The North Korean Workers’ Party (NLP) held its first national party congress after a five-year hiatus on May 5, presided over by leader Kim Jong-un, who admitted in his opening speech that the country’s economic development had “made mistakes.
The North Korean Workers’ Party (NLP) held its first national party congress in a five-year absence on May 5, chaired by leader Kim Jong-un himself. In his opening speech, he admitted that the country’s economic development “made mistakes” and stressed that the country must strengthen its ability to stand on its own feet in order to cope with various obstacles and challenges at home and abroad.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the eighth national party congress of the Workers’ Party was held in the capital Pyongyang, attended by thousands of party delegates and observers, and it is noteworthy that all participants did not wear masks and were not seated at a distance from each other, without implementing epidemic prevention norms.
During the meeting, Kim Jong-un pointed out that although the Five-Year Economic Plan ended last year, the targets set for 2016 in various fields were seriously missed. In fact, North Korea quietly cancelled its five-year economic plan last year after finding that it was “seriously lagging behind” due to the multiple challenges facing the economy.
Kim Jong-un stressed that even though the Workers’ Party had made “dazzling achievements,” he also admitted that the goal of improving the national economy had been seriously delayed by the plan’s failure, stressing, “We should further promote and expand the successes and victories achieved so far, but prevent suffering painful lessons again.
At the meeting, Kim Jong-un then also proposed and discussed a new five-year economic plan, which includes metals, chemicals, electricity, petrochemicals and other livelihood industries, and set targets for their respective future development.
Kim Jong Un, who last chaired a party congress in 2016, is expected to present his next five-year economic plan and foreign policy this time around, drawing attention to the timing just before the U.S. president-elect takes office.
The congress, held in the capital Pyongyang and attended by thousands of party delegates and observers, was notable for the fact that all attendees did not wear masks and were not seated at a distance from each other, failing to implement anti-epidemic norms.
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