Kim Jong Un Places Food Crisis Above Nuclear Talks in 2022

  • North Korean leader’s New Year’s comments show domestic focus
  • Urges stronger military, but says little about foreign policy
Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party in Pyongyang on Dec. 28 in this photo provided by the KCNA.Source: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service/AP
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Kim Jong Un urged North Korea to focus on easing food shortages and containing Covid, in a downbeat New Year’s policy assessment that suggested nuclear talks with the U.S. were a low priority for the coming months.

Kim laid out his 2022 agenda in remarks to ruling party cadres that were published by state media Saturday and appeared to take the place of his traditional New Year’s Day address. During the five-day Workers’ Party meeting in Pyongyang, the North Korean leader also called for strengthening the military’s power due to an unstable environment.