“Kim Jong Un talked about all these grand ambitions and people not having to tighten their belts,” said Benjamin Katzeff Silberstein, editor of the site North Korean Economy Watch and a nonresident fellow at the U.S. think tank Stimson Center. The letters read “Kim Jong Un attended stage in Thursday night’s parade celebrating a ruling party congress.” (Lee Jin-man / Associated Press)Ishimaru said the closures have been punishing. Advertisement“COVID-19 is an unpredictable situation that’s affecting the entire world, not just North Korea. In some ways, it serves as an excuse,” said Yang Moon-soo, professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies. “If you think about what role the supreme leader has in North Korea, and he’s personally invested a lot of his clout, that says something.”

Source: Los Angeles Times January 26, 2021 16:41 UTC