Let us make great victory and glory gained through indomitable pioneering struggle lead onto steady prosperity and leaps forward in new struggle
Report on Ninth Congress of Workers' Party of Korea
February 26, 2026The Workers' Party of Korea, the vanguard of the Korean revolution, is ushering in a new era of building a powerful nation by leading tens of millions of Korean people. Its sacred mission, strong pride and matchless fighting efficiency are bringing about a radical turn in the position and destiny of our country and people and placing the great strength, high dignity and eye-opening prosperity desired by all generations on this land on the majesty of history.
Our great Party has always performed and created miracles and glory of the DPRK by encouraging the people to the revolution in the long heroic course covered by the country. As it is standing as the ever-victorious banner and beacon of guidance, we have no dreams unrealizable and no difficulties insurmountable. This is not only the immutable truth engraved meaningfully again on the records of the times by 1 800-odd days of the past five years but also the steel-strong faith deeply cherished by all the people and service personnel of the People's Army in their hearts.
The eighth-term Central Committee of the WPK opened up a magnificent prelude to the overall national prosperity, fervently cheered by the people, through its bold pioneering and staunch struggle. It staked all its honour, dignity and destiny on that struggle in the period of extreme hardship that decided the destiny of the country and the people and influenced the rise and fall of the revolution. Its outstanding leadership activities provided a clear landmark and essential driving force for entering a new stage of struggle, further highlighting the validity of our cause and the inevitability of its victory.
The Ninth Congress of the WPK, which marked a great watershed in the glorious course of strengthening the great Party and accomplishing the socialist cause, was held with splendor in Pyongyang, the capital city of the revolution, from February 19 to 25, 2026.
The Ninth Party Congress, held at a time when absolute trust in and single-minded loyalty to the WPK, the organizer and guide of our people for all victories, were soaring with the fervent desire for a new victory, left indelibly great traces in history.
It is the history of WPK congresses that it always reviewed its proud and honourable exploits for the country and the people, but there has been no such a congress as the Ninth Congress of the WPK that summed up the work of the period under review proudly with countless and valuable achievements to be specially recorded in history.
The Central Committee of the WPK, which brought to the hopeful eyes of the people the brilliant successes it achieved by racing against the clock, true to their desire and will, rather than the results produced by the lapse of time, has responsibly carried out its historic mission of bringing the turning phase in the course of socialist development to a higher stage, representing the destiny, future, faith and resourcefulness of millions of Party members and tens of millions of people.
The history of the Korean revolution is run through with the idea of building a nation, independent in politics, self-supporting in the economy and self-reliant in national defence, and the three revolutions—ideological, technological and cultural—the strategic line of socialist construction, by which it has overcome all trials and challenges. The nation-building idea and the banner of the three revolutions ensure not only today's priceless victory but also victorious development in the distant future one hundred and even one thousand years later. The Ninth Congress of the WPK solemnly demonstrated once again the immutable political spirit and will of the WPK to surely actualize all ideals and aspirations by regarding as its lifeline the nation-building idea and the banner of the three revolutions.
Through its Ninth Party Congress that indicated a new prospect of prosperity corresponding to the mature requirements of the Korean revolution and the strong patriotic enthusiasm and full confidence of the Korean people, the WPK further consolidated its undying prestige and leadership position as the powerful political staff for accomplishing the socialist cause.
The Congress, convened amid the great attention and support of all Party members and other people across the country, was attended by 5 000 delegates nominated by Party organizations at all levels. 2 000 observers watched the Congress.
At 09:00 on February 19, the respected
All the delegates broke into stormy cheers for "Hurrah!" as a token of their highest tribute to
Prior to its opening, the Congress expressed thanks to all the Party members, people and service personnel who firmly defended the political declaration and fighting programme of the WPK with their positive pioneering spirit and indomitable efforts and made contributions to greeting the Congress as a precious review and glorious congress. It also paid high tribute to the revolutionary martyrs who dedicated their valuable lives to the sacred cause for the prosperity of the country and happiness of the people during the period under review.
And it extended warm greetings to the overseas compatriots' organizations and all overseas compatriots sharing the will and mind for the prosperity and development of the socialist country.
The Congress opened amid the solemn playing of the national anthem of the DPRK.
According to the unanimous will of all the delegates, the Congress elected a presidium composed of 39 members, including the members of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee led by
The platform of the Congress was taken by the chief secretaries of the provincial committees of the WPK, members of the Party central leadership who faithfully fulfilled their duties in implementing the decisions of the Eighth Congress of the WPK, officials who performed distinguished feats in implementing the decisions of the Party and the chairpersons of friendly parties invited to the Congress.
The Congress was held amid the high political awareness and enthusiasm of the honourable delegates embodying all Party members' trust in the Party Central Committee and the enthusiasm of loyalty and mettle of our people for the revolutionary cause.
The following agenda items were brought up for discussion at the Congress:
First, Review of the Work of the WPK Central Committee
Second, On the Revision of the WPK Rules
Third, Election of the Central Leadership of the WPK
The Congress heard about the implementation of the Party and state policies in the period under review as the first process of its discussion on the first agenda item "Review of the Work of the WPK Central Committee".
The Congress appreciated that the remarkable successes, experience and lessons, gained and drawn in the overall work of the Party and the state in politics, the economy, culture, defence, diplomacy and other fields under the leadership of the eighth-term Central Committee of the WPK headed by
The Congress unanimously acknowledged that through the struggle guided by the eighth-term Central Committee of the WPK, the internal force has remarkably increased, a scientific development foundation has been laid for putting all fields of socialist construction on a new stage and strong self-confidence and sufficient ability have been secured for further accelerating the struggle for the prosperity of the state.
The parts of his report on the review of the work of the Party Central Committee are as follows:
1. Successes achieved in the period under review
2. For the prosperity and development of the state and the well-being of the people
3. For expanding and strengthening the external relations
4. For developing in depth the Party building and Party work.
The past five years, when we worked hard for the brilliant completion of the fighting programme set forth by the Eighth Congress of the WPK, were a period of great changes in which a new era of transformation, to be recorded notably in the 80-year-long history of our Party, was ushered in.
In the period under review, the internal and external situation of our revolution was complex and serious, but our Party, by leading socialist construction with confidence, made epoch-making progress in the struggle for the prosperity of the country and the well-being of the people.
The Eighth Central Committee of the WPK has remarkably strengthened the driving forces by orienting all the Party and state activities to building up our own strength and, by relying on them, has persistently pioneered a new stage of comprehensive development.
Experiencing many unprecedented difficulties, our Party identified the most correct orientation for development at the present stage and secured sufficient possibilities to strengthen the country's potentialities. As a result, the future of our revolution, the state and the people has become clearer and more hopeful.
Thanks to the great victory and all the successes achieved by all the Party members, tens of millions of people and the service personnel who are united around the Party Central Committee with single mind and intention, the steady advance of our Party, state and people toward a powerful socialist nation has become an irreversible and irresistible trend and this is, indeed, the most remarkable change and the most proud fruition of the past five years' struggle.
In the first part of his report,
The most important success achieved in the period under review is that we created a new trend of comprehensive development of socialism.
