When Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, ascended to power more than a decade ago, he repeated two promises that his family has made since founding the country in 1948: to strengthen the military and to improve the economy.
On the military front, Kim, 38, has delivered more than his father and grandfather who ruled before him, accelerating the country’s nuclear and missile programs.
On the economic front, he has struggled, with an already isolated country made more so by years of international sanctions over his nuclear program and border closures since the coronavirus pandemic.
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