Mick Hartley

I reported earlier in the week on the Supreme Leader's stirring New Year's address to the nation. According to the Daily NK, though, the enthusiasm reported in the official media was, in truth, hard to find:

Many ordinary North Koreans have expressed cynicism and disinterest in Kim Jong Un’s recent New Year’s Address, citing the fact that they have long become inured to government policies and proclamations that are generated in an entirely different world to that of the common people.

"The Rodong Sinmun has claimed that people are working hard to fulfill the tasks outlined in the New Year's address to increase production, but residents are not showing much interest. Regardless of the annual lectures on the New Year's address, people know capitalism is their bread and butter,” a source in North Pyongan Province told DailyNK on January 3.

"Many market vendors are commenting on the ‘great’ achievements touted in the New Year’s Address each year, sardonically noting how elusive they are since ‘nobody has ever seen them.’ I’ve heard others ask, “Where did all the goods and grain shown on television go?” People think little of the address, although they cannot openly say it, fearing punishment."

"Although the authorities are emphasizing domestic production and the promotion of achievements, the markets are still dominated by imported goods. This is why the emphasis on 'self-help' doesn’t resonate with people,” a source in Ryanggang Province said.

"At first, I thought that the popularity of imported goods in Ryanggang was due to the fact that it is a border city, but I found out that markets in South Pyongan and the Hwanghae Provinces are also full of foreign products. Residents do not take the New Year's Address seriously because the propaganda doesn’t match the reality on the ground.”…

"The authorities are forcing the residents to learn the New Year's address,” a source in North Hamgyong Province added, “but people are only pretending to listen. They are more interested in survival, preparing for the imminent manure-collection mobilization. The claims of the authorities that people are encouraged by the New Year's Address is far from the truth.”