To develop all fields of state building, all regions of the country and all sectors of the national economy simultaneously and in a balanced way was a principle to be observed strictly in achieving the complete victory of socialism, an inevitable stage of history to pass, and an urgent task of the times urgently required by the specific situation of our country.
In order to stabilize the life of the people throughout the country at an early date and provide them with substantial welfare and to accelerate the building of an advanced state, our Party recognized that it is necessary to make a transition to comprehensive development of socialist construction, no matter how difficult and unfavorable the subjective and objective conditions may be. And our Party set it as the main task of the revolution, the fulfillment of which brooks no further delay, and has boldly carried it out.
The policy of readjusting and developing the overall sectors of the national economy in a balanced way and the programme for the rural revolution in the new era were adopted and a well-regulated guidance system for their implementation was established. Efforts were directed to the technical rehabilitation, reinforcement and development in all sectors of the national economy, aimed at perfecting the self-supporting production structure and shoring up the backward sectors. As a result good material and technical foundations were laid for increased production, the stagnant sectors put on a normal track and the possibility of simultaneous boost of the overall economy was identified.
Gigantic projects for radically resolving the agricultural and rural problems were launched to bring about changes in the grain production structure of the country, further improve the agricultural productivity and start a new trend of transforming the rural villages across the country where centuries-old backwardness lingered.
At the same time, a new revolution was effected in increasing the country's sci-tech capabilities and putting education and public health on an advanced level. Innovative development-oriented undertakings were promoted in other fields, as well.
What is of special importance in the struggle of the WPK during the period under review is that a gigantic revolution started to develop cities and counties across the country.
The report referred to the motive and purpose of our Party's Regional Development 20×10 Policy and the eye-opening successes achieved through the two-year struggle.
Our Party, out of its determination to realize the long-cherished desire of the regional people without fail, analyzed in depth the lessons drawn from the past work related to regional economic development, and put forward the Regional Development 20×10 Policy for building regional-industry factories in a completely new and advanced way after an experience-gaining stage. This policy has been expanded into a multi-faceted and wider-ranging policy of regional development covering science, public health and civilized life, which has been carried out every year, amid the full support of the people across the country.
In the course of expanding the regional development policy in the new era, our Party's nation-building strategy incorporated a higher goal of making regional development represent the advance and development of our state and make the ideal appearance of the regions symbolize the development of Korean-style socialism.
The vitality of the regional development policy is clearly manifested in the people's living, which is improving along with a great number of new entities springing up in different parts of the country every year, and is getting stronger thanks to the ever-growing people's ideals, confidence and redoubled efforts.
The report said that the durability and vitality peculiar to our state and society have been fully demonstrated through the arduous struggle to overcome the public health crisis and natural disasters and a climate of regarding the disaster prevention as a vital issue and focusing on it was established.
Another important success, achieved during the period under review, is that the overall national economy was put on a track of growth and socialist policies related to the welfare of the people were put into practice in an expanded manner.
The Central Committee of the WPK paid primary attention to establishing a work system and order to manage the overall economy in a unified way by strengthening the Cabinet responsibility system and the Cabinet-centred system. It also organized and guided the work to make sure that the requirements of the nationwide, planned and scientific self-reliance are fully met in all economic activities under the guidance of the Cabinet.
All the Party organizations, ranging from the Party Central Committee to the primary Party committees, adopted the national economic plan as a Party decision and set up a well-regulated system for strictly reviewing the work for its implementation. They set 12 major goals, which hold the leading position in the development of the national economy, and concentrated efforts on their attainment, thus powerfully supporting the growth-oriented trend of the overall economy.
This led to the fulfillment of the Five-Year Plan for National Economic Development, the most obvious and significant success in the economic field achieved for the first time in the past three decades. It is an important stride, for which we are surely optimistic about the prospects for future economic development.
During the period under review, the Party Central Committee, regarding the construction of 50 000 flats in Pyongyang as an undertaking for realizing the long-cherished desire, pushed ahead with it every year without fail, overcoming difficulties and deviations. So houses and new streets far exceeding the original plan were built. It also turned the rural villages in the city of Samjiyon into modern ones and, on the basis of experience gained in it, pushed ahead with the construction of rural dwellings in all cities and counties across the country. As a result, over 110 000 families of agricultural workers moved into new houses in the past five years.
The project of building tens of thousands of dwelling houses was completed in the Komdok area and tens of thousands of new houses were built in the flood-hit areas of North Phyongan, Jagang and Ryanggang provinces. Every year, a great number of modern dwelling houses for the working people were built at the state expense in urban and rural areas to invariably enforce the communist policy.
This has become the landscape peculiar to our society and part of our people's life, providing all the people with the hope for a new life and new happiness.
A magnificent tourist area and holiday resort were built in Myongsasimni and Onpho Hot Spring Area, famous scenic spots of the country, and the construction of Pyongyang General Hospital, set as an important task, was completed and large-scale greenhouse farms built in Ryonpho, Kangdong and Sinuiju areas to increase the wealth of socialism for providing the people with affluent living conditions.
All provinces also made significant achievements by waging a brisk campaign for building new production facilities, public facilities and service facilities for highly civilized life and wellbeing of the people.
When the emergency anti-epidemic work was underway, the hardest-ever during the period under review, a new childcare policy was adopted to provide the children across the country with dairy products and nutritious food every day and is still being thoroughly carried out. The state has invariably enforced the socialist policies by taking full responsibility for the production and supply of uniforms, shoes and bags for the students at all levels, ranging from primary schools to universities, and ensuring the regular supply of school things including textbooks, notebooks and writing instruments to schoolchildren.
The expanded policies for the people clearly show the advantages of the socialist system in our country, which attaches importance to the popular and people-oriented ones, and prove the truthfulness and vitality of our Party's people-first politics.
The past five years were a period when a phase of comprehensive development was opened up in socialist construction, the security interests of the DPRK firmly defended and its international prestige further enhanced.
It is one of the great achievements made during the period under review that our country has successfully enforced its independent and effective national defence policy for deterring high-handedness and injustice by dint of its own strength and defending the national security and sovereign rights and international justice in the acute and complicated international situation.
What is of most important and strategic significance is that the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state has been consolidated to be irreversible and permanent.
The adoption of the state nuclear force policy as a part of the Republic law in reflection of the general will of all the people was a historic event which declared the toughest policy that the course of bolstering up the nuclear force of the DPRK would continue as long as nuclear weapons exist on the earth and the US imperialists and their followers remain unchanged in their moves against the DPRK. This also drew a red line disallowing anyone to bargain over the nuclear weapons of the DPRK in any case.
On this basis, the Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK stipulated in the Constitution of the DPRK the unshakable will to ensure the country's rights to existence and development, deter war and defend regional and global peace and stability by rapidly developing its nuclear weapons.
This successfully carried out the indispensable historical and political task of guaranteeing the nuclear policy of the DPRK, a full-fledged nuclear weapons state, and the sacred struggle for its implementation as the supreme law to be perpetuated along with socialist Korea.
The DPRK's nuclear force is now fulfilling its mission of physically and strongly deterring any war of aggression in a responsible manner.
