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N. Korea extends labor campaign
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has extended a campaign urging citizens to work harder for 100 more days, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Friday, in what appeared to suggest the results of the drive fell short of expectations.
The so-called 150-day Battle, which compels North Koreans to work harder and put in longer hours, began on April 20 as part of the country's efforts to resolve food shortages and rebuild its frail infrastructure. The intensive drive was initially scheduled to end on Sept. 17.
But the Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based paper that reflects North Korea's official position, said North Koreans will continue to work hard under a renewed "100-day Battle," stretching the labor drive into the end of December.
In the 150-day drive, "many units have been achieving fruitful results. Without slowing down a bit, (the North Korean people will) keep up their vigor during the 100-day Battle," the paper said.
North Korea seeks to build a "great, prosperous and powerful nation" by 2012, the birth centennial of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung and the year when current leader Kim Jong-il turns 70.
The economic goals of the initial campaign were likely not met, given the country's dilapidated infrastructure and tightening U.N. sanctions imposed after its nuclear test in May, said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea studies professor at Dongguk University in Seoul. The sanctions ban North Korean arms trade, a major source of income for the impoverished state, and limit cash flows into the country.
"I think they didn't have any notable achievements," Kim said. "North Korea's economic situation is not well enough to produce results that are visible to its citizens."
With the nationwide drive, the country also wants its citizens to remain united around leader Kim Jong-il while its diplomatic stalemate with the United States continues, he added.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
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