N. Korea extends labor campaign

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has extended a campaign urging citizens
to work harder for 100 more days, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan said Friday,
in what appeared to suggest the results of the drive fell short of expectations.

The so-called 150-day Battle, which compels North Koreans to work harder and put
in longer hours, began on April 20 as part of the country's efforts to resolve
food shortages and rebuild its frail infrastructure. The intensive drive was
initially scheduled to end on Sept. 17.
But the Choson Sinbo, a Tokyo-based paper that reflects North Korea's official
position, said North Koreans will continue to work hard under a renewed "100-day
Battle," stretching the labor drive into the end of December.
In the 150-day drive, "many units have been achieving fruitful results. Without
slowing down a bit, (the North Korean people will) keep up their vigor during the
100-day Battle," the paper said.
North Korea seeks to build a "great, prosperous and powerful nation" by 2012, the
birth centennial of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung and the year when
current leader Kim Jong-il turns 70.
The economic goals of the initial campaign were likely not met, given the
country's dilapidated infrastructure and tightening U.N. sanctions imposed after
its nuclear test in May, said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea studies professor at
Dongguk University in Seoul. The sanctions ban North Korean arms trade, a major
source of income for the impoverished state, and limit cash flows into the
country.
"I think they didn't have any notable achievements," Kim said. "North Korea's
economic situation is not well enough to produce results that are visible to its
citizens."
With the nationwide drive, the country also wants its citizens to remain united
around leader Kim Jong-il while its diplomatic stalemate with the United States
continues, he added.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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