Actually, we have the capability for deterring the war itself, and have finished all the preparations for launching immediate retaliation if any forces attack us.
The absolute strength, which the DPRK has built up through an offensive and bold struggle, is a capability for legitimate self-defence pertaining to our right to self-defence. This is a key factor in neutralizing the will of the enemy countries to ignite a war and ensuring the balance of forces in the region where the security environment is getting acute day by day.
Now no one can expect any political and physical unconstitutional acts from our state with regard to its war deterrent.
The report noted that the WPK advanced and implemented the line and policy of building a powerful army–turning the DPRK’s armed forces into the world’s strongest–and a new idea on the three elements of the armed forces, thus further strengthening the political, ideological, military and technical might of our armed forces.
The KPA set it as the primary strategic task for army-building to turn itself into a politically and ideologically strong army, steadily intensified the work of establishing a revolutionary military climate of remaining absolutely loyal and obedient to the leadership of the Party Central Committee, trained all its officers and soldiers to be the strongest in mental power and become true patriotic persons boundlessly faithful to the sacred mission of defending the country, the revolution and the people, and brought about a great turn in carrying out the training revolution and the military education revolution, the two major fronts for building a powerful army.
Over the past five years, our People’s Army has reliably defended the all-people struggle for the comprehensive development of socialism by closely watching without a moment’s idleness the drills and military moves conducted by the enemy countries on a regular basis and resolutely deterring and frustrating their reckless provocations through strong responsive actions.
It is an important success worthy of appreciation that all the army units at different levels have put their combat capabilities on a higher level by giving precedence to the revolutions in training, ideology and equipment.
The period under review was the years of a turnaround to be specially recorded in the history of development of our defence industry.
What is of weighty significance in bolstering up the national defence capability is that the technological modernization of strategic nature and the development successes in various fields were secured to bring about a remarkable change in renovating and updating the structure of the state’s military capabilities.
On the basis of the successes we achieved in the period under review in the struggle for bolstering up the military capabilities for self-defence and firmly defending the security interests of the state, our Party and state proudly declared that to ensure security and preserve peace by dint of powerful strength is an invariable option and principle and we are ready to counter anything pursued by our enemies.
The security of the state is now maintained at a higher level than in the past despite the ever-worsening security situation and tensions in the region. This clearly proves that a war is deterred sufficiently if we have our own forces and power, strong enough to put any acute objective situation under control.
The report referred to the profound significance of the struggle waged in the period under review for pioneering the era of comprehensive development:
The main policies for the comprehensive development of socialism and their thoroughgoing implementation have powerfully promoted the transformation in all realms of state and social life, all regions of the country and all sectors of the national economy. They, at the same time, have produced such a good result serving two ends: promoting the three revolutions–ideological, technological and cultural–and enhancing the role of Party organizations and government organs.
As a result, the struggle over the past five years has developed into a new revolutionary course, in which not only the overall productivity of the country but also the ideological consciousness, technical and cultural standards and living environment of the people change and develop simultaneously.
It is all the more important that the course of opening up the phase of comprehensive development, despite being in its early stage, has resulted in securing the forces and valuable experience for successfully pushing ahead with the gigantic transformation work and instilled into the whole Party and all the people such stronger confidence that they can push ahead with this historic task more broadly and rapidly.
Through the struggle to usher in a new era of comprehensive development of socialism, our Party further hardened its will to carry out everything, demanded by the revolution and wished by the people, unconditionally in the face of unfavourable subjective and objective conditions and circumstances, and confirmed once again the truth that it can overcome any trials and difficulties and achieve successful fruition if there exist correct lines, policies and leadership and the internal forces capable of implementing them.
The main factor behind all the successes achieved by our Party and people during the period under review lies in the political and ideological might, the strength peculiar to our Party, state and people.
The revolutionary successes, made in the eighth term of the Party Central Committee, proved once again that the ideals of “The people are god,” single-hearted unity and self-reliance, consistently maintained by the WPK, display unparalleled attraction and vitality in socialist construction.
Noting that the great successes in socialist construction are all associated with the heroic struggle and distinguished feats of our People’s Army that regards devoted service to the Party, state and people as its solemn duty,
Fully supporting the proposal made by
The Congress also highly appreciated the role of the admirable young people who built gigantic edifices and creations symbolic of the youth one after another with their enthusiastic and valiant spirit and fighting morale as befitting the patriotic youth in the new era at every grand construction site and workplace in hearty response to the Party’s call, thus brilliantly glorifying the past five years as a new watershed in the glorious youth movement of our country.
In the second part of the report,
The requirements of the period of comprehensive development are, firstly, to constantly intensify the work for ensuring the unanimous unity of action and establishing strong discipline throughout socialist construction; secondly, to reject the old schemes and frameworks, conservatism and empiricism and steadily create new ones and innovate; thirdly, to conduct the work in a scientific, foreseeable and effective way and attach importance to professional qualifications; fourthly, to innovate the methods and mode of guidance over production and construction and improve the guiding ability of officials; fifthly, to consistently adhere to the principle of resolving all problems by dint of ideology and the spiritual strength of the masses and wage a more vigorous struggle against all sorts of negative phenomena going against the people-first principle.
The primary task of the socialist economic construction at the present stage is to cement the achievements made during the eighth term of the Party Central Committee, lay a foundation of development for the stable and steady growth of the country's economy and substantially improve the people's living standards.
To this end, the period of new five-year plan should be a phase of stabilization and consolidation, a phase of gradual and qualitative development. And this must be set as the general goal, the principle of the work of the ninth-term Party Central Committee.
The report referred to the goals for different indices of the five-year plan for the national economic development the Cabinet drew up on the basis of its serious analysis of the economic conditions of the country and exploration of the possibilities of development, and proposed the ways to carry them out.
It proposed it as an important task to qualitatively consolidate the foundations for the production of the key industries to powerfully guarantee the growth of the overall economy during the period of new five-year plan and clarified the goals to be attained by the metallurgical, chemical, electric power, coal and machine-building industries.
It also mentioned the tasks facing the natural resources development, mining industry, forestry and rail transport sectors with an important mission to open up a prospect of the sustainable development of the national economy.
The report called on the light industry sector to focus on the quality improvement and development of new products, increase the production of consumer goods and lay a new groundwork for the light industry in the period of new long-term plan. And it put particular emphasis on the need to consistently ensure the quality of school uniforms, bags and shoes for the correct implementation of the socialist policies of the Party and the state for our students without a slightest mistake.
It mentioned the issue of setting fish farming and sea culture as the main direction for development of the fishing industry and conducting them in an extensive way, as well as the principles to be held fast to in commercial, public catering and welfare service activities.
The report set forth the grain production goal to be attained by the agricultural sector during the period of the five-year plan and the tasks for its realization.
The agricultural sector should keep intensifying the work to change the grain production structure, expand the wheat-processing capacity and push ahead with the seed revolution, scientific farming, tideland farming, double cropping and land improvement to provide an important guarantee for the increased grain production.
It is necessary to more powerfully step up the construction of modern vegetable greenhouse farms and raise the level of putting the production of vegetables on a scientific, intensive and industrial basis.
