N. Korea hails economic policy achievements ahead of key party congress

▲ This photo from the Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 4, 2026, shows a new construction project under North Korea's regional development policy, launched in Pyongyang. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

N Korea-party congress

N. Korea hails economic policy achievements ahead of key party congress

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Friday touted that "new records" have been achieved for its people's livelihoods, as the country continues to praise the outcomes of its economic policies in the run-up to a meeting of the highest decision-making party congress.

"New standards and new records have been set in many units of the national economy, and the January plans for people's livelihood were brilliantly accomplished," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an article on preparations for the upcoming ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea.

The news agency said factories, mines and farms in the metal, chemistry, electricity, coal, machinery and extraction sectors have outperformed their targets, underscoring ongoing nationwide preparations for the congress.

The party congress, widely expected to convene later in February, is the highest decision-making body in North Korea. The upcoming meeting, the first since the eighth congress in 2021, is expected to outline the country's policies on the economy, external relations and defense for the next five years.

The regime has recently published a succession of reports touting the results of leader Kim Jong-un's signature regional development policy as the country prepares for the congress, a move that appeared aimed at rallying public support for the leader and the ruling party.

In a separate article Friday, the KCNA also highlighted the construction of a large-scale greenhouse farm in the once flood-ravaged western city of Sinuiju, attributing it to leader Kim's "great regional construction plan."

Following massive floods in the region in 2024, the greenhouse farm was inaugurated in early February after a year of construction, with Kim in attendance, as part of recovery efforts.

On Friday, the KCNA additionally reported on the launch of a construction project in Ragwon County, South Hamgyong Province, under the leader's regional development drive.

Kim unveiled the regional development policy in 2024, aiming to build modern factories in 20 cities and counties each year over a 10-year period to improve the living conditions of people in regional areas and reduce urban-rural gaps.

Outcomes from this policy are likely to take center stage at the upcoming party congress.

The KCNA also suggested that the fourth and final stage of the Hwasong district housing construction project in Pyongyang is nearing its completion.

The construction is the final leg of the five-year project to build a combined 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang, laid out by Kim Jong-un at the eighth congress in 2021.

A unification ministry official in Seoul has predicted that the ninth party congress may convene after the construction project is completed.

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