North Korea to Hold 9th Party Congress in Late February... Expected to Announce Domestic and Foreign Policy Direction

North Korea will hold the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party in late February in Pyongyang to set the national policy line for the next five years.

On the 8th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that the 27th Political Bureau meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Party was held the previous day at the headquarters of the Party Central Committee under the guidance of Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jongun, and that this decision was made there.

Korean Central Television reported on the 2nd that Kim Jongun, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, attended the completion ceremony on the 1st for the Sinuiju Greenhouse Complex Farm built in the Wihwa-do area on the Yalu River in North Pyongan Province and delivered a congratulatory speech. Yonhap News

The meeting that day was conducted by Jo Yongwon, Organizational Secretary of the Party, by delegation of Chairman Kim Jongun. Members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau, including Pak Thaesong and Choe Ryonghae, as well as Political Bureau members and alternate members such as Ri Ilhwan, Pak Jongchon, Kim Tokhun, Choe Sonhui, No Kwangchol, Jong Kyongtaek, and Ri Yonggil, attended.

North Korea appears to have virtually completed the practical procedures for convening the Party Congress, including wrapping up the process of selecting delegates who will participate in the Congress.

In addition, the news agency reported that from January 28 to February 6, it convened representative meetings of Party organizations, including the Party committees of each provincial (directly governed city) Party, the Cabinet, the Korean People's Army, the Ministry of Social Security, and the Ministry of Railways, to elect delegates to be sent to the Party Congress and to recommend observers.

In North Korea, since the Party directs the decision-making of all state institutions, the Party Congress itself is the supreme decision-making body. At this 9th Party Congress, it is expected that the achievements of the five years since the 8th Party Congress in 2021 will be reviewed, and that the direction of domestic and foreign policy for the next five years will be announced. In particular, attention is focused on what Chairman Kim Jongun will say regarding external policy, including toward South Korea and the United States.

There is also interest in whether a new political status will be conferred on Chairman Kim Jongun. Some observers are raising the possibility of reviving the presidency, a post once held by Kim Il-sung. However, since the presidency is a state position rather than a Party post, even if an actual decision is made, it could be carried out not at the Party Congress but at a subsequent session of the Supreme People's Assembly.

The outline of economic policy is also expected to emerge. North Korea has recently been stepping up groundbreakings for local factories, hospitals, and service centers. On the 7th as well, groundbreaking ceremonies were held in Sinpyong County, North Hwanghae Province, and Sonchon County, North Pyongan Province. This is seen as an attempt to maximize the propaganda effect of its achievements in the priority field of regional development ahead of the Party Congress.