The announcement was made during a plenary session of the Workers’ Party in which Mr. Kim “spoke of the failings and achievements” of the regime since the previous congress was held in 2016, the official north agency said Thursday. Korean KCNA.
In terms of rare frankness, this session concluded that “the objectives to improve the economic situation of the country have been seriously delayed” and that the standard of living has not “improved considerably”.
He notably cited “the situation in the region surrounding the Korean peninsula” as well as “unexpected and inevitable challenges in various fields.”
The North Korean economy is under multiple sanctions from the international community, imposed by the UN Security Council to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear and ballistic programs which have seen rapid progress under the leadership of Mr. Kim.
This admission “aimed to justify the expected failure of the regime to achieve the economic goals it had previously set,” Hong Min, an analyst at the Korean Institute for National Unification, told AFP.
According to him, the date chosen for this congress to be held in January – very close to the inauguration date of the winner of the US presidential election in November – is a sign.
Relations between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since the failure in February 2019 of the second summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and Mr. Kim.
Washington and Pyongyang had failed to agree on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting international economic sanctions.
North Korea thus suggests that “whoever wins the next election, the new president should accelerate efforts to reach an agreement,” Hong said.
Between the sixth and the seventh Congress of the Workers’ Party, 36 years had passed, a period representing in particular the entire reign of Kim Jong Il (1994-2011), the father of Kim Jong-Un.
The latter called for “regularly convening Party congresses,” KCNA reported, which suggests that in the future Pyongyang wishes to organize more such gatherings.
–
