Qian Zhengyu: New Developments in North Korean Socialist Theory and Practice During Kim Jong-un's Decade in Power
On December 17, 2011, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Jong Il passed away, and Kim Jong Un became the supreme leader of the North Korean party and military. In the ten years of Kim Jong Un’s governance, the WPK has responded to changes in the domestic and international situation by transitioning from the "Byungjin line" [1] to the "head-on breakthrough" strategy on the foundation of "Songun [military-first] politics." This shifted the focus of Party work toward economic construction, achieving new developments in both socialist theory and practice. Particularly under the impact of sustained high-intensity international sanctions, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic, the WPK led and relied on the people to actively overcome difficulties, still achieving breakthroughs in the cause of socialism. Rodong Sinmun [2] evaluated Kim Jong Un's decade of governance as having "transformed unprecedented challenges and difficulties into great victories," noting that "the country's comprehensive national strength and strategic status have risen to unprecedented heights amidst unparalleled hardships." Reviewing and fully understanding the new developments in North Korean socialist theory and practice during Kim Jong Un's decade in power helps deepen our cognition of the new changes in North Korea.
I. The Summary of North Korea’s Socialist Cause by the Two National Congresses of the WPK Since Kim Jong Un Took Power
On May 6, 2016, the WPK convened its Seventh National Congress. This was the first Congress of the Labor Party since Kim Jong Un took power, and the first in 36 years since the Sixth Congress in 1980. This Congress was hailed by North Korea as a "historical watershed" in the building of a powerful socialist country; scholars of North Korean affairs also believe the Congress announced that North Korea’s party-state system had returned to its proper tracks, moving from the "old normal" to a "new normal." The Congress first reviewed the struggle for the victory of the socialist cause since the Sixth Congress, summarizing the practice of socialist construction over the past 36 years—especially the five years of Kim Jong Un’s governance—deriving the following five points of experience: First, strengthen ideological and political education to firm up the belief in the correctness and inevitable victory of the socialist cause; second, develop national defense and use the "barrels of guns" to defend socialist North Korea; third, persist in "everything for the people and everything relying on the masses of the people," thereby achieving political stability and consolidating the "monolithic unity" (浑然一体) between the Party and the people; fourth, the victory of the revolutionary cause must be achieved under the leadership of the Great Leader and the Party, and the Leader’s cause must be correctly inherited; fifth, persist in an anti-imperialist, independent stance and socialist principles within the socialist cause.
The Seventh Congress further clarified the basic tasks of North Korean socialist construction: namely, completing the building of a powerful socialist country—a "state possessing the hallmarks of a power in all fields including politics, military, economy, science and technology, and culture"—and building a science and technology power, an economic power, and a highly-civilized power on the basis of consolidating the military and political powers. The meeting also required continued adherence to the strategic line of "simultaneously carrying out economic construction and the building of nuclear forces" (the Byungjin line), noting that this line "is not a temporary countermeasure to deal with a rapidly changing situation, but a strategic line that must be consistently maintained proceeding from the supreme interests of our revolution." The Seventh Congress also supplemented and developed the connotations of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, further explaining its status and role. In his report to the Seventh Congress, Kim Jong Un pointed out that Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is a unified system of the Juche idea and the theory and method of revolution and construction founded by Kim Il Sung and further developed by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Based on the "Juche idea" and "Songun politics," it scientifically elucidates the laws for fully realizing the final goals of the Party and the strategic principles to be maintained in completing the socialist cause. Kim Jong Un emphasized that modeling the whole society on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is the supreme program of the Party and the only guiding principle for advancing the revolution, and that Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism is the eternal guiding ideology of the Party and the revolution.
In January 2021, the WPK convened its watershed Eighth National Congress. With the themes of "adjustment and reinforcement," the meeting objectively evaluated the internal and external situations facing North Korea based on a summary of several practical and theoretical issues since the Seventh Congress. Regarding Party building, the WPK modified the Party Rules to further enrich and improve Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism with the "people-masses-first principle" (人民群众第一主义), realized the succession of old and new in high-level leadership, promoted the regularization of intra-Party political life, powerfully strengthened the authority of the Party Central Committee with Kim Jong Un at its core, and clarified the Party’s line and program for the new historical period. Regarding the cause of socialist construction, the meeting boldly examined shortcomings and deficiencies while affirming the great achievements made under the guidance of the Byungjin line over the past five years. Kim Jong Un pointed out that, impacted by the "three major external factors" of sanctions, natural disasters, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Party members and cadres "had not corrected their long-standing erroneous ideological viewpoints, irresponsible work attitudes, and incompetence, nor their outdated ways of working," resulting in many targets of the previous five-year plan falling far short. Consequently, the WPK proposed a new Five-Year Plan for Economic Development with "self-reliance" as the core theme, requiring that future economic construction consolidate the foundation of independence to eventually realize development on a "normal track that operates flexibly without any external influence." The convening of the Eighth Congress and the issuance of relevant resolutions served as milestones in the history of North Korea's socialist development, marking the increasing maturity and stabilization of WPK building. It signaled that North Korea's socialist cause had encountered an important opportunity for new development, and North Korea's understanding of socialism had risen further.
II. New Developments in North Korean Socialist Theory Since Kim Jong Un Took Power
The revolutionary mentor Lenin pointed out that "without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement." The experience of the world socialist movement shows that scientific theory is of great significance in guiding practice. Since Kim Jong Un took power, the WPK has based itself on national conditions and new changes in the international environment, proposing a series of new theories and propositions while exploring a North Korean-path socialist development road, thereby enriching and perfecting the Party’s ideological content.
(1) Regarding Party Building
First, establishing Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism as the guiding ideology of the Party. For a long time, Kim Il Sung’s "Juche idea" and Kim Jong Il’s "Songun politics" were the guiding ideologies of the WPK. After Kim Jong Un took power, in order to unify thinking within the Party as quickly as possible, he gradually "ism-ized" and systematized the Juche idea and Songun politics. On April 6, 2012, in an article titled "Let Us Brilliantly Accomplish the Revolutionary Cause of Juche, Holding the Great Comrade Kim Jong Il in High Esteem as the Eternal General Secretary of Our Party," Kim Jong Un proposed changing the guiding ideology of the WPK to Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism and setting the Party’s supreme program as modeling the whole society on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, emphasizing that it is the systematic embodiment of Juche-oriented ideas, theories, and methods. On April 11 of the same year, the Fourth Conference of the WPK adopted the "Resolution on Revising the Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea," formally establishing Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism as the sole guiding ideology of the Party. North Korean scholars point out that "looking at the constituent system and content of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, it is a unified system of the Juche idea founded by President Kim Il Sung and further developed by President Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, along with the theories and methods concerning revolution and construction elucidated therein." Kim Jong Un further explained the status of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism at the Seventh Congress, noting it is "based on the great Juche idea and Songun idea, comprehensively summarizing the revolutionary theory and leadership methods to win the final victory of the socialist cause," and that the current building of a powerful socialist country "is a historical stage in the struggle to realize the modeling of the whole society on Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism." From this, it can be seen that the "Juche idea" and "Songun politics" are the theoretical foundations of Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism, which Kim Jong Un systematized into an "-ism," thereby sublimating it into the guiding ideology for the WPK’s socialist construction in the New Era.
Second, establishing the Monolithic Leadership System of the Party. Successive North Korean leaders have emphasized the Party's leadership over all work. However, in the mid-to-late 1990s, out of security concerns, North Korea adopted Songun politics as the basic political mode of the Party, which in practice weakened the Party’s leadership. After taking power, Kim Jong Un proposed establishing the Monolithic Leadership System of the Party and strengthening the Party’s leadership over all work to bring national political life back to the normal track. In June 2013, North Korea revised the "Ten Principles for the Establishment of the Monolithic Leadership System," highlighting the unique leadership of the Party and requiring all undertakings to be organized and conducted under Party leadership, with all major decisions determined through mechanisms such as the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee and the Supreme People's Assembly. In 2014, Kim Jong Un delivered a speech at the Eighth Conference of Ideological Workers of the WPK, emphasizing the need to establish the Monolithic Leadership System throughout the Party and society to strengthen the Party’s unity, solidarity, and combat effectiveness. At the convening of the Eighth Congress in January 2021, Kim Jong Un was elected General Secretary, marking the formal establishment of the Party’s leadership system with the General Secretary as the head. With the establishment of the Monolithic Leadership System, all North Korean undertakings are carried out under Party leadership, and intra-party political life has achieved normalization. Kim Jong Un once pointed out, "The Party's leadership is the essential requirement for the construction of a socialist state and the lifeline of state activities." Rodong Sinmun has called the power of the Monolithic Leadership System the "ever-victorious strength of the Workers' Party of Korea."
Third, establishing the Party’s purposes and philosophy. In the conclusions of the Eighth Congress, Kim Jong Un required the whole Party to revisit the spirits of "The People are God" (以民为天), "Single-hearted Unity," and "Self-reliance," using these to replace the slogans of the Eighth Congress. He emphasized these as the three noble purposes and philosophies of the WPK, representing "the fundamental secret to enhancing our Party’s leadership ability, the fundamental way for our Party to take deeper root among the masses, and our only way out and the fundamental guarantee for pioneering the future." These three concepts developed the "eight-character policy" of "single-hearted unity and self-reliance" from before the Eighth Congress and are complementary to the "people-masses-first principle." Kim Jong Un also discussed the importance of these three concepts, noting that "'The People are God' reflects our Party’s unwavering requirement: serving the people is the starting point, the immutable principle, and the consistently maintained revolutionary Party style of all Party building and activities. Single-hearted unity and self-reliance contain the ideological and theoretical viewpoints and policy requirements regarding the lifeline and driving force of our revolution."
Finally, transforming the basic political mode of North Korean-path socialism. In his report to the Seventh Congress, Kim Jong Un proposed that "the people-masses-first principle must be tangibly embodied in the overall work of the Party," noting that "embodying the people-masses-first principle is the essential requirement of our Party, which struggles for the masses and conducts activities by relying on them." Since the Seventh Congress, the "people-masses-first principle" has gradually risen to become the political mode and philosophy of the WPK. The Eighth Congress passed the resolution "On Amending the Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea," which "formally stipulated people-masses-first politics as the basic political mode of socialism," replacing the previous content related to "Songun politics." The formal writing of this principle into the Party Rules at the Eighth Congress marks the establishment of the basic political mode of North Korean socialism in the new period and the basic formation of Kim Jong Un's view of the people during his decade in power. North Korean state media evaluated Kim Jong Un's view of the people as the inheritance and development of the previous two generations of leaders—Kim Il Sung’s "The People are God" idea and Kim Jong Il’s "benevolent politics" (仁德政治)—calling it "Comrade Kim Jong Un's people-masses-first politics, which brilliantly embodies the 'People are God' idea and benevolent politics of Comrade Kim Il Sung and Comrade Kim Jong Il at the highest level."
