At a high profile political gathering in Pyongyang, North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has been re-elected as general secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea, solidifying his grip on power for another five-year stretch. The decision, announced by state media on Monday, came on the fourth day of the Ninth Party Congress, a rare event that sets policy and leadership priorities for the isolated state.
In a glowing report carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), delegates backed Kim’s leadership “with the unshakable will and unanimous desire” of party members and supporters. The party praised him for elevating the country’s international standing and for transforming the armed forces into “an elite and powerful army,” with nuclear weapons at the core of its deterrence strategy.
Under his stewardship, state media said, “the war deterrence of the country with the nuclear forces as its pivot has been radically improved.” The congress also elected new members to the influential Central Committee and approved revisions to party rules, though officials have not disclosed what those changes entails.
Held once every five years, the congress is closely watched abroad for clues about North Korea’s domestic and foreign policy direction, especially as it navigates sanctions, economic isolation and fraught regional relations. South Korean analysts and foreign governments see Kim’s re-election as a reaffirmation of his control over both the party and state.
With his title unchanged and ambitions firmly in view, Kim appears poised to continue steering North Korea’s political courses from nuclear strategy to economic and social goals for the years ahead.
