Rare congress of North Korea's ruling party to offer glimpse of regime's road map for next five years

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Rare congress of North Korea's ruling party to offer glimpse of regime's road map for next five years

Published: 28 Jan. 2026, 07:00

SEO JI-EUN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un presides over a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, which was convened from Dec. 9 to 11, 2025, in this photo carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 12. [YONHAP]

[NEWS ANALYSIS]

North Korea is poised to convene the 9th Congress of its ruling Workers’ Party in the coming weeks — a political grand assembly that experts say will mark a watershed moment and open the second chapter of leader Kim Jong-un’s rule.

A North Korean party congress — the first of its kind in five years — is the country’s most authoritative and large-scale political event, where decisions effectively become law under the regime’s “party-state” system.

In the opaque politics of Pyongyang, the rare spectacle of a party congress is as close as one gets to reading the regime’s road map for its future for the next five years.

The congress could serve as an opportunity for Kim to double down on isolation and militarization, or to offer calibrated signals of flexibility, experts say. It may also be used to address North Korea’s deepening economic challenges under sanctions, to further entrench a new cult of personality centered on ‘Kim Jong-un-ism,’ and to lay the symbolic groundwork for a potential successor — ensuring the continuity of the Kim family’s dynastic rule into the next generation.

Timeline of North Korean Workers' Party congresses [YUN YOUNG]

In late December, a plenary meeting of the Central Committee discussed preparing for the congress, and last Saturday, local party organizations held meetings to elect their delegates.

A South Korean Unification Ministry official told reporters Tuesday that past congresses have held their preparatory delegate meetings roughly two to four weeks before the political conference, suggesting the big show will take place in the first half of February.

Soldiers listen to a guide at the Central Class Education House in Pyongyang as part of events marking the 80th anniversary of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League's foundation, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 19. The banners read, "South Korea is the No. 1 hostile country and the unchanging archenemy," and accused Seoul of creating a "confrontational frenzy" aimed at upending North Korea and "ending the regime." [YONHAP]

Formalizing a two-state split with South Korea

One of the most consequential outcomes expected from the 9th Congress is an official redefinition of inter-Korean relations.

Kim declared at a year-end party meeting in December 2023 that South-North ties are those of “two states hostile to each other,” no longer a special intra-ethnic relationship. This two-state doctrine marks a departure from the rhetoric of his father and grandfather, who at least nominally upheld “national reunification” as a goal.

A Central Committee decision in December noted that a draft revision of the charter would be presented at the congress, without revealing further details.

"This could mean deleting any remaining references to reunification from the charter and codifying the 'two hostile states' policy," said Yang Moo-jin, a distinguished professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Concrete signs are already visible on the ground.

The state-run media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Jan. 19 released photos of young North Koreans touring an indoctrination exhibition in Pyongyang where bold banners proclaimed “South Korea is the No. 1 hostile country and the unchanging archenemy.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, right on front row, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, left on front row, walk shoulder to shoulder ahead of a military parade at Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3, 2025 in this photo released by [TASS/YONHAP]

Russia first, China second?

On the international front, the upcoming congress is expected to reaffirm North Korea’s course of defiance, particularly regarding its nuclear weapons program.

During visits to a weapons research center in September 2025, he stated that the 9th Congress would advance a new policy of advancing both nuclear arms and the regular military in tandem. This means North Korea aims to modernize its conventional army — such as expanding artillery, drones and other hardware — even as it continues to build more nuclear warheads and delivery systems.

Another key theme to watch at the congress is North Korea’s evolving foreign alignments. In place of outreach to Seoul or Washington, Kim is turning outward to Moscow, while to a lesser extent to Beijing.

When reporting on Kim’s New Year’s cards to foreign leaders, the North’s official newspaper listed Chinese President Xi Jinping only by his title and brusquely grouped him alongside leaders of much smaller countries. In contrast, Kim’s correspondence and meetings with Putin have received lavish coverage.

Observers are particularly watching whether China sends a high-level delegation to attend the North Korean congress.

"The level of Chinese representation — a top Politburo Standing Committee member versus a lower-ranking official — would speak volumes about the current state of Kim’s ties with Xi’s government," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies, Kyungnam University.

