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| ▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (4th from L) and officials from the Workers' Party of Korea attend the Ninth Congress of the party, which opened Feb. 19, 2026, in this Korean Central News Agency photo the following day. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ The Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea opens Feb. 19, 2026, in this Korean Central News Agency photo. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) N Korea-party congress
(LEAD) N. Korea opens once-in-5-years party conclave
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout, photos; RECASTS headline, lead)
By Park Boram
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has kicked off a rare gathering of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), state media said Friday, marking the start of the country's biggest political event in five years that would set major policy directions on defense and the economy.
"The Ninth Congress of the WPK opened with splendor in Pyongyang, the capital city of the revolution," the previous day, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Typically running several days, the congress sets state policy goals for the next five years on the economy, defense and diplomacy, and makes major personnel decisions.
This year's congress, the highest decision-making body in North Korea and the first since 2021, will be widely watched for any signs regarding the country's nuclear weapons program or dialogue overtures from Seoul and Washington.
Declaring the opening of the congress, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un touted that the national economy had overcome difficulties and laid the foundation for progress since the previous party congress in 2021.
"(We) had also irreversibly solidified the country's status externally, bringing about a massive change in the global political order and relations affecting our country," Kim was also quoted as saying, in a possible allusion to the country's pursuit of status as a nuclear-armed state.
"Conditions and an environment favorable to our drive to more vigorously build socialism have also been created," the KCNA also quoted him as saying.
The congress must thoroughly and scientifically establish plans and projects for the next stage of the struggle ... while strengthening leadership capabilities to lead their implementation," he also said.
Any mention of relations with the United States or South Korea was omitted in his speech, with Kim focusing on spurring economic development.
"Ahead of our party are heavy and urgent tasks of advancing economic development and improving people's livelihoods, and transforming all aspects of social life in the country as quickly as possible," he said.
Kim noted that the party's central committee had established a congress preparation body to review and analyze the outcomes from the projects set at the previous 2021 congress in an effort to better set new goals.
The latest congress brought together about 5,000 party representatives from across the country, including more than 200 officials from the party headquarters and more than 4,700 from regional and industrial organs.
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