Three important policy requirements for the development of livestock farming is to modernize the stockbreeding bases, approach the securement of superior breeds, supply of sufficient feed, scientific rearing and strict veterinary and anti-epizootic work and the work for putting production and management on an intelligent and IT footing as five key factors and raise grass-eating domestic animals on a large scale.
It is important to further perfect the irrigation system of the country, attain the goal of tideland reclamation, promote the land realignment for laying the solid material and technical foundations of agriculture and, at the same time, further increase the proportion of mechanized farm work by accelerating the revolution in the field of farm machinery.
It is needed to vigorously propel the projects for transforming the capital city of Pyongyang into a magnificent city with an appearance as a world-class city.
It is necessary to engage in more construction projects aimed to transform the Hwasong area into a model administrative district with perfect political, economic and cultural functions and other projects of connecting it to the surrounding districts in a harmonious way and arranging it in the next two years.
We should execute the work to transform the provincial capitals across the country year by year as required by the times.
The report referred to the tasks facing the building materials sector to carry out the huge construction projects successfully and to the principled issues arising in the work of architectural designs and construction control.
It also stressed the importance to set the period of new long-term plan as a phase in which the information industry sector makes another progress, dynamically conduct the external trade and develop tourism into a new industry which promotes the economic growth and civilization of the country.
It advanced the tasks for bringing about innovations in the land management and protection of ecological environment. It also put emphasis on the issues of improving the city management and taking measures in succession to actively counter the various kinds of disasters and crises with full preparations and called on the law enforcement and supervisory organs to heighten the level of supervision and control over the ecological protection in order to turn our territory into a more beautiful land good to live in.
It is important to build regional-industry factories, hospitals and leisure complexes in 20 cities and counties every year without fail, starting from this year, and invariably maintain our mode of struggle and advance speed leading groundbreaking at the outset of the year to inauguration at the end of the year through a more dynamic struggle for implementing the regional development policy.
It is necessary to accelerate the work to put the countryside on an urbanized, civilized and advanced basis with more perseverance.
The report advanced the tasks and ways for the development of science and technology and socialist culture.
The main direction of scientific and technical work during the period of new five-year plan is to solve the urgent problems arising in enhancing the independence and modernization level of the national economy, ensuring the qualitative growth of production and improving the material and cultural life of the people.
It is important, in particular, to make efforts to study and develop core technologies arising in pioneering and running such new industry sectors and high-tech industries as new energy industry, space industry and AI industry which emerge as a practical subject at present, not in the distant future.
The target of the education during the period of new long-term plan is to teach all students well to be talents competent enough to contribute to the revolutionary practices, decisively narrow the gap in the educational level between towns and rural areas and modernize the country's educational foundation in a comprehensive way.
It is necessary to rapidly introduce the successes gained in the healthcare revolution started in 2025 to the whole public health sector to make the people practically enjoy the benefits of the socialist public health and put the foundation of the country's public health on a higher level.
In the coming five years we should build excellent hospitals with more advanced features in every aspect in 100 cities and counties across the country through the persistent drive to erect modern public health facilities in the regions, additionally set up essential medical treatment organs between city and county hospitals and ri clinics and dynamically push ahead with the work to build modern general hospitals in the seats of provinces and the second, third general hospitals and new district hospitals in the capital city.
The sector of literature and arts should orient its creative activities to raising the revolutionary consciousness, creative consciousness and fighting consciousness of the people and arousing the broad masses to the implementation of the Party policies and thus usher in a new era of efflorescence in movie, music, stage arts, fine arts and all other spheres.
The media sector should theoretically explain and propagate the Party lines and policies for each period and the validity and vitality of the Party policies displayed in reality in a persuasive way in order to make the popular masses keep the ideas and voice of the Party in their hearts.
It is important to usher in a new heyday of sports development and make the sound and noble socialist lifestyle prevail the whole society.
The report set forth the tasks and ways for steady consolidation and development of the state and social system.
The legislation sector should enact, amend and supplement the sector-specific laws in a timely and rational way, now that that the new Party policies are advanced, the sphere of struggle and life is expanded and the actual conditions of socialist construction change, and thus fully provide the correct legal standards and practical legal weapons for the revolution and construction.
It should enhance the role of the supreme power body and local power bodies and intensify the explanation of laws throughout the country and society, thus creating a hot wind of establishing a revolutionary climate of law observance.
Judicial and prosecution, public security and state security organs should remain faithful to their missions as weapons of class struggle to protect the security of the state, political stability of society and the lives and property of the people by law and thus firmly guarantee the consolidation and development of the state and social system.
It is the inevitable policy of our Party for defence building and the most just strategy for national defence to steadily expand and build up the self-defensive deterrent and war capabilities which we have bolstered up.
The security environment of our state, which has deteriorated without a moment's peace since the founding of the DPRK due to the hereditary and inveterate US hostile policy toward it, is inching close to an unpredictable and dangerous situation as time passes, owing to the enemy states' ever-increasing joint cooperation and military moves accompanied by nuclear elements.
In particular, the expansion and strengthening of the US-led aggressive blocs in the Asia-Pacific region and their military activities beyond a tolerance limit are clearly bringing about a grave situation that seriously threatens the security of the Korean peninsula and the region.
The military and political situation on the Korean peninsula, where new threats are on the increase, and the new trend of development of the world's military capabilities make us keenly realize that we should make redoubled efforts to always outpace the others while maintaining the perfect and overwhelming defence capabilities feared by the enemy.
We should continue to strengthen the armed forces of the Republic into the world's strongest modern army which is overwhelming any enemy ideologically, morally, militarily and technically.
It is the steadfast will of our Party to further expand and bolster up the state nuclear force which is pivotal in the implementation of the war deterrence strategy and war strategy and thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state.
The DPRK's position as the nuclear weapons state plays an important role in deterring the potential threat of its enemies and maintaining regional stability, and the state nuclear force is a basic guarantee and powerful security device reliably ensuring the country's security, interests and rights to development.
From the doctrine that the oppression by imperialism accompanied by nukes should be countered with nukes, our Party overcame all difficulties and obstacles and declared the line of building the state nuclear force to the world without hesitation. And it pushed ahead with its realization and proudly stipulated the position of our nuclear weapons state in the law of the state.
At present our Party's line of increasing the nuclear force is correctly carried on through the positive activities and high technical capabilities of our research groups and producers in the sector of nuclear technology, and its prospect is very satisfactory.
We have a long-term plan to strengthen the national nuclear force on an annual basis in the future and will concentrate on increasing the number of nuclear weapons and expanding the means and space for nuclear operation.
Steadfast is our stand to constantly maintain the readiness of our nuclear force and continuously conduct tests and drills so as to have confidence in the effectiveness of the operation of components of the state nuclear deterrent.
It is a responsible exercise of the war deterrent to constantly test the reliability and effectiveness of the components of the DPRK's nuclear deterrence and demonstrate their might.
We should make the enemy clearly know that we are capable of making a terrible retaliatory attack at any time if they commit military actions against our state.
