North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for a nationwide “80-day campaign” in a bid to revive the country’s ailing economy and attain its goals before a congress next year, state media reported Tuesday.

Kim announced the decision during a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party held the previous day, according to the North’s official Korea Central News Agency. The key party meeting comes as the communist regime’s economic woes are believed to have been exacerbated due to the coronavirus pandemic, severe flooding damage from typhoons and long-lasting international sanctions.

Stressing that there are only some 80 days left until the Eighth Congress of the Workers’ Party in January, Kim said the remaining time is the “period of year-end struggle” and the last phase of carrying out the five-year economic plan announced during the Seventh Congress in 2016, calling the entire party and the whole country to wage another all-out campaign.

“We have performed historical feats with our costly efforts, boldly overcoming unprecedentedly grave trials and difficulties this year, but we should not rest on our laurels,” the report said. “We still face the challenges that cannot be overlooked and there are many goals we have to attain within this year.”

In 2016, Kim held the congress and announced its first five-year economic plan since the 1980s, vowing to boost its economy. Kim, however, made a rare admission of failure in achieving the stated goals in August due to the unexpected COVID-19 pandemic, flooding and international sanctions against the regime. He then announced the country would hold a congress in January to decide a new five-year economic plan.

The report also added the nation is faced with a “heavy and responsible” task of successfully holding events to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea slated for Saturday. Pyongyang is preparing a massive military parade to mark the occasion, with experts expecting the North to unveil new “strategic weapons” as it has previously warned.

During the meeting, Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party and the person at the helm of the North’s missile and nuclear weapons development, and Park Jong-chon, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army, were granted the title of marshal of the KPA.

It appears the promotion of the North’s key military leaders is to show the North’s efforts to strengthen its self-reliance in defense through development of missiles and a nuclear program, while commending the recent military’s recovery effort on flood damage.

Kim’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong also attended the meeting, making another public appearance after a visit accompanying the leader last week to a flood-damaged village, which marked her first public appearance in over two months. 

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)