In a rare apology for his failure in leading the country through difficult times during his speech last Saturday (Oct. 10), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took off his glasses and cried.
Speaking at the military parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim set aside a huge part of the speech to messages carefully crafted to appear sympathising to the North Koreans, according to The Korea Times.
The speech was unusual for it took a different tack from previous occasions.
The 36-year-old leader said to the crowd in Pyongyang: “Our people have placed trust, as high as the sky and as deep as the sea, in me, but I have failed to always live up to it satisfactorily.”
“I am really sorry for that,” he said.
“Although I am entrusted with the important responsibility to lead this country upholding the cause of the great Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il thanks to the trust of all the people, my efforts and sincerity have not been sufficient enough to rid our people of the difficulties in their lives.”
The isolated country has been dealing with “three hardships”, as Kim mentioned, which are international sanctions, the Covid-19 outbreak and natural disasters that include typhoons and floods.
Kim, however, continued to maintain that the country does not have any Covid-19 cases, saying that he was thankful for that.
No one at the event was wearing a mask, including Kim and his senior officials, indicating either a lack of regard for the risk of Covid-19 transmission, or confidence in having defeated the pandemic in the country, according to Financial Times.
Shawn Ho, Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, told Mothership that Kim might have felt that he has not lived up to the expectations in delivering some of his promises to the North Korean people who have had to deal with continuing hardships.
He added that another possible reason Kim was feeling emotional during the speech was the occasion itself.
Kim warned in his speech that he would “fully mobilise” his nuclear force if threatened, but avoided direct criticism of Washington.
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