We will update additional strike means and their operational support systems to increase the military efficiency of different nuclear weapons, according to their objects and missions, to the effect that they conform to the changed capabilities and correspond to the prospective goals. By rapidly enhancing the capabilities of the nuclear combat forces for an actual war through tests for the activation and operation of Haekpangasoe (nuclear trigger), an integrated nuclear crisis response system, and various drills for getting familiar with the order of handling nuclear weapons and their operational procedures, we will make full preparations for a war so that our nuclear shield can be operated promptly and accurately at any moment and in any situation.
The technological upgrading of our nuclear force, which has steadily evolved in recent years, already provides many possibilities for nuclear counterattack operations.
In other words, the more sophisticated nuclear weapons operation system and sensitive responsiveness have made it possible to mobilize our nuclear force for implementing various responsive action plans in any nuclear emergency crisis, according to our judgement and purpose.
This is, indeed, a great success.
Our Party and the DPRK government will provide and support all conditions and possibilities for the sustained development of the nuclear technology sector on a top preferential basis and take strong measures to further strengthen the security and alert system for nuclear facilities, thus fulfilling the function and duty as a responsible nuclear weapons state.
The report gave very important meaning to the rapid and continuous upgrading of the navy’s operational capabilities with the nuclear weaponization of its surface and underwater forces as the main.
It also called for further making revolution in military education and training, the two fronts of building a powerful army, as required by the rapid development of military science and technology and modern warfare, thus bringing about significant progress in strengthening the capabilities of the People's Army to conduct the war.
The People's Army should hold fast to making itself politically and ideologically stronger as the first strategic task for building a powerful army and prepare the armed forces of the DPRK to be a powerful revolutionary army which emerges ever-victorious by dint of ideology.
Measures should be taken to upgrade all military bases to standardization, and long-term plans should be drawn up in detail and carried out on an annual basis to build new military infrastructures.
In particular, the Party's military and strategic policy of fortifying at an early date the southern borderline adjacent to the ROK and reinforcing the alert and firepower systems should be carried out in a responsible manner.
To summarize, the plans will include the ground- and underwater-launch ICBM systems, which have been more strengthened by integrating the accumulated technologies, various AI unmanned attack systems, special assets for attacking the enemy's satellites in emergency, very powerful electronic warfare weapons systems to paralyze the enemy's command centre, and more evolved reconnaissance satellites.
It is an important task of the forthcoming five-year long-term plan to accelerate the deployment of already-developed new-type weapons for action.
Strategic weapon systems for containing the strategic foes, particularly the 600mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers and the new-type 240mm-calibre multiple rocket launchers, the main strike means for deterring the targets in the territory of the ROK, and more operational and tactical missile systems will be deployed year by year in the next five years to greatly increase the density and durability of concentrated attack, thus further strengthening the core part of war deterrent.
If the new plan for the development of national defence is carried out in the coming five years, our national defence capabilities will be remarkably increased and put on the high level that the enemies cannot cope with.
The report called upon the fields of defence science research and munitions industry to continue to wage a dynamic struggle to study and develop and serialize the production of the latest weapons and equipment corresponding to the goal of rapidly developing the military technology of the DPRK's armed forces and putting them on a modern basis, in keeping with the global trend of defence science development, under the uplifted banner of the national defence industry revolution in the new era.
It also set it as an important task to increase the wartime operation and combat capability and cooperation capability of the Public Security Forces and the Worker-Peasant Red Guards, important components of the armed forces of the DPRK.
In the third part of his report,
The world at present is completely different from what it was five years ago, and international relations have been plunged into a vortex of chaos and upheaval.
The US hegemonic policy and arbitrary practices have seriously shaken the foundations of peace and security in different parts of the world and caused a series of armed conflicts, making the present international situation become more and more chaotic and assume more variable and unpredictable colours with the passage of time.
The open infringement of state sovereignty, wanton violation of international law, the global security crisis which has not been witnessed since the end of the Cold War and political and economic chaos and disorder in different countries—all these are the reality of the present world we are facing.
The Western forces led by the US are just the chieftain that mercilessly destroys the existing international order and the accepted practices and causes instability and confusion while pursuing unilateral hegemony according to the logic that high-handedness is justice.
Under the signboard of the so-called "America first", the US is unhesitatingly resorting to aggression and use of military force against sovereign states, advocating "strength-based peace" to solely meet its hegemonic ambition, regardless of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and security interests of other countries.
The US arbitrary practices that make the world noisy and uneasy are not new to us as they are only the continuance and extension of the top-class rogue and hegemonic practices we have always witnessed.
Due to the US hegemonic policy, a serious change is taking place in the existing international order and structure of international relations based on the multilateral system and the standard of justice and the value of strength are being reevaluated.
In the European region, the origin of the two world wars in the last century that took tens of millions of lives, the reckless expansion of the Western alliance system created the worst regional security crisis, exchange of fire, for the first time in 80 years.
The Korean peninsula and the surrounding region have been also exposed to constant instability and tensions due to the US and its vassal forces' persistent hostile policy toward the DPRK and security-destroying measures, and the external environment of the DPRK is still grave.
It is a reality and lesson, seen and drawn by the international community through the present cruel geopolitical situation, that if one is strong, one can survive and develop under any conditions but if one is weak, one will fall victim to sanctions and aggression and, ultimately, will be deprived of sovereignty and territory.
The world realizes though belatedly that as long as imperialism exists, international law and order are nothing but meaningless empty commitments and that the just advocacy of law and order alone can defend nothing.
It is the truth proved by the present world and the law-governed principle in the international arena dominated by the gangster-like logic of the law of the jungle that strength respects strength and to arm oneself with such powerful force as nuclear weapons is the only means capable of putting an end to the imperialist ambition for aggression.
What is clear is that the desire of the progressive mankind to oppose domination and subjugation and realize independence, equality and autonomy will grow stronger in direct proportion to the desperate efforts of the hegemonic forces.
This is an irresistible law-governed process and inevitability of historical development.
The independent forces will continue to grow stronger and the building of a fair and just multi-polar world will be further promoted by their progressive struggle in the future, too.
Right at the centre of it stands the DPRK.
During the period under review, the WPK analyzed the essence of the structure of international relations that entered the course of serious change, advanced correct external strategic policies and actively responded to the changes in the grim regional situation and the volatile international relations.
In particular, it has permanently fixed the position of the DPRK as a nuclear weapons state completely and absolutely irreversible, making the enemies clearly realize that the dismantlement of the DPRK's nukes can never happen unless the whole world changes.
The US remains utterly unchanged in its original hostile view on the DPRK and hooligan nature of habitual high-handedness.
It is just the nature of the aggressor that can be concealed for a while but can never be changed.
We will fully prepare ourselves for the confrontation with the US in the future, too, as now and firmly maintain the toughest stand as the keynote of our consistent policy towards the US.
However, as already clarified, if the US respects the present position of our state specified in the Constitution of the DPRK and withdraws its hostile policy towards the DPRK, there is no reason why we cannot get on well with it.
But if the US is not away from its customary practices towards the DPRK and opts for confrontation to the end, we will be constant in its proportional response and we have sufficient means and methods for it.
The prospect of the DPRK-US relations depends entirely on the attitude of the US side.
Whether it is peaceful coexistence or eternal confrontation, we are prepared for everything, and that choice is not made by us.