(2) Judgments on the International Situation and North Korea’s Current Era
"Problems are the slogans of the times, the most practical cry expressing the era's own inner state." Scientifically judging the international situation and the era in which one is situated is the basis for a socialist party to formulate lines, principles, and policies in revolution and construction. Against the profound background of the "changes unseen in a century" (世界百年大变局), Kim Jong Un has made new judgments on the international landscape and formed a new view of the era.
At the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), Kim Jong Un pointed out that the current international situation is characterized by the deepening of disputes and antagonism between major powers, as well as a profound confrontation and struggle between the world's progressive peoples and imperialist reactionary forces. He identified the primary cause as the fact that "US imperialism is the disturber and destroyer of world peace and security." North Korea has made further analytical judgments regarding the international situation and its surrounding environment following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2021, Kim Jong Un delivered a policy speech titled "On the Direction of the Current Struggle for New Development in Socialist Construction," in which he clearly stated that the fundamental danger in the world today is "the United States' unilateral and unjust formation of cliques and small-circle diplomacy." He noted that the main characteristic of changes in the current international situation is the transformation of the world landscape into a more complex "New Cold War" structure, and that North Korea is facing an "increasingly unstable international political situation and surrounding environment." It can be seen that Kim Jong Un’s judgment on the current international landscape is that the United States, in order to maintain its hegemonic rule, has caused changes in the global situation and the environment of the Peninsula; a "New Cold War" structure is forming across the entire world and the Northeast Asian region, and North Korea must respond proactively in both military and diplomatic terms.
The WPK members, represented by Kim Jong Un, adhere to the Marxist view of the era, believing that from the perspective of the great historical epoch of the world, human society is still in the stage of transition from capitalism to socialism. Although the world has seen the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and capitalist exploitation under the new technological era is more hidden than in the era of mechanical industry, it has also deepened the structural problems of the anti-people social and economic system, leading to an acceleration of the gap between rich and poor and polarization. Therefore, the move toward socialism is an inevitability of human historical development. At the same time, regarding the current stage of development in which North Korea finds itself—the so-called "micro-era"—Kim Jong Un has also formed a new view of the era. In his report to the 8th WPK Congress, he objectively analyzed the internal and external situations facing North Korea and explicitly proposed that North Korea has entered a new era of development, namely the "Our State-First Era." He pointed out that this new era "is a new era of self-existence and prosperity born of the result of the death-defying struggle of the WPK, which met all historical challenges head-on, devoted itself wholeheartedly to the people, resolutely strengthened its own power, and raised the country’s dignity and status." The proposal of this new era carries dual internal and external meanings. Internally, it maintains "People-Masses-Firstism" [4] as the fundamental political mode. Under conditions where the "triple hardships" of sanctions, the pandemic, and natural disasters have caused unprecedented difficulties for domestic economic development and the guarantee of people's livelihoods, it emphasizes the governing philosophies of "regarding the people as heaven" [5], "single-minded unity," and "self-reliance." It strives to develop the domestic economy and improve livelihoods by relying on its own strength and resources, building a North Korean-path socialism characterized by self-existence and prosperity. Externally, based on a series of new changes in the current international landscape and the situation on the Korean Peninsula, it takes "Our State-Firstism" as its philosophy, adopting an independent posture to lead the value orientation of diplomatic and security policies, using a proactive foreign policy and a tough security policy to safeguard core national interests. The political judgment that the country has entered the "Our State-First Era" clarifies the historical coordinates of North Korean socialist development and represents Kim Jong Un's new reflection and decision-making in response to the era's questions and practical challenges currently facing North Korea.
(3) On the Nature of North Korean-path Socialist Economy
North Korea has long adhered to a planned economy, due to both historical reasons and its international environment. After Kim Jong Un took power, to break the impasse in economic development, the WPK further explored how to handle the relationship between the plan and the market. In 2013, the Central Committee of the WPK formally proposed the "Byungjin line" (parallel development) [6] of economic construction and nuclear force construction, gradually initiating adjustments and reforms to the economic model and implementing a series of policies to stimulate economic development, including the "Socialist Corporate Responsibility Management System" and the "Field Responsibility System" [7]. Following moderate adjustments and reforms, the North Korean Party and government granted a certain degree of autonomy to business entities, and the level of marketization increased. During this period, there was a clear symbiotic relationship between North Korea’s planning system and the market. In his summary report at the 7th WPK Congress, Kim Jong Un again clarified that "the Socialist Corporate Responsibility Management System must be correctly implemented." Under this system, corporate production units can conduct corporate activities proactively and creatively to normalize production and expand development. He also emphasized that "the state must fully guarantee the conditions for enterprises to flexibly use the management rights they have been granted." This was, in effect, an affirmation of the market-oriented exploratory practices of the previous few years.
