Kim Jong Un’s 2019 New Year’s Address: Dropping a Strategic Bombshell
Kim Jong Un gave his much awaited 2019 New Year’s speech on the morning of January 1. Considering the many breakthrough events of the past year, there was not much room left for a big surprise. His speech included the usual message of recognition and gratitude to the nation, duly mentioning various professions and highlighting some of the major construction projects of the year, such as the Wonsan tourism zone and Samjiyon County. He repeated his willingness to freeze the nuclear program, demanded that sanctions are dropped, and extended invitations for cooperation to South Korea and the United States. But was it all business as usual? No. There was one remark that carries a hugely significant strategic meaning way beyond the narrow scope of the year 2019, as will be discussed after looking at a few noteworthy formal aspects.
Style and Format
For the first time since Kim Jong Un started giving televised New Year’s speeches in 2013, the setup was reminiscent of a North Korean version of a state of the union address. He normally gave his speeches standing behind a podium in an assembly hall. This time, the North Korean leader sat in a massive armchair in one of his offices. The seating did not seem to be very comfortable; Kim moved around quite a bit while he was talking. Perhaps a chair with lower or no armrests behind an office desk would have been a better choice. As in 2018, Kim was wearing a Western suit and tie, not the North Korean cadre uniform. The former is typically interpreted by North Koreans as a hint at his role as a cosmopolitan statesman and is supposed to add weight to his words.
The address lasted for 31 minutes and had been pre-recorded. As the clock standing behind Kim Jong Un showed, the leader started speaking at 12:03 and finished at 12:55. This means Kim actually spent an extra 21 minutes that went unrecorded (or at least was not broadcast). We can only speculate whether he used that time for a break, or whether he needed several attempts to repeat single passages. In any case, it is somewhat surprising to observe such an obvious failure of his PR team. This example adds weight to the argument that field research in North Korea does make sense despite all limitations. If the regime cannot even orchestrate a 31-minute speech by the leader without glitches in the matrix, how can they present a perfect Potemkin village to an expert visitor who stays in their country for several days? All it takes is experience, patience and a sharp eye.
Kim held a simple printed manuscript in his hands at which he looked occasionally, but not very often. This means that either he had memorized the speech, or, more likely, he was reading from a teleprompter. His eyes were indeed moving from left to right while he spoke. The unadorned manuscript—no leather folder with a gold emblem, just plain white paper held together by a clip—seemed out of place in the otherwise elaborately decorated setting. Perhaps the idea was to show the North Korean people a busy leader who just interrupted his important work to make the address and who would afterwards quickly return to his duties. In this case, the extra 21 minutes would have somehow ruined that message of casualness.
A few more oddities could be observed. Unlike other leaders who address their citizens at similar occasions, Kim did not look straight into the camera a single time. Together with the taped applause that could be heard at the beginning and at the end of his speech, the idea was perhaps to create the impression that he was speaking to a large crowd. However, this stands in contrast to the choice of the intimacy of his office as the location, making the applause sound a bit like what we know from US sitcoms. The grey carpet with a modern white irregular pattern that vaguely reminded of a camouflage tarp was in sharp contrast to the conservative and unadventurous wooden furniture.
https://www.38north.org/2019/01/rfrank010219/
Note: Image no picture behind of water. Wearing a suit looking more like a free leader. Pictured alone.