SEOUL—North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un kicked off his country’s most important political event in half a decade with confidence, gearing up for an era of military expansion and defiance as a self-declared nuclear power.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaking at the opening of the party congress, according to state media.
The 9th Party Congress, where North Korea’s leadership sets out its foreign policy and economic and military goals for the next five years, opened Thursday with a celebratory atmosphere. During the last congress, in 2021, a somber Kim admitted to economic failures. But this year, Kim said he was filled with optimism.
Kim said everything had changed since 2021, when North Korea faced sanctions, natural disasters and the Covid pandemic. Pyongyang is now bolstered by expanded military capabilities and newfound diplomatic leverage.
“Never has there been such a period as this one, in which we achieved so great successes despite the severity of trials and difficulties,” the 42-year-old dictator said in an opening address to the 5,000 delegates gathered in Pyongyang, according to the state media account issued Friday.
The Kim regime displayed 50 nuclear-capable rocket launchers “as a present for a glorious congress” ahead of Thursday’s opening event, state media reported. Kim, in a black leather jacket, operated a missile launcher as thousands of North Koreans waved their national flag.
Kim has said that the 600mm rockets could carry tactical nuclear warheads and strike anywhere in South Korea. The rockets had been introduced in 2019 and delivered to the North Korean military in December 2022.
“When this weapon is used, actually, no force would be able to expect God’s protection,” Kim said in a speech on Wednesday.
Ahead of the congress, the Kim regime also held rehearsals for a large military parade that is expected when the event concludes and awarded homes to families of North Korean soldiers who were killed while fighting for Russia in Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
North Korean state media photos showed Kim walking down a street in the new housing district with his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who visited the fallen soldiers’ family members with her father.
Those aspirations have shown significant progress. North Korea has unveiled a range of nuclear delivery systems, including its newest ICBM, Hwasong-20, and shorter-range missiles that can target South Korea, Japan and U.S. troops stationed in the allied countries.
China and Russia have acted as North Korea’s economic lifelines and diplomatic shields. Chinese and Russian officials sent congratulatory letters to Kim as the party congress opened, state media reported.
Kim is now expected to put increased focus on modernizing his conventional forces. Experience on the battlefield alongside Russia has revealed gaps in North Korea’s aging Soviet-era equipment. Troop deployments to Russia have also allowed North Korea to receive cash and possibly technical guidance on weapons and tactics.
In January, Kim pledged unconditional support for Putin’s policies and decisions, signaling a prolonged partnership exchanging weapons, manpower and know-how.
This year, Pyongyang could announce new foreign-policy objectives that determine whether Kim will engage with the U.S.
Kim said in his speech on Thursday that the economy had achieved significant growth and that people’s living standards had improved. “The position of our state was firmly consolidated as an irreversible one,” he said, likely referring to North Korea’s nuclear stockpile.
