{"id":4317,"date":"2019-08-21T18:40:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T09:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4317"},"modified":"2019-09-19T12:56:08","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T03:56:08","slug":"sends700","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/08\/politics\/sends700\/","title":{"rendered":"Field Trip Flex: Kim Jong-un Sends 700 Senior Officials to Mt. Baekdu to Study \u201cRevolutionary Spirit\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kim Jong-un, along with a close aide and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, conducting an on-site inspection. Photograph released by the Korean Central News Agency<\/p><\/div>\n

The North Korean authorities have reportedly mobilized a large number of senior Workers\u2019 Party officials from Pyongyang to tour the \u201chistoric sites of the revolution\u201d in Samjiyeon County, including Mt. Baekdu and other locations. (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

August is typically a time when leaders of organizations, businesses, schools, and military units from all over the country are mobilized to visit the historic site of Mt. Baekdu. This year, however, local residents were surprised by the sudden appearance of a large group of central party officials.<\/p>\n

On August 9, a reporting partner living in the region told ASIAPRESS, \u201cTheir group, called the \u2018Central Party Headquarters Surveying Division,\u2019 was huge in number. About 700 in total. They walked together from Hyesan station to the field site, all wearing the uniform of the Red Guards militia, along with \u2018anti-Japanese\u2019 hats. It is common for college students, soldiers, and police to come to the site in such large numbers but very rare for that many central party officials to come. So rare, in fact, that local residents all came out to catch a glimpse.\u201d
\nNext page : According to the reporting partner...<\/strong>
\nAccording to the reporting partner, the central party officials were sent by Kim Jong-un to \u201clearn the revolutionary spirit of Mt. Baekdu\u201d. The group arrived in Hyesan city on August 3 and toured the construction sites of the Samjiyeon Special Tourist Zone, as well as Mt. Baekdu, on foot, before returning to Pyongyang on August 7.<\/p>\n

Mt. Baekdu, which straddles the border between North Korea and China, is considered by the North to be a \u201choly site of the revolution\u201d. The regime claims that it was the base of Kim Il-sung\u2019s anti-Japanese guerilla activities, as well as the birthplace of Kim Jong-il. (Outside sources show Kim Jong-il to have actually been born in Primorsky, Russia.)<\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s domestic economy has worsened due to the impact of the long-term economic sanctions. In Pyongyang, the prices of apartments have plummeted, with the capital\u2019s wealthy elite and high-ranking officials hurt from deteriorating trade with China.<\/p>\n

The central party officials, who represent the core of Kim Jong-un\u2019s power, were likely sent to Mt. Baekdu, the sacred symbol of the Kim family\u2019s \u201cBaekdu bloodline\u201d, as a stern reminder of the regime\u2019s justification for the hereditary succession of power and of the absolute loyalty required of them by the regime.<\/p>\n

On August 29, this year\u2019s second meeting of the Supreme People\u2019s Assembly will be held. At the Assembly, it is possible that Kim Jong-un will announce new domestic policies or a shift in stance towards the United States.<\/p>\n

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A map of the \u2018Holy Land of the Revolution\u2019 (ASIAPRESS)<\/p><\/div>\n

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