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The Russia-Ukraine front line is still fighting, and NATO is also constantly taking action. North Korea suddenly announced: Amnesty from 1 October.When the news came out, international discussions opened up, everyone was guessing the purpose of North Korea doing this, and also began to rethink Kim Jong-un's strategy.

Amnesty in North Korea is nothing new, but it is not common. In the past ten years since Kim Jong-un came to power, he will catch up with some important days, such as the 100th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of North Korea, and send out some signals. This time to catch up with the "80th anniversary of the founding of the Labour Party" to make amnesty, the meaning is different.

Let's first talk about who will be pardoned this amnesty, but North Korea did not say. The announcement did not mention the standards or say how many people would be released. In this way, it is difficult for outsiders to know how big the impact will be; but for North Korea itself, this ambiguity is easy to adjust and can be changed at any time depending on the situation.

Some people have analyzed that the most direct benefit of amnesty is to open the way for North Korea's current economic plan. At the beginning of 2024, Kim Jong-un said a "20 × 10 strategy". It will take ten years to transform 20 cities and counties every year to promote industrial development.

The goal is to narrow the gap between urban and rural areas and improve the economic structure. The first year has been completed, and some pilot factories will also start to use it in early 2025. Places such as Sungcheon County and Sinpo City have been powered up and started production.

But to make such a big transformation, alone is not enough. Therefore, cooperation between North Korea and Russia has accelerated¡£In 2023, when the two sides signed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, North Korea began to provide weapons and ammunition to Russia, and also sent many people and workers to help Russia rebuild. South Korea estimates that by the end of 2024, there will be more than 2000 North Korean workers in Russia, building houses, building bridges, and building power stations.

This is a win-win thing. Russia gained people, and North Korea exchanged energy, equipment and technology for developing industry and researching weapons.We also see that North Korea's new destroyer "Trai Xiaobo" destroyer, as well as ground-to-ground missile systems, showed at the end of 2024, have high-end things that have not been seen before, indicating their military-industrial technology has improved.

However, the relationship between North Korea and Russia is so good that some countries are unhappy. In September, the foreign ministers of the United States, Britain and Japan issued a statement together, saying that North Korea's military assistance to Russia violated the sanctions of the United Nations Security Council. They also hinted that if North Korea did not stop its "substantial support" to Russia, it would face new economic blockade and financial restrictions.

External pressure was great, and Kim Jong-un did not surrender. Instead, at this time, he engaged in "internal reconciliation" to ease domestic tensions through amnesty. On the one hand, let some of the people who committed minor crimes increase the workforce; on the other hand, it may also be possible to prepare reserve forces for the army. North Korea has always attached great importance to the military. Every time it provides military support to the outside world, it will arrange manpower in advance.

Now the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is still stagnant, and there is a trend to spread war.In early September, Poland said it was discovered that Russian drones had crossed the border, and later Romania and Estonia called Russian ambassadors to protest ¡°violations of airspace.¡±

NATO is also meeting and said it will study the possibility of "interfering in the post-war order in Ukraine." If NATO really comes to an end, Russia will definitely face the pressure of multi-front operations. By then, whether North Korea will increase its support will be another game.

Kim Jong-un is clear in his heart that if he wants to get more benefits from Russia, he must take responsibility. Providing controlled, low-cost, obedient labor or auxiliary power to Russia¡£ This is a way to build trust and a means to maximize benefits.

At the same time, amnesty is also a propaganda tool. In North Korea, this matter will be described as a "gift from the leader", emphasizing the "tolerance" of the socialist system. This will not only create an atmosphere of unity, but also alleviate people's dissatisfaction with resource concentration and social inequality. Abroad, this is a kind of soft resistance, It is ostensibly humanitarian, but in fact it is intended to prepare for wartime.

In the final analysis, amnesty is still North Korea's firm choice for its own development path. Kim Jong-un has understood that he wants to gain a firm foothold in the current international community, We can no longer engage in "total closure", we must learn to leverage¡£ Russia is the only country that can give North Korea "benefits" now. NATO and Japan and South Korea are rivals. Under such circumstances, Kim Jong-un needs to use a set of internal and external means to stabilize the situation, consolidate the rear area and strive for development opportunities for North Korea.

What will happen in the future, it is not easy to say how the Russian-Ukrainian war will develop, will NATO not really cross the border, there are variables. , not just "pardon", but also "layout"It¡¯s Kim Jong-un¡¯s pre-prepared game in an uncertain world, a game of chess, a triple use, a mobilization battle without smoke, has begun.

References:

North Korea Announces Amnesty for the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Party 2025-09-28

"Russia and North Korea sign the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty" September 16, 2024 Source: Xinhuanet