While marketization played a role in enriching material life and improving the people's standard of living, it also impacted North Korea's planning system and national macro-management. Different companies and factories subordinate to Party, government, and military departments acted independently, causing a degree of chaos in production and import-export trade, which led to the failure of the economic development goals set at the 7th WPK Congress. Kim Jong Un warned that if this situation continued, "the state's economic power and control would gradually disappear, eventually leading to the evil consequence of state-owned enterprises making money illegally." The COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the international situation presented new challenges to North Korea's economic development. Consequently, the WPK had to provide a theoretical basis and direction for a new five-year strategy for national economic development and revise previous lines. The 8th Congress reflected on the lessons of past economic construction, clarifying that the nature of the North Korean-path socialist economy is an "independent economy, a planned economy, and an economy that serves the people." It set the fundamental direction of economic management as prioritizing the interests and demands of the people, requiring the establishment of the Cabinet Responsibility System and the Cabinet-Center System in national economic work. This aims to enhance the state's function as an economic organizer, rectify the irrational economic work systems and orders of the past, and achieve unified guidance over economic work and unified management of products. In the 8th Congress report, Kim Jong Un also stipulated the socialist nature of state-run commerce, pointing out that commercial services must "restore the state's leading role and its ability to adjust and control." These discourses no longer mentioned past terms such as "socialist corporate management methods" or "incentivizing production enthusiasm," but instead placed greater emphasis on the plan and unified national leadership. The 8th Congress's explicit definition of the nature of the North Korean-path socialist economy is a theoretical achievement derived from Kim Jong Un's decade of exploring economic reforms. It reflects the WPK's current view on the basic theoretical question of "what is socialism and how to build socialism."
(4) On the Status of Science and Technology in North Korea's Socialist Construction
The WPK attaches great importance to the development of science and technology; North Korea's national conditions and the practice of socialist construction also require that science and technology be placed in a vital position. The 7th Party Congress proposed the line of "building a powerful country of science and technology," and the 8th Congress report defined scientific and technological development as an "important task and the best strategy in socialist construction." It emphasized the need to "actively solve urgent scientific and technological problems in implementing the new five-year plan for national economic development, and promote the development of advanced and core cutting-edge technology projects." It further demanded "correctly establishing the Party, state, and administrative guidance and management systems for developing science and technology, sharing scientific research achievements, and vigorously promoting the task of making all people well-versed in science and technology." In the conclusions of the 8th Congress, Kim Jong Un further elaborated on the status of science and technology in socialist construction. He pointed out that "science and technology is the locomotive pulling socialist construction and the main driving force of the national economy," proposing that "economic construction and the improvement of people's livelihoods must be ensured through the actual development of science and technology." The Rodong Sinmun, as the mouthpiece of the Party, has also published numerous articles emphasizing the status of science and technology, stressing that "competition in national strength between countries is a competition in science and technology; the social and economic development, the fate of the country and the nation, and its future all depend on who can achieve more high-tech results faster." It declared that "science and technology is our primary strength and main strategic resource," calling on all departments and units to "spark a high tide of socialist construction with the power of science and technology."
III. New Achievements in North Korea's Socialist Practice Since Kim Jong Un Took Power
(1) Strengthening the Party's Governing Capacity and the Cultivation of the Cadre Force
At the beginning of his rule, Kim Jong Un set about establishing the Party's Monolithic Leadership System [8], requiring the strengthening of the Party's leadership over all work and streamlining the relationship between the Party, the government, and the military. Amidst "changes unseen in a century," the complex internal and external environment facing North Korea also required the WPK to take multifaceted measures to further strengthen its governing capacity and the cultivation of its cadre force, based on the persistence in establishing and consolidating the Party’s Monolithic Leadership System.
First, strengthening the cultivation of the rank and file of party members and cadres. After taking over, Kim Jong Un largely continued to use the cadre force from the Kim Jong Il era, but his personal governance was constrained by various parties. He also discovered numerous problems in the cadre force, such as bureaucratism, corruption, and lax party discipline. Therefore, reforming the cadre force and strengthening the Party's governing capacity became the primary tasks before him. From the start of his leadership, Kim Jong Un proposed further establishing the Party's Monolithic Leadership System. Through the reorganization of the high-level power structure, the Party-state institutional system was continuously reinforced. According to statistics from South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), in the nearly two years from 2012 to 2013 alone, the replacement rate of high-ranking officials in the North Korean party, government, and military reached 44%. At the 7th WPK Congress in 2016, Kim Jong Un formally proposed "further deepening the work of establishing the Party's Monolithic Leadership System" and took "achieving the monolithic coloring of the whole Party with Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism" [9] as the core of this work. He proposed a series of measures to strengthen governing capacity, such as establishing strict discipline and order for the whole Party to act in unison under the monolithic leadership of the Party Central Committee and strengthening Party-building. During this stage, marked by the frequent adjustment of the cadre force following the basic transition between the old and new generations and the adjustment of the organizational structure of the Party Central Committee, more and more capable and energetic cadres entered the Central Committee and the Political Bureau. In 2018, during his first visit to China, Kim Jong Un clearly stated: "Currently, our Party is also increasing its efforts to struggle against behaviors such as putting on airs, practicing bureaucratism, and engaging in corruption." In the 8th Congress report, Kim Jong Un proposed continuing to grasp and deepen the work of the Party's Monolithic Leadership System, taking "absolutely guaranteeing and upholding the prestige of the Party Central Committee" and strengthening "single-minded unity" within the Party as important tasks for the whole Party, requiring that "Party work be transformed into work that is close to the people and close to reality." Since the 8th Congress, the WPK has made Party-building its focus, engaging in practical work ideologically, organizationally, and in action. Ideologically, the focus is on the unification of thought centered on the Party's Monolithic Leadership System and the single-minded unity of the entire Party. Organizationally, according to the needs of the developing situation and the defects existing in Party-building work, the organs of the Party Central Committee have been adjusted multiple times in a timely manner. The responsibilities and powers of relevant departments, such as the Organization and Guidance Department, the Central Auditing Commission, the Military-Government Guidance Department, the Cadre Department, and the Discipline Investigation Department, have been strengthened through institutional settings and personnel arrangements. In terms of action, in the nearly two years since the 8th Congress, a series of multi-level lectures and specialized conferences—ranging from city and county Party committees to primary-level Party committees, and from organizational departments to propaganda departments, as well as from local regions to the military—have been held to provide extensive education and training for the cadre force. Over the past decade, the North Korean Party has also carried out work to "streamline and elite-ize" the administrative cadre force and the Party's ranks. The tasks of Party organizations at all levels, from the Party Central Committee to primary-level committees and Party branches, have become clearer, and the work of establishing an orderly system and stricter discipline throughout the Party has been further deepened. The 8th WPK Congress also reorganized the affiliated organs of the Party Central Committee, establishing a new Legal Department and reorganizing the Central Auditing Commission to further strengthen disciplinary management.