We have long prepared ourselves to deal with the hostile entity, the US, and will, in the future, too, more courageously and intensively carry out what we have done so far to better prepare for all forms of challenges that can be inferred.
As witnessed in the whole historical process, by committing such grave provocation as violating the airspace of the DPRK in a recent few years and even at the outset of this year, the ROK has clearly showed that it is not a neighbour which we can trust and co-exist with.
From the very beginning, the successive ruling forces of the ROK have not wanted genuine reconciliation and unity with us, but worked hard to spread their culture within our country by abusing the opportunities for reconciliation and cooperation in a sinister attempt to bring about its change and the final collapse of its social system.
The appeasement attitude taken by the present regime of the ROK outwardly is a clumsy deceptive farce and a poor work.
With an ambition to ultimately turn the whole of the Korean peninsula into the one under the reactionary capitalist system of "liberal democracy", the ROK is outwardly advocating "reconciliation" and "peace" in a deceptive manner, while seeking to disarm the DPRK under the signboard of the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula". It is an anachronistic practice, which must not be continued any longer, to keep dealing with the ROK for the sake of the utterly impossible reconciliation and "reunification", being captive to the habit of regarding it, a dangerous being, as the same "nation".
The 13th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly already made comprehensive and detailed mention of the nature of the ROK as an unchangeable hostile entity and the impossible compatibility in the DPRK-ROK relations.
The WPK's switchover in its approach towards the ROK is the most righteous guideline for the struggle against the enemy as it is based on an exact analysis of the history of the DPRK-ROK relations, which have failed to escape from the vicious cycle of confrontation and détente, and the objective reality of the Korean peninsula. It is not a temporary tactical measure but a historic option for defending our national interests and prestige and firmly guaranteeing the present and future security of the state and the people.
Accordingly, we took immediate state measures to eliminate the remnants of outdated ideas and legacies of the past era and to label the ROK as the out-and-out first hostile state and immutable arch enemy in the realms of political, ideological, spiritual and cultural life of our people.
We also reorganized the agencies and organizations which had existed for the unrealistic goals–dialogue, negotiations, exchange and cooperation–and abrogated the relevant laws, agreements and enforcement regulations. And we took legal and administrative measures one after another to completely and physically block all the channels and spaces of contact in our southern border areas, and are taking decisive steps to fortify them militarily.
In fact, the DPRK and the ROK have existed as separate states for nearly 80 years, and entered the UN as different two states with their own seat.
Some people of the ROK are still calling into question the just sovereign decision of the DPRK which defined the DPRK-ROK relations as the ones between the two different nations. This only shows that they unilaterally deny the current situation of the relations between the DPRK and the ROK which have been recognized as two different nations both legally and internationally, and that they do not abandon their wild ambition to absorb the other party in any way.
Whatever the enemy state, which is fundamentally standing against us, says about us and tries to do against us will be no more than a challenge to the DPRK.
Our position on the ROK is clear.
We clarify once again through the Party Congress, the supreme leadership body of the ruling party which sets forth the lines and policies of the state.
The DPRK has nothing to discuss with the ROK, the most hostile entity, and will exclude the ROK from the category of compatriots forever.
We will perpetuate this situation, in which the conditions of contact with the ROK have been completely eliminated. And we will not revive the misguided past in any case.
Nothing remains in the relations with the ROK and, if there is anything, it is only a cool-headed calculation and strict response for our national interests.
The only way for the ROK to live safely is to abandon everything related to us and refrain from irritating us unless it can evade the geopolitical conditions in which it borders our Republic.
The on-going confrontational acts of the ROK which takes issue with and violates the inviolable sovereignty and constitutional rights of the DPRK will never be tolerated any longer.
No matter whom the ROK concludes an alliance with and no matter how much it increases its military expenditure, the dynamic structure of the Korean peninsula built by the nuclear weapons state will never change.
The ROK must awake from the absolutely impossible dream of overwhelming someone by force of arms and completely give up their unilateral attempt to change the status quo in a bid to weaken the current position of the DPRK. And the ROK is well advised to stop unnecessary moves most likely to break the existing stability which has been barely maintained.
Now that the particulars of consideration in favour of the ROK have been nullified, the standard of our military counteraction, maintained for a long time, has changed in essence and our deterrent's mission of preemptive strike stipulated by national law and the use of all other physical power against a hostile state are to be fully executed in light of theory and technology.
If the ROK's mischievous acts conducted on the doorstep of a nuclear weapons state are recognized as an act of doing harm to our security environment, we are allowed to launch any action.
The possibility of the ROK's complete collapse in the extension of that action cannot be ruled out.
On this principle, we will remain tough and conclusive in our will and determination to treat the ROK just as a very hostile state and eternal enemy in the future, too.
Necessary measures, clearer and more practical, will be taken to exclude the ROK in view of the line conforming with the dignity, rights and interests we deem most sacred.
Our Party and government will never be fixated on the dialogue and cooperation with the ROK, the so-called rationales, all of which have proved unscientific and unrealistic with the lapse of a very long time, but always remain faithful to the cool-headed and correct option driven by history.
The external affairs field should make sure that external activities are conducted in a proactive and tactical way, regarding it as its first mission and foremost principle to defend the national interests under the leadership of the Party Central Committee, and thus expand and strengthen the external prestige and influence of our state more broadly.
To our revolution, the leadership of the Party Central Committee is a decisive guarantee of all victories and successes.
Now that the international position of our Republic has been remarkably enhanced, its external activities have become more important and all the external activities of the state are to be carried out in a unified way without any deviation. That’s why the leadership of the Party Central Committee is essential.
Under the current circumstances, in which the objective environment of the revolution is grim and the international situation is unprecedentedly acute, it is essential for the Party Central Committee to engage directly in the external activities of the state.
Therefore, all the external activities of our state will have to be carried out through and through under the direct guidance and engagement of the Party Central Committee.
Now our enemies don't know what we are planning to do and what we are taking account of.
They cannot know and they should not, either.
That gives them unrest and fear they cannot get out of.
The DPRK will as ever take the firm initiative in the trend of the international situation while thoroughly deterring its adversaries through the direct engagement of the Party Central Committee and its strategic and tactical external activities.
The dignity of the Party precisely means the prestige of the state, and the interests of the revolution are just the interests of the state.
The external affairs field should ensure that all external activities are thoroughly conducted on the principle of defending the national interests.
National interests are the criterion of thinking and viewpoint on international relations in the present era characterized by fierce international competitions, and to defend the national interests is an invariable principle our state adheres to in its external activities.
We should steadily develop the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation with neighbouring countries onto a higher stage and proactively conduct political and diplomatic activities, exchange and cooperation to expand and strengthen the relations with the anti-imperialist independent countries.
We need to keenly and closely watch the landscape of international relations, mutual relationship and changes in situation and make a correct analysis and assessment of them, and, on the basis of it, take various countermeasures and employ them in an active manner.
To this end, it is necessary to make strenuous efforts to train the officials in the foreign affairs sector to be true diplomatic soldiers firmly armed with our Party's Juche-oriented diplomatic ideology and talented persons possessed of great diplomatic art and high practical ability, thus bringing about a qualitative change in the ranks of diplomatic officials.
