Pyongyang’s new “Kangwondo Mentality” (Kangwondo-jeongsin) slogan made its first major appearance in the Workers’ Party newspaper on Tuesday, appearing 28 times in an editorial in the single most frequent mention of the slogan on one day so far.

For the first time, the context behind the slogan was revealed, with Rodong Sinmun hinting that the slogan is based on statements made by Kim Jong Il amid what North Korea calls the “Arduous March”, the famine of the 1990s in which hundred of thousands died.

“Today, the Workers’ Party’s expectation upon the people of Kangwondo (Kangwon Province) is extremely