North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivered a New Years 2013 speech addressing the need for economic growth in his country. The reclusive nation remains impoverished, and Kim's rise to power has brought hope for change in the Communist country.
According to the Montreal Gazette, Kim called for:
- Boosting the living standards of people in North Korea
- Development of more advanced weapons to protect the nation
- A "revolution" in science and technology
- More amusement parks
The call for improved living standards is seemingly at odds with the goal of creating more advanced weaponry. Many nations, including South Korea and the United States, are wary of North Korea's military ambitions. Especially alarming are the seemingly endless rocket tests that signal aggression from Kim's regime.
Kim is the third leader of the nation, following in the footsteps of his father Kim Jong-Il and grandfather Kim Il-Sung. He took power following the death of his father in 2011.
According to Reuters:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an end to confrontation between the two Koreas, technically still at war in the absence of a peace treaty to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a surprise New Year speech broadcast on state media.
The address by Kim, who took over power in the reclusive state after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in 2011, appeared to take the place of the policy-setting New Year editorial published in leading state newspapers.
Impoverished North Korea raised tensions in the region by launching a long-range rocket in December that it said was aimed at putting a scientific satellite in orbit, drawing international condemnation.
North Korea, which considers North and South as one country, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is banned from testing missile or nuclear technology under U.N. sanctions imposed after its 2006 and 2009 nuclear weapons tests.
