash the mental power of ten million masses and let the flames of collective innovation movements and the fervor of socialist competition overflow throughout the country."

North Korean media have recently been emphasizing self-reliance, self-sustaining economy, and economic discipline. Since about 2,000 workers dispatched by a trade company under the Ministry of National Defense of North Korea rioted in protest of wage arrears at a medical manufacturing and seafood processing factory in Helong City, Jilin Province, China, from the 11th to the 14th of last month, the regime's management appears to have become even stronger. Researcher Tak Min-ji from the Korea Institute for National Unification interpreted this in a related report as "the emergence of a North Korean-style labor movement," explaining that it "shows the loss of the North Korean regime's control over its people." According to actual sources on North Korea, the North Korean authorities are said to have taken measures fearing that this incident could lead to weakened control.

South Korea's sudden establishment of diplomatic relations with Cuba, known as North Korea's "socialist brother country," on the 14th also seems to have delivered a significant shock to the North Korean authorities. Since the 15th, no news related to Cuba has appeared on page 6, the international section of Rodong Sinmun. This is unusual compared to the several reports about Cuba that appeared weekly before then.

Many analyses suggest that Cuban President Miguel D?az-Canel secretly established diplomatic relations with South Korea despite North Korea's possible backlash due to chronic economic difficulties. For North Korea, which remains one of the world's poorest countries along with Cuba, Cuba's policy shift toward economic development is inevitably unwelcome. A Ministry of Unification official said, "North Korea has not yet reacted (to South Korea), but it is difficult to expect that they will just quietly let it pass."

North Korea is distancing itself from South Korea and Cuba while seeking to improve relations with Russia, Japan, and others. In particular, regarding Japan, with which relations have been strained over issues such as abductions, North Korea has recently mentioned the possibility of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visiting North Korea and has actively pursued sports exchanges.

Rodong Sinmun reported that in the first round of the Asian qualifiers for the women's football Paris Olympics held in Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Japan drew 0-0, and the second match will be held in Japan. According to NHK, the North Korean women's football team arrived at Haneda Airport around 10 p.m. the previous day. This is the first visit by North Korean players to Japan in five years since March 2019.

Women from the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) wearing hanbok are presenting a bouquet to officials of the North Korean women's soccer team who arrived at Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 25th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]