PYONGYANG, North Korea — Produce more new-generation electric locomotives and passenger cars! Send more satellites into space! Make the whole country seethe with a high-pitched campaign for producing green-house vegetables! Become iron shields and red warriors who defend the party, system and people to the death!
Even as North Korea is being threatened with new sanctions and more isolation for conducting a nuclear test and rocket launch, its ruling party announced new slogans to guide and inspire the nation ahead of a once-in-a-generation party congress scheduled for May. The number of exclamation marks would suggest North Koreans have a lot of work to do.
The slogans, issued Thursday by the Central Committee and the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, reflect what the party sees as the nation’s priorities in the months and years ahead. The topics range from boosting the economy to becoming an international sports power and, of course, building more edifices in honor of the leaders and toeing the party line.
The nuclear bomb test conducted in January was mentioned just once, but it was a mouthful: “Let’s dynamically wage this year’s general advance in the same spirit as shown in succeeding in the H-bomb test!”
Some of the other slogans, as translated by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency:
On the economy:
On ideology:
On the military:
On arts and culture:
