North Korea is set to convene a Workers’ Party congress in late February, according to state media, with leader Kim Jong Un expected to outline what the next five years of domestic and foreign policy will look like. The ruling conference will be the latest in a series of periodic party congresses that North Korea has used to set out broad political and strategic goals under Kim’s rule, and it is scheduled after years of accelerated nuclear and missile development.
Korean Central News Agency reported that the party’s political bureau met under Kim’s supervision and decided that the congress would be held in late February, without immediately specifying a date or providing details of an agenda. The congress follows Kim’s previous party congresses in 2016 and 2021, and it is expected to project his leadership through tightly choreographed state messaging.
In recent weeks, North Korean state media has highlighted Kim’s inspections of weapons tests and his tours of military sites and economic projects. The reporting has credited Kim’s “immortal leadership” with strengthening the country’s military capabilities and advancing national development, reinforcing the expectation that the congress will underscore the pace and direction of those efforts.
Beyond the presentation of achievements, the run-up to the congress points to a policy push that balances economic mobilization with expanding military capabilities. Analysts and observers cited in the reporting said Kim is expected to double down on economic development through economic “self-sustenance” and mass mobilization, while also announcing plans aimed at further expanding the capabilities of North Korea’s nuclear-armed military.
The expected agenda also includes steps to develop and connect different parts of North Korea’s force structure. The reporting says Kim’s plans could involve upgrading conventional weapons systems and integrating them with nuclear forces, along with additional improvements that would broaden the country’s nuclear deterrent portfolio.
On the international front, the reporting said Kim could also use the congress to emphasize an increasingly assertive foreign policy built around closer ties with Russia and China. It also said that approach may come with hardening positions toward South Korea, reflecting what experts described as North Korea’s embrace of the idea of a “new Cold War.”
Whether Kim’s diplomacy with the United States will change remains unclear. Relations derailed in 2019 after Kim’s second summit with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, with disagreements centered on sanctions tied to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, and Kim has rejected Trump’s overtures for dialogue since Trump began a second term in January 2025. The reporting said Kim insists that Washington abandon demands that North Korea surrender its nuclear weapons as a precondition for talks.
The congress is also expected to arrive during a period when Kim has consolidated power since opening the previous congress in 2021 amid the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reporting said Kim acknowledged that previous economic policies had failed and issued a new five-year development plan through 2025, alongside calls for accelerated development of his nuclear arsenal and a detailed list of sophisticated capabilities described by state media.
The list cited in the reporting includes solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, multi-warhead systems, tactical nuclear weapons, spy satellites, and nuclear-powered submarines. It also said Kim used geopolitical turmoil to strengthen North Korea’s position, including leveraging Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to accelerate weapons testing and align more closely with Vladimir Putin, whose support has included accepting thousands of North Korean troops and providing large quantities of military equipment for the war.
The reporting further said Kim has pursued closer ties with China, describing China as North Korea’s traditional primary ally and economic lifeline. It said Kim traveled to Beijing in September for a World War II event and made the first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years, reinforcing a broader pattern of leveraging external relationships as North Korea prepares to present its next set of policy priorities through the party congress in late February.