Second, promoting the institutionalization and standardization of the Party's operating mechanisms. The National Congress of the WPK is the highest power organ of the Party. Before the 7th Congress in 2016, North Korea had not held a National Congress for 36 years, and the Party's representative mechanism had failed to operate normally. Since Kim Jong Un took power, he has convened numerous plenary sessions of the Central Committee and Political Bureau meetings to discuss various decisions, emphasizing the importance of holding various Party meetings regularly. The 8th Congress amended the Party Rules (Charter), stipulating that "the National Congress of the Party shall be convened every five years," thereby fixing the mechanism for convening the National Congress in the form of the Party Rules.
The democratic centralist system of intra-Party decision-making has also gradually taken shape. During the Eighth Congress, various sectoral consultative meetings "studied the draft resolutions for implementing the tasks proposed in the Report on the Work of the Central Committee," engaging in earnest discussions on the "practical issues of fighting targets and tasks to be completed in every field of socialist construction over the next five years" to strive for "new forward development" in the Korean revolution. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) evaluated these meetings, noting that "consultative meetings for each sector were consistently conducted in a serious and business-like atmosphere; through sufficient study and active collective discussion, they integrated scientific and innovative suggestions that provide a firm guarantee for implementing the resolutions of the Party Congress." Kim Jong Un affirmed the proactive spirit of the delegates' discussions at the Congress, stating, "Throughout the entire period of the Congress, all comrade delegates, harboring the most active Party consciousness and sense of responsibility, treated the issues under discussion with sincerity and actively proposed constructive opinions to reach a consensus, fully demonstrating the combative character of our Party as a pragmatic party, a fighting party, and a party that advances."
(2) Prioritizing Economic Development and Raising the People’s Standard of Living
During the Kim Jong Il era, to maintain systemic security and guarantee regime stability, North Korea's economic development was consistently constrained by "Songun politics" [10], with resources disproportionately tilted toward the military sector. This led to a stagnation of the national economy; the economic legacy left to Kim Jong Un was one of rapid decline and pre-crisis symptoms. Consequently, throughout the ten years of Kim Jong Un’s governance, North Korea has consistently made developing the economy and improving the people's standard of living a critical component of its strategic line. The 2013 Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) proposed the "Byungjin line" [11] as Kim Jong Un's new governance strategy, placing economic construction and nuclear/missile development on equal footing. In early 2018, the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh WPK Central Committee announced that the historical tasks of the "Byungjin line" had been completed and proposed a strategic line of "concentrating all efforts on economic construction," shifting the Party’s center of gravity to the economy. The Eighth WPK Congress in 2021 again emphasized achieving sustainable economic development and improving the people's standard of living. To develop the economy, North Korea has adopted a series of measures and achieved considerable results, enhancing the people's living standards and well-being.
First, the state explored adjustments to economic management methods, promoting economic development with pragmatism and flexibility. To break free from the predicament of economic development, the North Korean Party and government, under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, took a series of measures to initiate the adjustment and transformation of the economic model. These measures mainly include: (1) Implementing a cabinet-centered system in which economic work is managed holistically by the Cabinet; (2) Reforming the enterprise management system by proposing the "Socialist Corporate Responsible Management System," promoting the implementation of the "factory manager responsibility system" and distribution according to work, thereby increasing corporate autonomy and worker motivation; (3) Implementing the "Field Responsibility System" [12] in rural areas, allowing farmers to independently dispose of surplus grain after paying a proportional state grain tax; (4) Flexibly utilizing the market and yielding private rights to a certain extent. The 2016 revision of the North Korean Constitution stipulated that "The state shall protect the property of social organizations and cooperatives... property belonging to individual citizens for the purpose of personal consumption shall be owned by the individual." Through these adjustment measures, the vitality and growth rate of the North Korean economy have significantly improved. On one hand, the scale of the commodity market has expanded rapidly, and industries such as domestic tourism, taxis, entertainment centers, and e-commerce have emerged, gradually meeting the diverse needs of the North Korean people. On the other hand, the pace of economic development has accelerated; according to data from the Bank of Korea, from the start of Kim Jong Un's governance until 2017 (before the four UN sanction resolutions), North Korea's average annual economic growth rate was 1.2%, exceeding the growth levels seen between 1994 and 2011.
