Senior officials of the North Korean Workers’ Party blamed themselves on Friday for the country’s failure to meet economic growth targets after a general meeting Wednesday. It was a rare occasion for a party that seldom admits failure.

In commentaries published on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, the party’s official newspaper that most North Koreans see, the officials said it was their fault the North Korean economy did not grow.

Jang Kil-ryong, the minister in charge of the North’s chemical industry, said the reason the chemical industry sector, one of the two main pillars of the country’s economic development, didn’t do well was that members of his ministry had worked “without a strategic perspective or planning.”

Kim Kwang-nam, senior manager of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, said: “Over the past few years, the nation’s economy hasn’t been doing well in general, and it appears that we, Kim Iron, which is like the eldest son of (the country’s) metal industry, are greatly responsible for it.”

Kim Chaek is one of North Korea’s three main steelmakers, the others being Hwanghae and Cheollima.

Park Chang-ho, leader of the party’s regional committee for North Hwanghae Province, which suffered huge losses due to heavy rainfall earlier this month, said: “I could not but blame myself as a worker who is responsible for a province. … (I) caused great concerns for our leader (Kim Jong-un), which made him (feel like) walking through a path that is muddy as the flooded areas.”

Such self-criticism from senior North Korean officials appears to be in line with the attitude of “selfless” public service that Pyongyang has recently stressed.

The party said in a statement at the general meeting that they “fell seriously short of the planned national economic growth targets, and resulted in not improving the people’s lives.”

As the party is scheduled to hold its national convention, where its biggest official decisions are made, in January, Pyongyang’s top officials are desperate to achieve some progress in all sectors of the economy, including agriculture.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)