PYONGYANG: Emphasizing that 2021 was the year of a huge victory of his compatriots, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his address on Saturday said that 2022 will be the year of a "life-and-death" struggle, the Korean Central News Agency (KSNA) reported on Saturday.
The fourth plenary session of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPK) of the eighth convocation was held from December 27 to 31. According to KSNA, WPK discussed the country's budget for 2022, the results of 2021 and plans for the coming year, agriculture, and changes in the WPK charter.
In his speech, the North Korean leader noted that the great struggle of 2022 must be won to ensure the success of socialist ideas and the North Korean people, KSNA reported. Kim mainly focused on agriculture and construction, strengthening the structure of the party and local authorities, developing the economy, industry, science, and health.
The North Korean leader did not mention relations with the United States and South Korea although last month marked an important development for the Korean peninsula. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said in December that his country, China, North Korea, and the United States agreed in principle to the declaration putting an end to the Korean War.
The Korean War de-facto ended in 1953 after the US and Democratic People's Republic of Korea ratified an armistice without signing a peace treaty. However, the Korean peninsula is still formally in a state of war until a peace treaty is signed.