Second, the state expanded foreign economic and trade exchanges and diversified means of earning foreign exchange. After taking power, Kim Jong Un continued to expand foreign trade while actively introducing foreign technology and capital. On June 18, 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly issued a decree announcing the merger of the Ministry of Trade, the Joint Venture and Investment Committee (responsible for attracting foreign investment), and the National Economic Development Committee (responsible for special economic zone development) into the Ministry of External Economic Relations. In July 2014, North Korea announced the establishment of 13 Economic Development Zones and enacted the Law on Economic Development Zones. This institutional reform and the gradual improvement of the legal framework established a foundation, to some extent, for North Korea to attract foreign capital and technology.
North Korea’s primary exports include anthracite, minerals, and seafood, while it also acquires foreign exchange through the processing of wigs, clothing, and embroidery (using supplied materials) as well as the export of labor. Following North Korea’s sixth nuclear test in 2017, UN sanctions severely dealt a blow to its major exports and labor output. Trade volume between North Korea and China dropped significantly—causing massive losses for North Korean exports in particular—and led to major changes in the structure of North Korea-China trade. To diversify means of earning foreign exchange, the North Korean government has vigorously developed tourism and related industries, adopting measures such as establishing the Wonsan-Mt. Kumgang International Tourist Zone, renovating Pyongyang’s tourist hotels, developing theme tours, and establishing professional tourism universities to attract foreign visitors. The burgeoning tourism industry has become a pillar industry for North Korea under the backdrop of sanctions.
Third, the state persists in self-reliance and has raised the level of domestic production. The WPK has always regarded independence and self-reliance as one of its fundamental Party programs. Kim Jong Il once pointed out that "Independence is the essential requirement of human beings and the lifeblood of a country and nation." Since taking power, Kim Jong Un has also led the WPK in continuing to hold high the banner of independence and self-reliance. To break free from external dependence, respond to continuous sanctions, and improve the level of domestic production, Kim Jong Un has conducted numerous inspections of relevant factories and stores, setting requirements for related industries. During an inspection of the Chon Dong Ryol Machine Plant, he personally test-flew a light aircraft developed independently by North Korea, demonstrating confidence in domestic industry. Under the Party’s call, North Korea has come to view domestic production as "major political work directly concerning the dignity of the state and the nation" and an "inevitable requirement for completing the construction of a powerful socialist country ahead of schedule through self-sustenance and self-reliance." Consequently, the decade of Kim Jong Un’s governance has been a decade of steadily increasing domestic production; factories involved in products for the people's livelihood have successively gone into operation, and domestic brands have gradually replaced some foreign goods, with the level of domestic production in light industry and industrial sectors significantly improved. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 required North Korea to further increase its degree of independence and self-reliance. Thus, at the Eighth WPK Congress, Kim Jong Un proposed independence and self-reliance as the theme of the new Five-Year Plan for the national economy, emphasizing that self-reliance must be elevated to a new, higher level: "national self-reliance, planned self-reliance, and scientific self-reliance."
Finally, the state prioritizes urban and rural construction to enhance the people's well-being. Since Kim Jong Un took power, the North Korean government has invested substantial material and human resources to vigorously promote urban and rural construction to improve livelihoods. Since 2012, Changjon Street, Mirae Scientists Street, and Ryomyong Street have been built in Pyongyang. These three streets provide modern residential buildings for Pyongyang citizens and have become landmarks of the city. Pyongyang has also built a series of facilities such as the Munsu Water Park, the Ryugyong Health Complex (formerly Haedanghwa Center), the Mirim Riding Club, and the Ryugyong Dental Hospital to enrich and improve city life. Furthermore, the WPK prioritizes urban and rural construction in other regions. During Kim Jong Un’s tenure, the WPK has vigorously promoted the construction of Samjiyon County, establishing it as an "outstanding example of a civilized mountain city and an ideal model for provincial towns." In 2020, many towns in North Korea suffered from flooding; the WPK mobilized national forces to rebuild the disaster-stricken cities and rural areas, demanding that these reconstructed areas be transformed into "the people’s ideal villages and fairylands."
(3) Strengthening the Struggle in the Ideological Realm and Unifying the Thinking of the Whole of Society
Since the founding of socialist North Korea, the WPK—represented by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il—has prioritized work in the ideological realm. This was especially true during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries underwent successive upheavals. An important reason for this was the "peaceful evolution" strategy implemented by the Western capitalist camp, led by the United States, against socialist countries. Through cultural exports and ideological penetration, they caused the ideological collapse of the Soviet Union and other countries, resulting in the subversion of the socialist system—"all of which occurred without the West firing a single shot." Therefore, both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il attached great importance to the struggle in the ideological realm, believing that "non-socialist phenomena are dangerous factors that moth-eat and disintegrate socialist society from within," and that those tainted by non-socialism would eventually become "counter-revolutionaries opposed to the Party and the socialist system." However, in the past, North Korea’s struggle in the ideological realm did not form a systematic front. Since Kim Jong Un took power, to realize the transition from "military-first" to "Party-first," to concentrate forces on developing the economy, and to maintain national stability, he has responded to the penetrations and attacks of Western ideology by further upgrading the intensity of the struggle and gradually forming a systematic front to unify the thinking of the whole of society. It can be said that the struggle in the ideological realm has fundamentally run throughout the ten years of Kim Jong Un’s governance.