A heavyweight Chinese delegation would signal that recent strains have been mended, Lim added. Nonetheless, even if political ties are cool, Beijing is unlikely to fundamentally alienate Pyongyang, given North Korea’s strategic value.

North Korean citizens read newspaper in Pyongyang on Jan. 11, 2021, carrying the news of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea holding the 8th party congress. The official Korean Central News Agency said the same day that the congress endorsed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's election as general secretary of the Workers' Party, taking over the top post from his late father. [KYODO/YONHAP]

A new economic plan and 'Kim Jong-un-ism'

Domestically, one of the congress’s main tasks will be to issue a fresh national development plan for the post-2025 period.

The previous 2021-2025 five-year economic development plan, as well as a parallel defense science plan, will officially conclude this year, meaning North Korea will report on what was achieved and what wasn’t.

In contrast to older propaganda that simply declared victory, Kim has adopted a more candid tone since the 8th Congress, openly admitting that many targets were not met. The North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a report on Jan. 24 that during the local conferences held ahead of the party congress, shortcomings were “seriously analyzed and summed up” alongside achievements.

“This suggests that the self-critical stance introduced at the 8th Congress is not a temporary gesture but has become a routine governance style,” said Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification. “It may also foreshadow a sweeping reshuffle of underperforming officials.”

In recent weeks, Kim already dismissed Vice Premier Yang Sung-ho on-site, and reportedly replaced the chemical industry minister.

North Korean civilians and soldiers participate in a mass rally in Pyongyang on Jan. 15, 2021, in support of the decisions from the recently concluded eighth congress of the North's ruling Workers' Party, in this photo released by North Korea's state-run media Korean Central News Agency two days later. [YONHAP]

There is also speculation that Kim will use this congress to further cement his personal ideology — what some call “Kim Jong-un-ism.”

Last year, propaganda slogans referenced a “five-point line of party building in the new era” that Kim has introduced. These refer to strengthening the party’s political leadership and authority; tightening organizational control down to the grassroots; intensifying ideological indoctrination of the masses with Kim’s revolutionary thought; enforcing strict discipline and cracking down on corruption within party ranks; and improving officials’ work style to better serve the people. Taken together, these five lines differentiate Kim’s approach from his predecessors, emphasizing efficiency, loyalty and a “people-first” image.

"Kim will present an upgraded version of these party-building principles at the congress, potentially writing them into the party rules," Yang said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, alongside his daughter known as Ju-ae and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, center left, visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Jan. 1, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. [YONHAP]

Spotlight on Kim's daughter

Perhaps the most attention-grabbing question surrounding the 9th Party Congress is whether it will offer clues about a future successor for Kim.

Kim has brought his daughter, known as "Ju-ae," to military parades, missile tests and other significant occasions since late 2022.

Experts note that on New Year’s Day this year, Ju-ae made her first visit to Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the sacred mausoleum for Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il. State media photos from that day showed her standing literally at the center of North Korea’s seat of legitimacy next to her parents — seen by analysts as a calculated move to present the known-to-be 13-year-old as Kim’s heir apparent in the making.

Anticipation is now high that Kim could formalize his daughter’s status during the party congress to further solidify a fourth-generation hereditary succession.

Cheong Seong-chang, vice president at the Sejong Institute, says that Ju-ae could be named “first secretary” of the Workers’ Party — a position created in the 2021 party rule revisions that essentially would make her the No. 2 figure in the party, serving as deputy to her father.

“Given Kim Jong-un’s apparent commitment to a fourth-generation hereditary succession, the elevated protocol status of Ju-ae, and questions surrounding Kim’s health, there is a strong possibility that she could be appointed first secretary at the 9th Congress,” said Cheong.

Some experts remain skeptical.

They point out that Kim Ju-ae is far below the typical age and credentials for any formal leadership role; North Korean law technically requires party membership at age 18 or above, and no previous Kim family successor was revealed to the public as a child. The regime may prefer to slowly build her public profile without a premature announcement.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]

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Rare congress of North Korea's ruling party to offer glimpse of regime's road map for next five years

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