Expectations have been growing in Pyongyang for an economic breakout ahead of a planned second U.S.-North Korea summit later this month, as the latest information and electronics technologies become increasingly visible in the country’s showcase city.
Some locals have expressed hope that North Korea’s economy will be revitalized thanks to an improvement of its ties with the United States, which has been reluctant to ease economic sanctions aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear and the missile programs.
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In Pyongyang, meanwhile, a Wi-Fi internet service has begun in a hotel and political slogans in public spaces have started to be flashed on digital displays, with solar panels installed across the city to generate electricity.
Until several years ago, slogans promoting nuclear weapons and ballistic missile development as well as lambasting America had been prevalent in North Korea, but they are no longer noticeable, at least in Pyongyang.
Prices of daily goods are mostly unchanged and people have been going about their lives as usual in Pyongyang, despite observations by many analysts that North Korean economy has stagnated against a backdrop of international economic sanctions.
At Pyongyang’s Potonggang Hotel, guests have been allowed to have access to internet via Wi-Fi since late last year, locals say. Digital displays, set up in several places in the capital, have alternately been projecting various slogans.
Kim Jin Sung, a 27-year-old IT researcher, also said, ” I hope our country’s relations with the United States will improve further” indicating he believes that a thaw in ties with Washington will contribute to North Korea’s economic prosperity.
In their upcoming direct talks, Kim is likely to strongly urge Trump to ease international economic sanctions and allow it to receive humanitarian aid from other countries, foreign affairs experts say.
Reference: Hopes for economic growth rife in Pyongyang ahead of Kim-Trump talks