During the Kim Jong Un era, the ideological challenges facing North Korea have come primarily from two directions. First, Western countries led by the United States use issues such as human rights to attack and smear North Korea, damaging its international image, while simultaneously conducting ideological penetration through economic activities in an attempt to subvert the North Korean regime. Second, South Korea—leveraging its geographic and linguistic advantages—constantly introduces capitalist culture into North Korea via religious activities, balloons, smuggled USB drives, and radio broadcasts. "Cross-border information" has become the primary means of penetration into North Korea's ideological and cultural spheres. The invasion of "Hallyu" (Korean Wave) culture and Western reactionary ideas into the ideological realm is extremely detrimental to unifying social thought and maintaining systemic security. Kim Jong Un believes the battle to defend socialism is at an acute stage, stating that "the bourgeois ideological culture and decadent lifestyles spread by the imperialists are dangerous toxins that cause people to degenerate and change in their ideological spirit, disintegrating the socialist system from within." To this end, at the Eighth National Conference of Ideological Workers of the WPK in February 2014, Kim Jong Un proposed two major tasks: first, "to concentrate all the firepower of the Party's ideological work on effectively establishing the Party's monolithic leadership system"; and second, "to stir up a powerful wind of ideological warfare to vigorously promote the battle to defend socialism." Specifically, this means "externally suppressing and blocking the imperialists who obstruct our path through political and ideological means, and internally clearing away non-socialist and decadent ideological culture with revolutionary ideological culture." Under the guidance of this thinking, North Korea has, on the one hand, improved its external propaganda work by opening accounts and channels on overseas platforms such as YouTube and Weibo, adopting methods consistent with the trends of the times to introduce and promote North Korea, counter the smearing by the U.S. and South Korea, and improve the national image. On the other hand, Kim Jong Un has increased the intensity of the domestic struggle against non-socialist and anti-socialist elements and revamped moral discipline. On December 4, 2020, the 12th Plenary Meeting of the 14th Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly passed the Law of the DPRK on Rejecting Reactionary Ideology and Culture, transforming the struggle in the ideological realm from policy measures into a legally guaranteed process. At the Eighth WPK Congress, Kim Jong Un further demanded that work in the ideological realm be "firmly grasped as work for the entire Party, the entire country, and the whole of society," elevating it to the height of the "governance system."
(4) Actively Conducting Foreign Exchanges to Consolidate and Develop Relations with Socialist Countries
With the completion of its nuclear and missile causes, North Korea has initiated a proactive diplomatic strategy, opening a new phase in foreign affairs through summit diplomacy. During Kim Jong Un’s tenure, North Korea and South Korea held three summit meetings, breaking the deadlock in North-South relations. For the first time, a summit between the heads of state of North Korea and the United States was realized, which to some extent promoted the easing of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Kim Jong Un attaches great importance to relations with socialist countries, having visited China four consecutive times and held five summit meetings with General Secretary Xi Jinping; he has also met with leaders of socialist countries such as Vietnam and Cuba. These achievements have created a favorable external environment for North Korea to implement its new economic development strategy.
First, the easing of North-South relations and the breaking of the inter-Korean deadlock. In early 2018, Kim Jong Un’s New Year Address discussed easing tensions on the peninsula and seeking national reconciliation and unity, proposing "to ease the acute military tension between the North and the South and create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula." Subsequently, frequent interactions occurred between North and South Korea, including the formation of a unified inter-Korean team for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and the mutual dispatch of art troupes, leading to a warming of North-South relations. Within 2018, Kim Jong Un and Moon Jae-in held three summit meetings and jointly signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula and the September Pyongyang Joint Declaration, providing institutional guarantees for achieving peace between the North and the South.
Secondly, achieving historic DPRK-U.S. summits. After completing the development of its nuclear missiles, the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) announced that the historical mission of the "Byungjin line" [13] had been completed, and began implementing a new strategic line of concentrating all efforts on economic development. To this end, North Korea had to use diplomacy as a strategic breakthrough to guarantee the implementation of the new line. Kim Jong Un met with U.S. President Donald Trump three times: in Singapore in June 2018, Hanoi in February 2019, and Panmunjom in June 2019. Although Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il had met with Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton respectively during their lifetimes, those individuals had already left the presidency at the time. Therefore, despite the fact that these talks did not yield further substantive progress, the summits between Kim Jong Un and a sitting U.S. president were a first in the history of DPRK-U.S. relations, laying a foundation for further promoting peace on the Peninsula. The Secretary-General of the United Nations evaluated the DPRK-U.S. summits as an important milestone in the denuclearization of the Peninsula.
Thirdly, actively developing traditional friendships with socialist countries. At both the Seventh and Eighth Congresses of the WPK, Kim Jong Un emphasized the need to develop friendships with socialist countries, jointly advance the socialist cause, and oppose imperialism. Kim Jong Un attaches particularly high importance to the traditional friendship with China. He emphasized the need to "strive to sublimate and develop the DPRK-China friendship to a new strategic height in accordance with the requirements of the times and the aspirations of the people of the two countries, and to vigorously promote the common cause of our two parties—socialist construction—so that it remains unshakable and advances vigorously amidst any changes in the international situation or challenges." Between 2018 and 2019, Kim Jong Un visited China four times to meet with General Secretary Xi Jinping. The two sides reached a consensus on the situation of the Korean Peninsula, and the traditional friendship between China and the DPRK was consolidated and developed. General Secretary Xi Jinping also pointed out that "China-DPRK relations have entered a new historical period." The high-level meetings between the leaders of the two countries and two parties have also driven non-governmental economic, trade, and cultural exchanges, achieving the comprehensive development of bilateral relations. Kim Jong Un also met with leaders from countries such as Cuba and Vietnam; his frequent interactions with socialist countries reflect North Korea's determination in the New Era to oppose imperialism and commit itself to the cause of world socialism.
