North Korea’s Kim Jong Un will likely seek fresh impetus for driving growth at a ruling party congress in January after the pandemic added to the pain of sanctions that leave him with a smaller economy than the one he took over nine years ago.
After closing its borders in response to COVID-19, North Korea’s gross domestic product likely shrank 8.5% in 2020, according to a projection by Fitch Solutions. That would be the biggest contraction in data back to 1990 and would leave the economy around 9% smaller than when Kim took power with a pledge to improve people’s living standards.
The figures point to an accelerated need for Kim to come up with a new five year economic plan to survive the crisis and ensure he maintains a firm grip on power. On Tuesday, Kim examined preparations for the congress to be held in early January, state media said.