Major North Korean political gathering could open in days as delegates pay tribute to late leaders
Published: 18 Feb. 2026, 17:11
Updated: 18 Feb. 2026, 18:59
![North Korean officials are seen during a ceremony to award delegates to the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/18/8c471c8a-281f-4c28-b61a-caa2bf879365.jpg)
North Korean officials are seen during a ceremony to award delegates to the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. [YONHAP]
Delegates to North Korea's Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Tuesday to receive their credentials and pay tribute to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il, signaling that the long-anticipated party gathering could open within days.
State media reported Wednesday that the certificate ceremony took place at the mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of the country’s founder and his son lie in state. Delegates received their certificates and bowed before the leaders’ bier, the Rodong Sinmun said.
North Korea announced on Feb. 7 that it would convene the Ninth Party Congress in “late February” following a Politburo meeting. Analysts say the congress could begin as early as Thursday or Friday, based on past precedent.
“The Party Congress is expected to open on Thursday or Friday, two to three days after the visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace,” said Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
In North Korea, the Party Congress is the highest decision-making body, setting the direction of state governance and major policy lines for the next five years. Since the first Party Congress in August 1946, eight congresses have been held, most recently the eighth in January 2021.
Kim Jong-un revived the five-year cycle after his father, Kim Jong-il, ruled without convening a single party congress. Kim held the Seventh Congress in May 2016 and the Eighth in January 2021.
![North Korean officials are seen during a ceremony to award delegates to the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/18/527fc402-dbf0-43a6-a41f-f7e098c960bb.jpg)
North Korean officials are seen during a ceremony to award delegates to the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on Feb. 17, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. [YONHAP]
At the time of the Seventh Congress, state media reported on May 2, 2016, that delegates had arrived in Pyongyang. Two days later, on May 4, 2016, it reported their visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, and the Congress opened on May 6. For the Eighth Congress, delegates arrived in Pyongyang in late December 2020, and after their visit to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace was reported on Dec. 31, 2020, the Congress opened on Jan. 5, 2021.
The Rodong Sinmun reported on Feb. 8 that the Politburo unanimously adopted a decision to convene the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in late February 2026 in Pyongyang.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, is seen holding hands with daughter Kim Ju-ae, center, during a completion ceremony for houses in Hwasong district in Pyongyang on Feb. 16, in this screengrab from the state-run Korean Central Television. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/18/7bcf7e0e-8037-4f3c-8ec9-db058739d41b.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center right, is seen holding hands with daughter Kim Ju-ae, center, during a completion ceremony for houses in Hwasong district in Pyongyang on Feb. 16, in this screengrab from the state-run Korean Central Television. [YONHAP]
Meanwhile, the newspaper reported on Monday that a completion ceremony for 10,000 housing units in the fourth phase of the Hwasong district development in Pyongyang took place on Sunday with Kim Jong-un in attendance.
At the Eighth Party Congress in 2021, North Korea announced a project to build 50,000 housing units in Pyongyang over five years, constructing 10,000 units annually.
Accordingly, 10,000 units were completed in the Songsin and Songhwa districts in 2022, and 10,000 units each in the first, second and third phases of the Hwasong district in 2023, 2024 and the first half of 2025. The fourth phase of 10,000 units in Hwasong, which broke ground in February last year, has now been completed.
“[We must] work hard to glorify the capital city of Pyongyang as the most beautiful and great city in the world full of happiness of the people and realize the far-reaching goal of building a highly civilized and prosperous state at an early date under the new milestone of transformation to be indicated by the 9th Congress,” Kim Jong-un said during the completion ceremony, as quoted by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Kim Ju-ae, circled red, is seen greeting residents of Hwasong district in Pyongyang during a completion ceremony on Feb. 16, in this screengrab from the state-run Korean Central Television. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/18/fca45f74-fd16-4f1a-a2b3-3d85ba7a2382.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter, Kim Ju-ae, circled red, is seen greeting residents of Hwasong district in Pyongyang during a completion ceremony on Feb. 16, in this screengrab from the state-run Korean Central Television. [YONHAP]
Photos published by the newspaper showed Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who attended the ceremony with him, embracing new residents and offering congratulations.
Some experts described it as unusual that Kim Ju-ae was shown interacting with ordinary citizens rather than senior party and government officials.
There is analysis that the move may have been intended to more firmly introduce Ju-ae to the public ahead of the Ninth Party Congress. Last Thursday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee that it believes Kim Ju-ae has entered the stage of being informally designated as successor.
“It appears to be an effort to imprint through images that Ju-ae is a figure loved by the people, thereby creating justification that she was elevated at the people’s request,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. “This suggests the possibility that a process of securing popular consent for a political act of elevation is underway.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SHIM SEOK-YONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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