(5) Exercising the advantages of the Korean-style socialist system to successfully combat the COVID-19 pandemic
At the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, dealing a massive blow to the health and medical systems of all countries. To combat the pandemic, Kim Jong Un led the North Korean Party and people in giving full play to the advantages of the Korean-style socialist system, taking a series of measures to achieve "zero infections" and successfully keep the epidemic outside the nation's gates.
First, adhering to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and mobilizing all forces to engage in epidemic prevention. In the early stages of the outbreak, the Central Committee of the WPK attached great importance to it. On January 30, 2020, North Korea announced the activation of the non-standing Central People's Health Guidance Committee and transitioned the health and epidemic prevention system into a national emergency epidemic prevention system, requiring all regions and departments to mobilize all health and medical resources for prevention work. Subsequently, the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee held multiple meetings to discuss COVID-19 prevention and control. Kim Jong Un required that "all cadres must concentrate all energy on resolutely implementing the resolutions and instructions of the Party Central Committee to guarantee national security and the safety of the people's lives." On June 30, 2021, the WPK held the Second Enlarged Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Eighth Central Committee, where severe criticism was leveled against relevant cadres for failing to earnestly implement the Party's deployments in the national emergency epidemic prevention struggle, and relevant leaders were replaced. This demonstrates the degree of importance the WPK, with Kim Jong Un as General Secretary, attaches to the pandemic.
Second, adopting "ultra-top-level" measures for epidemic prevention and control and improving relevant laws. On January 22, 2020, the National Tourism Administration of the DPRK issued a notice comprehensively suspending tours to North Korea until a vaccine was produced and the epidemic was brought under control. Subsequently, North Korea announced the implementation of "ultra-top-level epidemic prevention measures," completely closing border ports, suspending cross-border planes, ships, and trains, and blocking all possible routes for the introduction of the coronavirus. According to reports from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), at the beginning of the outbreak, the North Korean government implemented medical observation and quarantine for foreigners, personnel entering from abroad, and those in close contact. Epidemic prevention departments at all levels also disinfected ships, vehicles, and goods, and adopted a 10-day quarantine measure for inbound cargo. While building a strong line of defense against the coronavirus, the WPK also set about reinforcing laws and regulations regarding epidemic prevention. Kim Jong Un pointed out at the enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau that "the current primary task is to revise and improve the National Emergency Epidemic Prevention Law and rigorously reorganize national crisis management regulations." He also required that "the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, the Cabinet, and other relevant institutions must, based on the experience of preemptive and high-intensity epidemic prevention measures taken against the current pandemic situation, further strengthen epidemic prevention forces as soon as possible and actively promote the work of supplementing and improving epidemic prevention means, systems, and laws." After completing the revision of the new version of the Law on the Prevention of Infectious Diseases, the North Korean government quickly popularized the law to the domestic public through the media. Strict epidemic prevention measures and the improvement of relevant laws successfully prevented the spread of the epidemic in North Korea.
- Conclusion
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a close neighbor of China, and the two parties and two countries of China and the DPRK share a deep traditional friendship. General Secretary Xi Jinping, in a signed article titled "Inheriting the China-DPRK Friendship and Writing a New Chapter of the Times" published in major North Korean media such as Rodong Sinmun, pointed out: "The traditional China-DPRK friendship was personally created and meticulously nurtured by the older generation of leaders of the two parties and two countries, and is a common precious wealth of both sides. Reflecting on those years, our older generation of leaders, harboring common ideals and beliefs and a deep revolutionary friendship, trusted each other and supported each other, writing a beautiful tale in the history of international relations." This discourse by General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly evaluates China-DPRK relations from a historical perspective. Therefore, the study of socialist North Korea is of great significance.
The two parties and the peoples of China and the DPRK once fought side-by-side against aggressors, forging a great friendship with their blood. Studying the new developments and trends in North Korean socialism helps us better understand North Korea and better maintain, consolidate, and develop the China-DPRK friendship in the new historical period. During the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the 1990s, the world socialist movement entered a low ebb. North Korea withstood international and domestic pressure, met difficulties head-on, and actively explored a socialist path consistent with its own national conditions. North Korea's economic development and Party-building processes in recent years have enriched and developed the theory and practice of the world socialist movement. Furthermore, North Korea is situated in a strategic location, and the situation on the Korean Peninsula affects the entire world. The peaceful development of socialist North Korea is of vital importance for the peace and stability of Northeast Asia and for the growth of the world socialist camp.
Socialism is constantly developing. This article has conducted research on the development of the WPK's socialist theory, economic construction, Party building, and foreign policy during the ten years of Kim Jong Un's governance; it merely reflects the status of North Korea's socialist development at the current stage. With the passage of time and the deepening of practice, the North Korean Party and people will surely achieve new developments in the process of exploring socialist construction.