North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is putting
a bold new emphasis on agriculture and changing
what he sees as an equal, but highly unproductive
distribution system.
Kwon So-a has this report.
Kim Jong-un is trying to drive competition
in his country's agriculture sector.
In a letter to agriculture leaders released
after a national conference, Kim signaled
that he plans to make reforms to the current
system.
He emphasized the need to boost productivity
by accelerating farmers' efforts, saying the
current equal distribution system is the reason
for a lack of enthusiasm.
He added the current system which distributes
a fixed amount of produce to farm workers
does not go hand in hand with the state's
socialist principles.
Individual's efforts will be incentivized
in the future to build a more competitive
structure.
"Apart from the amount of harvest fixed by
the country, workers who made extra efforts
should receive extra compensation."
Kim also is pushing ahead with a system, which
was briefly introduced in 2002, which gives
part of a field to three to five people and
ranks their compensation according to their
productivity.
While the changes reflect Kim Jong-un's ambitious
plans to revitalize the economy, it remains
to be seen whether the new system will be
able to surmount the nation's chronic food
shortages.
Kwon So-a, Arirang News.
