▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at the opening of a congress of the Workers' Party of Korea on Feb. 19, 2026, in this photo from the Korean Central News Agency the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ This file image captured from the Korean Central News Agency on Jan. 28, 2026, shows a test of an upgraded multiple rocket launcher attended by leader Kim Jong-un and conducted the previous day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (R) and his daughter, Ju-ae, watch a New Year's performance in Pyongyang in this Korean Central News Agency file photo on Jan. 1, 2026. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(News Focus) N Korea-party congress

(News Focus) N. Korea's party congress closely watched for message to U.S., new weapons

By Park Boram

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will set the tone for its major state policies for the next five years at the ongoing party congress, with its response to Washington's dialogue overture and a plan to develop new weapons likely on the agenda, experts said Friday.

Also attracting attention is whether North Korea will formalize the status of its leader Kim Jong-un's teenage daughter, Ju-ae, as an heir amid the South Korean spy agency's evaluation that she may be positioned to succeed Kim as state leader.

The ruling Workers' Party of Korea kicked off its congress in Pyongyang the previous day, the highest decision-making body in North Korea, which is held every five years to set major policy goals under leader Kim.

Typically running several days, the congress evaluates the results of the previous congress' policy goals, puts forth new ones for the next five years on the economy, defense and diplomacy and makes major personnel decisions.

The key focus of this year's session is the regime's foreign policy, which may shape Pyongyang's response to overtures from U.S. President Donald Trump and President Lee Jae Myung to resume dialogue.

Experts said Pyongyang may shy away from an outright rejection or acceptance of Washington's overture but would still leave the door open for potential talks ahead of Trump's summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in April.

In his second term, Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to meet with Kim again, but his latest call for a meeting with the North Korean leader went unanswered during his visit to South Korea in late October on the occasion of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.

In a parliamentary speech in September last year, Kim said he has no reason to avoid meeting the United States but made giving up the U.S. goal of denuclearizing Pyongyang a prerequisite for talks.

"Rather than directly addressing the U.S., (the North) may try to use a more comprehensive term, such as hostile forces or foes" in an effort to leave room, said Yang Moo-jin, a senior professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Meanwhile, the North is widely expected to further escalate its hostilities toward South Korea, possibly codifying its declaration of "hostile" relations with Seoul into the party charter and issuing messages reaffirming its animosity.

In 2023, Kim declared the two Koreas as "hostile to each other" and has since directed the country's hostile policies toward Seoul, even as the Lee administration seeks to resume dialogue to ease military tensions and build trust.

Another major point of attention is North Korea's plans for new weapons development.

Kim said last month the ninth congress "will clarify the next-stage plans for further bolstering up the country's nuclear deterrent."

After announcing a five-year defense enforcement plan at the 2021 congress, which included developing a nuclear-powered submarine, the ninth session could assert North Korea's status as a "nuclear-armed state" and outline plans for more advanced weapons.

North Korea is reportedly preparing a military parade marking the latest party congress, which could showcase new additions to the country's defense arsenal.

Also on the radar is whether the congress will feature Kim's widely publicized daughter, Ju-ae, as his successor, reaffirming the Kim family's fourth-generation hereditary power succession.

Ju-ae emerged at the forefront last year, accompanying Kim at major events, including his trip to China in September and a visit to the family mausoleum on New Year's Day this year. North Korea has, however, not confirmed the daughter's name or her official status so far.

Some analysts project that she may receive an official title at the congress, while others argue she is still too young to assume a formal post.

As in the eighth party congress, this year's meeting is also highly likely to focus on economic development and the people's livelihoods as a means of appease the public that has been gripped for decades by international sanctions and economic difficulties.

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