This was the first year since 2012 that we have not been treated to the sound of Kim Jong Un delivering a speech on New Year’s Day, with the leader instead delivering a long speech to the 5th plenary session of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

Kim’s address at that meeting has primarily been of interest for what it said about foreign policy, but he also made a number of interesting economic pronouncements, and implied a good deal about the country’s future economic direction. NK Pro analysis reveals the following key themes:[/p