North's Kim opens Ninth Party Congress with focus on economic goals, global standing
Published: 20 Feb. 2026, 10:30
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang on Feb. 19 in this photo published by the Rodong Sinmun on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/20/7300c5c2-40b4-4c1f-ae24-1a55b99f9791.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang on Feb. 19 in this photo published by the Rodong Sinmun on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]
North Korea opened its ninth Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang on Thursday, with leader Kim Jong-un highlighting economic goals and claiming advances in the country’s global standing, according to state media.
The ruling Workers’ Party Congress is North Korea's highest decision-making body and its largest political event, convened to review performance over the past five years and set the direction for domestic and foreign policy under Kim.
Kim struck a confident tone about the country’s trajectory in his opening address, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Friday.
"Today we are here at its Ninth Congress, filled with optimism and confidence in the future. This is indeed a great change and development, as well as a success we can be proud of at the present stage," he said, as quoted by the KCNA.
Comparing the meeting with the eighth party congress five years ago, Kim said that “in view of the external relations [...] the position of our state was firmly consolidated as an irreversible one, bringing about a great change in the global political landscape and in the influence on our state.”
His remarks appeared to point to North Korea’s claim that it has cemented its status as a nuclear-weapons state.
![North Korea's ninth Workers’ Party Congress opened in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, the Rodong Sinmun reported on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/20/aa5fea3e-3f79-4c37-8a7a-59effd51efc2.jpg)
North Korea's ninth Workers’ Party Congress opened in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, the Rodong Sinmun reported on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]
Kim also framed the current environment as favorable for domestic development.
“This created favourable conditions and circumstances for giving a greater spur to our socialist construction.”
He did not mention the United States, South Korea or nuclear capabilities in his speech, instead devoting significant attention to economic issues.
“Today, our Party is faced with heavy and urgent historic tasks of boosting economic construction and the people’s standard of living and transforming all realms of state and social life as early as possible.”
He described the coming five-year period as critical for implementing longer term development strategies.
“The period of the new long-term plan is a crucial period when we should push forward full steam with the regional development policy in the new era, the rural revolution program and other intermediate- and long-range plans we adopted and have launched to realize the centuries-old desire of the people," he said.
The congress will review the work of the Central Committee, consider revisions to party rules and elect central leadership bodies.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang on Feb. 19 in this photo published by the Rodong Sinmun on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/02/20/9678703f-efd0-4043-82e0-3fa7386c367c.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang on Feb. 19 in this photo published by the Rodong Sinmun on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]
Ahead of the gathering, Kim said the Central Committee had prepared extensively for the congress.
“The Party Central Committee organized a nonpermanent preparatory committee for the Congress, set up necessary panels and dispatched fact-finding groups according to directions and sectors to get them to gain a full understanding of the five-year work of the relevant sectors and units and to make a correct analysis of problems and their root causes,” he said.
He said the party also reviewed how to strengthen its leadership role.
“There was an in-depth study of the issues arising in further enhancing the leadership functions of the Party in line with the requirements of the five-point Party-building line in the new era, including the issues related to the revision of Party Rules and the reorganization of the leadership forces of the Party," he said.
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 JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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