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| North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a new collection of propaganda posters of the Workers' Party of Korea, Thursday. KCNA-Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency on Thursday released a new collection of propaganda posters, one of which shows a factory worker celebrating the reaching of a production target, with a range of manufactured products from North Korea's so-called exemplary factories.
In four posters published by the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), North Korea emphasizes four economic focuses, which the country has been emphasizing since the April 21 party plenary meeting, at which party leader Kim Jong-un declared an end of the dual military-economic Byeongjin policy and a change to new economic strategies.
In a poster that reads, "For the best achievement and the highest honor in the mass production campaign," backpacks branded "Sonamu (pine tree)" from a Pyongyang bag factory, a cosmetic set of "Bomhyanggi (spring scent)" from a Sinuiju cosmetic factory and kimchi packs from a Ryogyong kimchi factory.
North Korea has been encouraging factories to increase output after Kim Jong-un announced a five-years of economic plan for 2016-2020, while state media often cite the above three factories as exemplary, reporting Kim Jong-un's inspections of them.
Also featured are athletic shoes, an umbrella and toothpaste with a letter that reads "hyang," suggesting that they are from the Naegohyang domestic conglomerate, as well as a range of fruit juices. A silk factory, which the North has shown to foreign media, is in the background.
In recent years, foreign visitors to the North have noted a growing range of domestic products line, including sporting goods, toothpaste, beverages and snacks.
One poster reads, "Let's escort the party by carrying out the five-year strategic goal of national economic development," and features a factory worker with packs of chemical fertilizers.
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| New posters of the Workers' Party of Korea. KCNA-Yonhap |
While North Korean media often promotes the development of fertilizers to increase agricultural production, pundits say the North cannot produce enough chemical fertilizers made from refined crude oil, whose imports have been under sanctions since last year.
Another poster, which reads "Leaping forward to mass production campaign" and features crops and stock with a farmer, also shows how much emphasis North Korea is putting on agriculture. North Korea's food insecurity, however, has been aggravated this year, following droughts and floods.
Another poster reads "Let's become the creator of the great achievement in a battle of great construction" and "A thousand years of responsibility and guaranteed to last ten thousand years," emphasizing Kim Jong-un's focus on construction projects.
In recent months, Kim Jong-un has inspected construction sites including Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist district in Gangwon Province and Yangdok County in South Pyongan Province.
Other phrases featured on the poster read, "Self-rehabilitation," "Battle for escorting party policy," and "Battle for accomplishing party idea."
