As North Korea’s party congress opens, Kim asserts state’s ‘irreversible’ position while avoiding naming South, U.S.
Published: 21 Feb. 2026, 08:00
Updated: 22 Feb. 2026, 19:42
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- SEO JI-EUN
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the opening day of the ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea on Feb. 19, in this photo released by the North's state Korean Central Television (KCTV) the next day. This year's congress, the first since 2021, will be widely monitored for any signs regarding the country's nuclear weapons program or dialogue overtures toward Seoul and Washington. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/22/a432ee47-ea72-41e8-a905-eb61b3c3e52d.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the opening day of the ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea on Feb. 19, in this photo released by the North's state Korean Central Television (KCTV) the next day. This year's congress, the first since 2021, will be widely monitored for any signs regarding the country's nuclear weapons program or dialogue overtures toward Seoul and Washington. [YONHAP]
Upon opening the ruling Workers’ Party’s Ninth Congress in Pyongyang, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared adamant that the nation's current status — widely interpreted as a de facto nuclear state — will not be rolled back as he declared that “the position of our state was firmly consolidated as an irreversible one."
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Friday that the congress — the country’s biggest political event in five years, serving as the top decision-making body that typically sets the governing direction for the next five years — convened the previous day, expected to set policy priorities, including Pyongyang’s posture toward Seoul and Washington.
"By successfully carrying out the Party’s decisions in all realms such as politics, the economy, national defence, culture and diplomacy, they achieved notable, comprehensive and radical successes, and in the course of this, they substantially increased our country’s internal forces,” Kim was quoted as saying in the KCNA’s English-language report.
Kim did not directly mention strengthening nuclear weapons capabilities or a military alignment with Russia in his opening address. He also avoided naming specific countries, including the United States and South Korea.
Instead, he devoted much of the speech to economic management and an assessment of the performance of party and government organs.
The posture contrasts with the opening speech of the Eighth Party Congress on Jan. 5, 2021, when the leader acknowledged that “almost all sectors fell a long way short of the set objectives.”
Pyongyang has grappled with the fallout from the collapse of summit diplomacy following the stalemate with U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi in 2019, compounded by restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Thursday’s speech, Kim revisited that moment, saying, “When we convened the Eighth Party Congress, the subjective and objective conditions of our revolution were literally so harsh that we could hardly maintain our own existence."
"The hostile forces grew more reckless in their schemes for harsh blockade and sanctions against us, and we were also confronted with successive natural calamities and the global public health crisis," he said, while adding, “But today we are here at [the] Ninth Congress, filled with optimism and confidence in the future."
![The ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea opens in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended, in this photo released by the North's state Korean Central Television (KCTV) the next day. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/22/e4ec0201-efdc-430b-bda4-687d7d599908.jpg)
The ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea opens in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended, in this photo released by the North's state Korean Central Television (KCTV) the next day. [YONHAP]
On Saturday, the third day of the congress, Kim announced a “new fighting strategy,” a set of guiding rules likely to govern state governance over the next five years, the KCNA reported Sunday.
In a report to the congress that day, Kim “clarified the new fighting strategy corresponding to the strong spirit of advance of the country and the people and their full confidence and specified the prospective goals for all sectors and the tasks and ways for attaining them.” His report reviewed the last five years' work and outlined policy directions for the upcoming five years.
The KCNA added that the strategy embodies an “invariable will to put the overall socialist construction on the track of sure prosperity and leaps forward.” However, details about the strategy or its text have not been disclosed as of press time.
In a following deliberation on Saturday, the North’s Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui and Chief Secretary of the Sinpho City Committee of the WPK Jang Kyong Guk participated as speakers, in contrast to previous occasions where dozens of speakers joined.
While the South’s media speculated that Choe likely covered the regime’s foreign policy, including inter-Korean relations and North-U.S. relations, details of her remarks have not been shared.
Analysts said the repeated emphasis on an “irreversible” position aligns with Pyongyang’s long-held refusal to consider denuclearization, while references to a shifting “global political landscape” and “favorable conditions and circumstances” appeared intended to showcase an elevated strategic standing.
