Kim Jong Un calls North Korea tractors 'handsome'

Kim Jong Un wore a suit to a North Korea exhibit of farming equipment, according to state media on Friday. Photo by Rodong Sinmun

SEOUL, May 13 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un visited a public exhibition of North Korean-made trucks and tractors, where he stressed the importance of the state's guiding ideology.

State-controlled media did not indicate when the visit was made, or where the exhibition was being held, but Pyongyang's state newspaper Rodong Sinmun ran several photographs of a grinning Kim inspecting farming vehicles.

"For the mechanical vehicles at this exhibit, powerful self-reliance must come first, powerful self-reliance will assure us a path to our livelihood," Kim said, according to KCNA.

Kim went on to say that his "self-reliance first" policy would cultivate North Korean power in a hundred ways and serve as a "potent weapon."

"We are to create policy and a line that produce phenomenal results, and elevate the entire army and people's sense of the self-reliance first ideology," Kim said.

Kim's use of the term was first introduced in his New Year's speech in January, and resurfaced several times during the Seventh Party Congress, South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported.

In the photos North Korea issued Friday, Kim appeared in a black suit, tie and a white shirt, identical to the attire he wore when he delivered his speeches at the Seventh Party Congress.

Kim said the farming equipment was "world-class," according to state media, because they weren't copies of other countries' products but made in "our style."

According to Pyongyang, the exhibition included dozens of tractors, seeding machines, motor trucks, and a 5,000-ton cargo ship.

Kim frequently said the equipment looked like a "handsome man," and smiled widely while surrounded by top officials Hwang Pyong So, Pak Pong Ju and Choe Ryong Hae.

Kim also called for an increase of 60-70 percent in farming machinery production, South Korean news service Newsis reported.

Jeong Joon-hee, Seoul's unification ministry spokesman, said the field guidance Kim made in a suit couldn't be an indicator of any new changes in North Korea policy.

Rather, Jeong said, the new attire could be an effort on the part of Kim to show a "multifaceted effort" to his policies.