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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un started the new year with a visit to the grave of his father and grandfather and sent a letter to North Koreans, state media reported.
In the letter, Kim thanked people for their trust and support for the Party even in “difficult” times, according to the KCNA.
Pyongyang’s leader previously apologized for failing to deliver on promises of economic progress and the hardships citizens have endured due to international sanctions and the strict measures taken to prevent the Covid-19 epidemic.
“In the new year I will work hard to bring forward the new era in which the ideals and wishes of our people will come true,” wrote Kim.
North Korea said it had no confirmed cases of Covid-19, although officials from South Korea and the United States said it was unlikely to be true.
The New Year was marked in Pyongyang’s main square with a concert and fireworks show attended by thousands of people. At midnight, Kim and other members of the country’s leadership visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of his father and grandfather, former North Korean leaders, are located.
Kim was also accompanied by delegates from the Korean Workers’ Party Congress, which will take place in January and will be the first in five years. At the eighth congress, Kim is expected to announce, among other things, a new five-year economic plan and high-level changes.
It is unclear whether he will give a speech on the first day of the year, as he has in the past.
Publisher: Georgiana Marina