The international situation that we are facing is still grave and the hostile forces will pose more challenges, but we are sure to win as long as we are guided by the correct foreign strategic policy and leadership of the Party Central Committee and we are guaranteed by our powerful military deterrent.
Our Party and government will always remain faithful to the adherence to the Constitution of the DPRK, which permanently stipulates the position of the nuclear weapons state, and work towards ensuring peace and security in the region and the rest of the world and promoting the building of a multi-polarized world aspiring after independence and justice in the future, too.
The most important success achieved in Party building in the period under review is that a firm foundation, and a great programme, has been provided to steadily strengthen our Party into an invincible guiding force and preserve its nature as a revolutionary Party responsible for the destiny and future of the people forever.
On the basis of a comprehensive and scientific analysis of the tragic lessons drawn from the world socialist movement and the subjective and objective conditions of our revolution, the current situation of Party work in particular, our Party set forth the five-point Party-building orientation, which should be taken as guidelines for perfectly solving all the issues arising in Party building, theoretically formulated and systematized it and directed great efforts to training the backbone who will shoulder its implementation, thus laying a solid foundation for the sacred work of guaranteeing and realizing the glorious succession and development of our Party.
The core task to be fulfilled in Party building during the ninth term of the Party Central Committee is to take scientific, realistic and meticulous measures for applying all the principles and requirements of the five-point Party-building programme in the new era to Party work and activities and perfectly implement them, thus making a radical improvement in the development of the Party.
First of all, we should channel efforts into political building so as to further develop our Party into the general staff of the revolution with a high leadership position and guiding ability.
In order to maintain its dignity and might as the ruling Party with absolute prestige and mature leadership ability forever in the future, too, our Party should pay primary attention to firmly maintaining and consolidating its peculiar political climate with the oneness of ideology and leadership as its core.
At the same time, it should take it as an important task in political building to strengthen the functions and role of the Party committees at all levels which realize the Party's political leadership in all fields of the revolution and construction, and to enhance the political consciousness and political activities of Party members.
By steadily intensifying the organizational building of the Party, we should further consolidate our Party into an integral whole in which Party members and Party organizations are firmly united organizationally and act as one in accordance with one organizational discipline.
Personnel administration, growth of the Party membership and management of its ranks, the three main thrusts of strengthening the whole Party, should be steadily intensified.
It is necessary to increase the might of ideology and the penetration ability of ideological work to the maximum and thus dynamically usher in a great new era of strengthening the whole Party and developing the state.
The ideological work for preparing all members of the society to be true loyalists and ardent patriots, who cherish our Party's revolutionary ideology as their faith, should be conducted without a moment's interruption, while boosting its effectiveness and degree to the maximum as required by the times and the developing revolution.
We should establish a way of voluntarily observing discipline throughout the Party, wage the struggle against violations of discipline more intensively, and establish a strict system and order whereby Party organizations at all levels work only in accordance with their functions.
We should intensify the building of a good working manner to usher in a new era of Party building so that the revolutionary and popular style of work and sound spiritual and moral traits prevail throughout the Party as its unshakable climate.
We should learn from the Party spirit, revolutionary spirit and popular spirit displayed by the generations who pioneered the cause of building the Party and conduct a substantial campaign for acquiring a skillful method of working with the masses, so that the officials possess the Party principle, devotion to the people and noble moral traits as their natural disposition.
The Party should give purposeful political guidance over the economic work and positively encourage working people's organizations to conduct dynamic organizational and political work to inspire their members to the implementation of the new long-term plan. In particular, it should pay attention to strengthening its guidance over the Socialist Patriotic Youth League, a mass political organization of the new generation who will shoulder the future destiny and future of the Party, the revolution, the country and the people.
When
All the participants in the Congress expressed full support for the historic report of
The essence of the important report made by
The report serves as a powerful fighting programme indicating the bright path for bringing about more comprehensive and innovative progress in all spheres of the revolution and construction with the honour of victors who opened up a new trend of prosperity, irretrievable and irresistible any longer, despite the worst-ever crisis and challenges.
The Congress continued its discussion to harmonize the will and pace of the whole Party and confirm scientific ways in the course of attaining new long-term goals on the basis of the essence of the important report made by
19 delegates of Party organizations at all levels made speeches or presented written speeches.
Fully and unanimously supporting the report made by
The Congress discussed the second agenda item, "On the Revision of the Rules of the Workers' Party of Korea".
Discussed there were the issues of significance in further consolidating the organizational and ideological foundations peculiar to our Party and thoroughly ensuring the Party work and activities in a standardized way, and a decision on stipulating them in the Rules of the WPK was adopted.
The Congress discussed the third agenda item "Election of the Central Leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea".
It declared that the eighth-term Party central leadership successfully completed its term according to the WPK Rules, and held the election of the members of the ninth-term Party central leadership.
It held in high esteem
Through the relevant nomination and election procedures according to the Party Rules, it elected 138 members and 111 alternate members of the Party Central Committee, appreciating that they are the core elements of the Party who have firmly armed themselves with the Party's revolutionary ideas and programme and are fully ready to powerfully push ahead with the advance of the revolutionary cause by playing the vanguard role with noble Party conscience.
The delegates faithfully discharged their honourable mission and rights assigned by the Party, revolution and people in the crucial event of electing the general secretary of the WPK, the leader representing and guiding our great Party.
The venue of the Congress was wrapped in a solemn atmosphere as it faced the moment of making the most correct conclusion carrying the absolute conviction for the sake of the state and people of the DPRK and the cause of socialism and their destiny and future.
Breaking into stormy cheers of "Hurrah!", all the participants fully supported and approved the courteous proposal for entrusting again the important duty of general secretary, the supreme post of the WPK, to the great
The delegates adopted with unanimous approval the decision on invariably holding
The venue was filled with an outburst of the absolute faith and fervent single-minded loyalty that as we hold in high esteem
According to the Party Rules, the general secretary of the WPK becomes a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee, a member of the Political Bureau and the chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK.
The first enlarged plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the WPK was held at the headquarters building of the Party Central Committee on February 23.
The meeting elected the members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee and members and alternate members of the Political Bureau.
Pak Thae Song, Jo Yong Won, Kim Jae Ryong and Ri Il Hwan were elected members of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK.
Elected as members of the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee were Pak Thae Song, Jo Yong Won, Kim Jae Ryong, Ri Il Hwan, Jong Kyong Thaek, Kim Song Nam, Sin Yong Il, Ri Hi Yong, Ju Chang Il, Jo Chun Ryong, An Kum Chol, Kim Jong Gwan, Kim Sung Du, Choe Son Hui, No Kwang Chol, Kim Song Gi, Kim Tok Hun and Pak Jong Gun. Kim Yo Jong, Pak Kwang Ung, Han Kwang Sang, Ju Chol Gyu, Jon Hyon Chol, Pak Hun, Ri Chol Man, Ri Yong Gil, Ri Chang Dae, Pang Tu Sop and Kim Chol Won were elected alternate members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK.
