Hello NK News readers, and Happy New Year! Welcome to Ask a North Korean, the feature where you can ask our North Korean writers your questions about life on the ground in the DPRK.

Today, Tae-il Shim and In-hua Kim discuss how North Koreans view their leader’s annual New Year’s Address.

The speech is typically a chance for the North Korean leader to outline his vision for the country in the coming year.

This year, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un didn’t give a traditional speech; instead, his remarksto his fellow Workers’ Party members at a party plenary meeting were published