Kim Jong-un appears more often in economic and diplomatic events.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears in public at events related to the country's economic and diplomatic affairs more than at military events, according to Yonhap.
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| File photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Taegwan glass factory in North Pyongan province on November 18, 2018. Source: YONHAP/TTXVN |
According to Yonhap's analysis of North Korean media reports about Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader made 123 public appearances, including on-site inspections and summits, between January 1, 2018, and December 14. Of those, 52 were diplomatic and 43 were economic.
These two areas combined account for 77.2% of Kim Jong-un's total public appearances, a significant change from 2017 when he focused on military issues.
Last year, North Korea’s diplomatic relations with countries including close allies China and Russia were severely strained by Pyongyang’s provocative missile tests. In 2017, Kim Jong-un did not attend any purely diplomatic events.
The wind changed direction this year, when at a plenary session of the Workers' Party of Korea in April, the North Korean leader publicly abandoned the dual policy that the country had long maintained, that is, pursuing both economic and nuclear development.
He pledged to devote all national resources to economic development. As evidence of this change, the number of public appearances related to the economy by the North Korean leader increased by 59.2% to 43 times this year. Meanwhile, Mr. Kim only appeared in public 8 times related to military issues, down 80.5% compared to last year.
The North Korean leader also increased his public appearances, with the number of events he attended increasing by nearly 30% compared to 95 in 2017. This is the first increase in the past 5 years./.
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