“Building on the achievements of the five years since the Eighth Congress, Kim has likely projected optimism and confidence," said Yang Moo-jin, a distinguished professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul. "He also stressed that the Ninth Congress is unfolding on far more stable footing, likely given factors such as the completion of nuclear force-building and tighter alignment among North Korea, China and Russia."
South Korea's Ministry of Unification assessed that North Korea could pair hardline messaging with tactical flexibility on multiple fronts.
On external policy, the ministry said North Korea was likely to “tout achievements stemming from its cooperation with Russia, while pursuing tactical flexibility under a hardline stance toward the United States," including reaffirming its existing line of anti-Western solidarity and "responding to power with power and goodwill with goodwill," while factoring in the evolving situation such as the outcome of U.S.-China dialogue expected in April.
The ministry added that the North could "signal a conditional ‘peaceful coexistence’ negotiation framework" on the premise that denuclearization is not on the table, instead framed around nuclear arms reduction or similar issues.
![Timeline of North Korean Workers' Party congresses [YUN YOUNG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/22/3dd89395-a259-4d02-b637-9cd2043dae46.jpg)
Timeline of North Korean Workers' Party congresses [YUN YOUNG]
"With regard to reflecting that line in the party rules, it may seek to preserve ‘strategic flexibility’ by keeping any changes to a minimum, postponing or shelving them, or even refraining from disclosing such revisions," it added.
Around 7,000 people attended the congress, according to North Korean reports. The gathering is expected to run for around seven days.
Kim’s daughter, known as “Ju-ae,” was not seen in state coverage, despite heightened attention after South Korea’s National Intelligence Service recently assessed that she is at the “internal designation” stage of succession planning.
Some observers had watched for signs of an appearance at the congress as part of steps toward formalizing the North's fourth-generation hereditary succession, though others have cautioned it is too early to draw conclusions, noting that she was born in 2013 and is still a minor.
The congress presidium overseeing proceedings comprised 39 members including Kim, the same total as at the Eighth Party Congress, though 23 members, or 59 percent, were replaced.
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center in the first row, is seated as the ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea opens in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Kim Yo-jong, the leader’s sister, is seen second from left in the second row. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/22/b754ea5f-0ea9-4679-9c1a-2364ecdc3249.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center in the first row, is seated as the ninth congress of the Workers' Party of Korea opens in Pyongyang on Feb. 19, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the next day. Kim Yo-jong, the leader’s sister, is seen second from left in the second row. [YONHAP]
New entrants included core officials from the party, government and military such as Pak Thae-song, Ri Hi-yong, Jo Chun-ryong, Choe Tong-myong, Choe Son-hui and No Kwang-chol. Observers noted that the absence of Kim Yong-chol — long viewed as a key “South Korea hand” — and the inclusion of Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui could reflect Pyongyang’s “hostile two-state” policy line.
Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader's sister and a vice department director of the party, also retained her position in the presidium from the Eighth Congress. In released photos, she was seen taking notes. In a rare reconciliatory gesture, Kim Yo-jong said Thursday she "highly appreciates" South Korea's pledge to prevent a recurrence of drone incursions after Unification Minister Chung Dong-young expressed "regret" over the matter the previous day.
Russia and China sent congratulatory messages to the congress, according to North Korean reports, while English versions were not available.
Dmitry Medvedev, chair of Russia's ruling United Russia party, said the strategic partnership between Russia and North Korea is grounded in a long tradition of friendship and cooperation, likely a reference to the “comprehensive strategic partnership” treaty signed in June 2024.
It was the first time the chair of the United Russia party sent a congratulatory message to a North Korean party congress.
KCNA also reported that the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, in its congratulatory message, highlighted the two sides’ shared socialist identity. China's message, however, did not mention security cooperation or North Korea’s military buildup.
Update, Feb. 22: Added details about the third-day events at the North's ruling Workers’ Party’s Ninth Congress.
BY SEO JI-EUN, SHIM SEOK-KYONG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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