New Thing 135, New Thing Every Day: Read a Speech by Kim Jong Un

In a way, Kim Jong Un is one of the most important world leaders of my lifetime, and yet I had never heard him speak or read one of his speeches.

Here is a link to the speech I read. It is kind of like our State of the Union.

http://www.ncnk.org/resources/news-items/kim-jong-uns-speeches-and-public-statements-1/kim-jong-uns-2017-new-years-address

Here are some passages that particularly struck me.

• We conducted the first H-bomb test, test-firing of various means of strike and nuclear warhead test successfully to cope with the imperialists' nuclear war threats, which were growing more wicked day by day, briskly developed state-of-the-art military hardware, and entered the final stage of preparation for the test launch of intercontinental ballistic missile; we achieved other marvellous successes one after another for the consolidation of the defence capability.
• Thanks to the heroic struggle of the Kim Il Sung's and Kim Jong Il's working class and all other people, the ambitious goals the Party set for the 70-day campaign and 200-day campaign were attained with success and a fresh breakthrough was made in the development of the national economy.
• During the 70-day campaign and 200-day campaign we created a new spirit of the times for building a powerful socialist country, and our people's trust in the Party and confidence in socialism grew firmer. 
• We should concentrate our efforts on implementing the five-year strategy for national economic development. This year is of key importance in carrying out this strategy. In order to open up fine prospects for the implementation of the strategy and develop the country's overall economy onto a higher plane, while building on the successes gained last year, we should attain the goals for this year's struggle without fail.
• "Let us accelerate the victorious advance of socialism with the great spirit of self-reliance and self-development as the dynamic force!"–this is the militant slogan we should uphold in this new year's march. 
• Upholding the slogan of self-reliance and self-sufficiency, every field and every unit of the national economy should launch a dynamic struggle to increase production and practise economy to the maximum, and thus carry out the plan for this year on all indices.
• In this year of the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army, we should raise the fierce flames of increasing the military capability.
• Last year, south Korea witnessed a massive anti-"government" struggle spreading far and wide to shake the reactionary ruling machinery to its foundations. This resistance involving all south Korean people, which left an indelible mark in the history of their struggle, was an outburst of pent-up grudge and indignation against the conservative regime that had been resorting to fascist dictatorship, anti-popular policy, sycophantic and traitorous acts and confrontation with their compatriots.
• The improvement of inter-Korean relations is the starting-point for peace and reunification, and it is a pressing demand of the whole nation.