North Korea: Ruling party reelects Kim as general secretary

DW News · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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North Korea's ruling Workers' Party re-elected leader Kim Jong Un as general secretary on Sunday, the fourth day of the party congress. This was reported on Monday by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). According to the report, under Kim's leadership, "the war deterrence of the country with the nuclear forces as its pivot has been radically improved." Earlier, Kim declared that this year's congress would unveil the next phase of the nation's nuclear weapons program. KCNA said that the congress also elected members of the party's central committee and adopted revisions to the party rules. It did not provide details of the changes. What is the significance of the party congress? The Workers' Party congress — held just once every five years — directs the efforts of the North Korean state on everything from housing construction to war planning. This is only the ninth time that the Workers' Party Congress has convened during the Kim family's decades-long rule. The meeting was suspended during Kim Jong Il's leadership, but was reinstated by his son Kim Jong Un in 2016. South Korea is closely monitoring the gathering for signs of Pyongyang's new domestic and foreign policies.The ninth Workers' Party congress is being closely watched for signs of North Korea's intentions regarding its nuclear weapons program and its willingness to engage in dialogue with Seoul and WashingtonImage: Yonhap/YONHAPNEWS AGENCY/picture alliance Kim reveals economic challenges In his opening speech on Thursday, Kim promised to improve living standards and revealed the economic challenges facing his sanctions-stricken nation. "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," Kim said. However, he added that North Korea had overcome its "worst difficulties" since the last congress in 2021. The country was now entering a new stage of "optimism and confidence in the future," Kim said. At the last party congress in 2021, Kim made the rare admission that mistakes had been made in almost all areas of economic development. Edited by: Kieran Burke