North Korea’s ruling party opened a landmark congress on Friday, state media reported, launching a political spectacle expected to outline the next stage of the nation’s nuclear weapons programme.
Leader Kim Jong Un took centre stage with an opening speech at the Workers’ Party congress, a quinquennial gathering that guides state policy on everything from housing to military strategy.
Party elites filled the vast House of Culture in Pyongyang for the once-in-five-years event, which typically concludes with an enormous parade showcasing the military’s latest hardware.
The congress offers a rare glimpse into the workings of a highly secretive state and will be closely monitored for insights into Kim’s long-term strategy.
Kim said North Korea had overcome its “worst difficulties” since the previous congress in 2021 and was entering a new era of “optimism and confidence in the future".
“Today, our party is faced with heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people’s standard of living and transforming all realms of state and social life as early as possible,” he said on Thursday, according to state media.
He also highlighted “deep-rooted defeatism” and “immaturity in leadership ability” that continue to impede the party’s work, signalling possible repercussions for officials deemed to have underperformed.
Kim has already indicated that this year’s congress will set out plans to expand North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. It has been more than eight years since the country’s last nuclear test, which triggered a man-made earthquake beneath the northern Hamyong mountains.
Since then, Pyongyang’s atomic scientists have focused on developing compact warheads that can be mounted on long-range missiles. The country’s economy, meanwhile, continues to suffer under Western sanctions aimed at restricting funding for its weapons programme.
Despite these challenges, Kim is expected to tout progress in the nuclear sector and emphasise “strengthened alignment with China and Russia”, according to Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies.
Ruling dynasty
This is only the ninth Workers’ Party congress convened under North Korea’s decades-long Kim dynasty. The meeting was largely suspended during the rule of Kim’s father, Kim Jong Il, but was revived in 2016.
Kim Jong Un has spent years cultivating a cult of personality, and the congress provides another opportunity to demonstrate his absolute control. State media images showed him delivering his address as senior officials took notes, with analysts scrutinising seating arrangements to gauge favour and influence.
Particular attention will focus on the presence of Kim’s teenage daughter, Ju Ae, viewed by Seoul’s national intelligence service as a potential heir apparent.
Biggest enemy
North Korea’s traditional allies, China and Russia, sent congratulatory messages to mark the opening of the congress, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Last year, Kim appeared alongside Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at a military parade in Beijing, signalling his elevated status in global politics.
At the previous congress, he described the United States as his country’s “biggest enemy”, and observers are watching to see whether he will maintain or soften this stance. US President Donald Trump expressed openness to meetings with Kim during an Asian tour last year, but so far the North Korean leader has largely ignored top-level diplomatic overtures.
