As natural disasters strike, North Korea cuts itself off
The extent of the damage may never be known
NORTH KOREAN dictators are not given to self-deprecation. Indeed, they seldom admit to being anything less than godlike, and lock up those who suggest otherwise. Yet in mid-August Kim Jong Un told a meeting of the Workers’ Party that, owing to multiple “unexpected difficulties”, his government had recently failed to improve the lives of the people and meet its economic goals. To remedy the situation, the report in the party newspaper went on, a party congress would be convened in January to adopt a new five-year plan.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Self-strangulation”
Asia August 29th 2020
- Who will replace Abe Shinzo after his resignation owing to illness?
- The murderer of 51 Muslims in New Zealand last year is sentenced
- Asian airlines are selling in-flight meals directly to the public
- As natural disasters strike, North Korea cuts itself off
- Politics is spreading covid-19 in Indonesia and the Philippines
From the August 29th 2020 edition
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