Rudiger Frank analyzes the latest Parliamentary Session in North Korea for 38 North. His conclusion?
Despite harsher-than-usual Chinese implementation of economic sanctions, a political crisis in South Korea and growing military pressure from the Trump administration in Washington, the 2017 session of the North Korean parliament showed no sign of urgency. The event followed more or less the same routine as in previous years.
In terms of economic policy, we note a strong focus on energy production and the consumers, and no acknowledgement of any consequences of the Chinese ban on the import of North Korean coal. The remarks on food production imply that starchy staple food is not a problem anymore and that the focus is now on improving the diet of the population by producing more fat and protein.
A separate report on the implementation of 12-year compulsory education shows the great attention paid by the North Korean leadership on the young generation. An extra year of schooling and a reformed education system are aimed at improving the ability of graduates to be able to cope with the high-tech plans of the government, but also to strengthen the grip of the state propaganda on the minds of North Korean youth.
I see educating the next generation as a calculated risk. Better education requires improved analytical skills – and those skills can easily be applied to the current governmental system and expose inefficiencies and irrationalisms (such as having a despot in charge). But those same skills are necessary to improve all facets of the economy – and if they continue to make progress, well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. There’s nothing like success to blunt criticism and support the current system.
And the calm suggests that the governmental doesn’t really expect to self-immolate in a war with the United States any time soon It’s probable they’ve analyzed Trump and figure him for the paper tiger he has so far proven to be; the missile launches are the usual testing you’d expect from a development program.
