North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has little to say to South Korea, U.S. in New Year's speech
Published: 01 Jan. 2026, 17:34
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gives a speech on Jan. 1 at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/01/b124921a-9974-4e2f-9abc-9da1a983bed6.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gives a speech on Jan. 1 at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. [RODONG SINMUN]
North Korea's state leader, Kim Jong-un, attended a New Year celebratory event on Thursday and delivered a speech, but refrained from issuing much-anticipated messages directed at South Korea or the United States.
Instead, Kim highlighted achievements from his signature initiative, the “20×10 Regional Development Policy,” encouraged the public for its hard work and made a point of praising soldiers deployed overseas.
Analysts say the move reflects an intention to tighten internal unity and push ahead with planned achievements across sectors while focusing on preparations for the Workers’ Party’s upcoming Ninth Congress.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the 2026 New Year celebratory performance took place “with splendor” at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang. The event appears to have taken place around midnight on Wednesday. Kim attended the performance accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.
In his speech, Kim stressed last year’s accomplishments, placing particular emphasis on internal cohesion.
“We can feel proud that we boosted the strength and dignity of our country that year,” he said. “We rounded off everything perfectly, writing great events on every page of the year.”
He went on to underscore progress under the “20×10 Regional Development Policy,” a plan launched in 2024 to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year over a decade.
“The civilization of the capital city transformed the regions, the transformation of the regions gave a spur to the development of the capital city, and all the regions, sectors and units across the country made progress in a competitive, balanced and simultaneous way,” said Kim. “In this way, the historic cause aspiring to overall development of socialist construction has successfully passed its first stage.”
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, poses for a commemorative photo with family members of commanders from overseas operations units attending the “2026 New Year celebratory performance” at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/01/38a22074-cc60-43cb-8d5a-ec9e863d2497.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, poses for a commemorative photo with family members of commanders from overseas operations units attending the “2026 New Year celebratory performance” at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [RODONG SINMUN]
Addressing the military, Kim said it “went against heavy odds to lead the drive for creation and transformation and achieve amazing successes,” describing its efforts as a “precious victory even at the cost of their lives, thereby creating a heroic age to be revered by the coming generations.”
Experts interpret Kim’s portrayal of the military as a “vanguard of our cause […] to lead the drive for creation and transformation and achieve amazing successes” rather than merely an armed force, as an attempt to glorify the sacrifices made by troops mobilized for various state-led projects.
Notably, Kim used both his speech and photo opportunities to single out North Korean troops deployed to Russia and their families.
“All of you have safeguarded heroically the dignity and honor of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,” Kim said in a congratulatory message sent on Wednesday, adding that their “self-sacrificing and devoted struggle” had further solidified the “militant fraternity and friendship and invincible alliance between our country and Russia.” He underscored the point by declaring, “Behind you are Pyongyang and Moscow.”
Experts say these moves point to Pyongyang’s intention to justify and highlight the results of the North Korean military’s deployment to Russia, while framing any resulting economic or military gains as an elevation of national dignity.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae, left, hold a child from the family of a commander in an overseas operations unit deployed to Russia at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [RODONG SINMUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/01/62b2fbcb-3149-4f83-9498-ff2f299d5225.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae, left, hold a child from the family of a commander in an overseas operations unit deployed to Russia at the May Day Stadium in Pyongyang on Jan. 1. [RODONG SINMUN]
Kim’s remark that “The coming year 2026 will be another year of the great DPRK along with the remarkable feats you will perform on the overseas battlefields,” is seen as reinforcing this narrative.
Kim also emphasized public unity in his New Year’s speech, saying that “what we believed in was nothing but our people’s patriotism and loyalty, and they were the real driving force that propelled our unprecedented struggle throughout the year.”
Kim proceeded to list achievements by soldiers of the Korean People’s Army, workers and farmers, the women’s national football team, and laborers at underground mines and power plant construction sites. In his roughly 985-word speech, Kim reportedly used the word “people” around 15 times, underscoring his professed commitment to a “people-first” ideology.
“The speech strongly suggests a preparatory effort to instill a ‘conviction of victory’ among the population ahead of the Ninth Party Congress, paving the way for a new mobilization drive,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies.
Meanwhile, the Rodong Sinmun — the official newspaper of North Korea's ruling party — briefly reported on a New Year’s greeting card sent by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife to Kim, bundling the news with similar greetings from other foreign leaders. This stood in contrast to the paper’s detailed coverage of congratulatory messages exchanged between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Analysts say the muted coverage of China reflects the lack of tangible progress on key issues Pyongyang seeks — including economic cooperation, trade and tourism — despite Kim’s visit to China in September of last year.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO, SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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