In his opening speech at the 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim focused on improving economic activity.
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North Korea will open a rare congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, held once every five years, where Pyongyang’s leadership will set major policy goals in defense, foreign affairs and the economy, state media reported.
The 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) is being held, marking the beginning of the country’s most important political event since 2021, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday.
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“The 9th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea opened with great fanfare in the revolutionary capital of Pyongyang,” KCNA said, adding that high-level meetings began Thursday and observers expected them to last several days.
South Korea’s state-run Yonhap news agency said the gathering would be closely monitored for any signs of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program or overtures to the regimes in Seoul and the United States, which Pyongyang considers its main enemies.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made no mention of relations with South Korea or the United States in his opening speech to Congress on Thursday, instead focusing on revitalizing the country’s economy, Yonhap News reported.
“Our party has the grave and urgent task of promoting economic development, improving people’s lives, and transforming all aspects of domestic social life as soon as possible,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
Although it is difficult to gauge the true state of North Korea’s often struggling economy, outside experts suggest that North Korea’s economic activity is gradually recovering, helped by boosting trade with China after the coronavirus outbreak and arms exports to support Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.
Thousands of North Korean troops are fighting Ukraine on Moscow’s side, and North Korea is believed to have exported large amounts of ammunition to support Russia’s invasion of the neighboring country.
North Korea’s “biggest enemy”
South Korea’s intelligence agency announced last week that it was monitoring parliament for any signs that Mr. Kim would formally name his teenage daughter, Kim Jue, as his possible successor and position her as the clear successor in the Kim family’s four-generation succession as North Korean leaders.
At the last party congress five years ago, Kim declared the United States his country’s “biggest enemy,” AFP reported, and there is keen interest in whether the North Korean leader will soften or double down on his rhetoric, especially at this year’s party congress while US President Donald Trump is in office.
President Trump met Kim Jong Un in 2019 when he briefly ventured into North Korea to shake hands with him and pose for photos, and said during a tour of Asia late last year that he was “100 percent” open to meeting Kim again.
So far, Kim has objected to President Trump’s offer to reunite.
Observers of North Korean politics are reportedly scouring satellite images for signs of a large military parade that has accompanied previous parliamentary sessions in Pyongyang.
North Korea has long used parades to show off its latest and most advanced weaponry, and these parades will be closely monitored for signs of changes in the country’s weapons capabilities.
On Thursday, Kim held a ceremony to unveil the deployment of 50 new launch vehicles for nuclear-capable short-range missiles as the parliament opened.
According to Yonhap News, about 5,000 party representatives from across the country will gather for the convention, including 200 high-ranking officials from the headquarters of the Workers’ Party of Korea. More than 4,700 regional and industry stakeholders will also be in attendance.
