The New Year Address can be seen as one of the DPRK’s oldest traditions – it was first delivered by Kim Il Sung in 1946, and since then, at the beginning of every year, North Koreans have been treated to a lengthy speech delivered by their leader.

For a few years under Kim Jong Il the speech was presented as a ‘joint editorial’ of major newspapers, but this hardly changed its nature: the New Year Address is a report of how North Korea's leaders see the country’s situation, and also offers hints as to the goals they hope to achieve the next year.