The secretaries of the Party Central Committee were elected and the Secretariat was formed.
Kim Jae Ryong, Ri Il Hwan, Jong Kyong Thaek, Kim Song Nam, Sin Yong Il, Ri Hi Yong, Ju Chang Il, Jo Chun Ryong, An Kum Chol, Kim Jong Gwan and Kim Sung Du were elected secretaries of the C.C., WPK.
The Central Military Commission of the Party was elected.
Jong Kyong Thaek was elected vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea and Jo Chun Ryong, No Kwang Chol, Kim Song Gi, Ri Yong Gil, Pang Tu Sop, Choe Chun Gil, Kim Jong Sik, Yu Kwang U and Ri Chang Ho were elected members of the commission.
The chairman, vice-chairmen and members of the Central Inspection Commission of the WPK were elected.
The plenary meeting discussed the work for the inner-Party structure essentially needed in implementing the Party's political guidance and unanimously approved a relevant decision.
Department directors of the Party Central Committee and chief secretaries of the provincial committees of the Party were appointed.
Commanding officers for the key posts of the KPA were appointed.
The meeting decided to discuss the 2026 work plan for implementing the decisions of the Ninth Party Congress, make a joint study of draft decisions reflecting this year's plan at the sectional study and consultative meetings for drawing up a new five-year plan to be carried out in the period of the Party Congress, and bring together opinions to submit them for deliberation at the newly-elected Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee.
It also decided to discuss the agenda item on the revision of the collection of slogans set forth by the Party Central Committee and the handbook on the Party rules and distribute them throughout the Party after the study of the relevant drafts by the members of the Party Central Committee and the deliberation by the Political Bureau.
The plenary meeting decided to examine and adopt a proposal for reshuffling the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet and refer it to the new-term Supreme People's Assembly.
The subjective and objective conditions and environment of the Korean revolution will not be smooth even in the period of implementing the new long-term plan but we should take the strategic initiative firmly and remain proactive in making redoubled efforts on full alert in order to bring about marked growth in the might of the Party and the state and provide the people with greater wellbeing, he stressed.
The agenda items and relevant decisions discussed at the first enlarged plenary meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the WPK were submitted to the Congress.
He said that the general analysis at this point of today of the struggle of the past five years has given us an instructive occasion to take a due pride in the fruits of our persevering efforts and clearly understand what are the valuable experiences we should maintain and enrich in the future, the deviations we should put to rights and the lessons we should draw, and to make all the delegates have got an overall understanding of the changes and level of development in socialist construction and Party building in the period under review and a correct estimation of the current corresponding level of development of their fields and units.
He said that the newly elected Ninth Party Central Committee will be faithful to its responsible leadership role true to the high confidence and expectation of all the Party organizations and the entire membership and will work hard to speed up the development of our great state and bring more substantial benefits to our people at an earlier date, and this will bring it a fair and square assessment of its work.
Saying that our socialist construction has been run through with the three revolutions, and it has made progress in the course of the struggle to carry out the line of the three revolutions, he stressed that the great cause of comprehensive development, too, can be carried out much faster and more effectively only when the Party’s guidance and the state’s leading role are strengthened in conducting the three revolutions, and only when the masses of the people are involved in these revolutions with an attitude befitting masters.
He affirmed that just like we did in the past five-year struggle in which we pioneered the era of comprehensive development of socialism, we will completely rely on our internal force, the great might of our people, in the new upcoming five-year struggle, too, and invariably uplift the ideals of "The people are god," single-hearted unity and self-reliance as the banner of struggle and advance.
Noting that neither challenge nor change in situation can ever delay or check our advance, he ardently called on all the participants to fight vigorously for bringing earlier the day when our people’s ideals and long-cherished desires will come true by redoubling our enthusiasm and fighting spirit, full of confidence in the future of the socialist cause.
All the delegates responded with stormy cheers of "Hurrah!" to the ardent appeal of the General Secretary who calls on the whole Party to stand in the vanguard of the sacred struggle for bringing about the steady prosperity of our state and the rosy future of socialism and his concluding speech full of revolutionary will.
The sectional study and consultative meetings were held for two days to take correct measures for implementing the new five-year plan and reflect them in the decision of the Congress.
The newly-elected members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK guided the study and consultative meetings.
Realistic and constructive opinions were actively proposed to ensure that all plans were fully based on feasibility and firmly oriented to laying the foundations for pioneering and prosperity.
The First Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Ninth Central Committee of the WPK was held at the headquarters building of the Party Central Committee on February 25.
The Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the WPK listened to and studied the opinions raised at sectional study and consultative meetings for drafting the decision of the Ninth Party Congress.
The Political Bureau confirmed the amended and supplemented draft decision and decided to submit it to the Party Congress.
The Political Bureau also deliberated the draft decision on the 2026 work plan and adopted it as the decision of the First Plenary Meeting of the Ninth Central Committee of the WPK.
The Political Bureau examined and perfected the draft collection of slogans set forth by the Party Central Committee and the draft handbook on the WPK Rules and decided to distribute them to the whole Party.
The draft decision on the first agenda item deliberated at the Politburo meeting of the Party Central Committee was submitted to the Congress.
Reflected in it were the more innovative goals and tasks for the struggle in all fields including the economy, national defence, culture and state and social control, set up in conformity with the requirements of the times when the socialist construction enters a new higher stage of transformation.
Specified in it are the action programs for all the economic sectors to achieve gradual qualitative development while stabilizing and consolidating the foundations for development laid during the eighth-term of the Party Central Committee, and expand and accelerate the regional development and the creation of rural civilization and steadily promote the people's well-being during the five-year plan for national economic development.
The draft decision also includes the positive and offensive work plans of relevant sectors to expand and strengthen external relations with the building of powerful national defence capabilities and defending of the national interests as the basic principle and ensure the immutable keynote of the struggle against the enemy and the fresh and enterprising goals and ways for developing in depth the Party building and work.
The Congress admitted that the draft decision, amended and supplemented on the basis of the wide and in-depth study and discussion of the delegates at the sectional consultative meetings, reflects a new five-year goal with perfect scientific accuracy, practicality, purposefulness and mobilization.
The Ninth Congress of the WPK adopted with unanimous approval a decision "On Thoroughly Carrying out the Tasks Set forth in the Report on the Review of the Work of the Eighth Central Committee of the WPK".
The report of
Saying that the current Congress has drawn great interest at home and abroad as it was convened in the period when our socialist construction is being pushed ahead vigorously and the global political situation is experiencing a serious and rapid change, he noted that the millions of our Party members and all other people across the country have extended their loyal and patriotic minds to the Congress, which has made a sacred review of our past arduous yet grand five-year struggle, and their absolute support to its work through a more intense struggle for creation, a labour struggle.
Expressing his gratitude to all the delegates who, on behalf of all the organizations of the Party and all its members, have devoted, as one, sincere, proactive and responsible efforts to conducting successful discussions of the agenda items, he extended his warm thanks to all the Party members, the people across the country and all the service personnel of our army, who have injected great encouragement and strength into the Congress and guaranteed its successful work by dint of their unique disposition of supporting the Party with single-hearted loyalty and steadfastness.
He said that we are now faced again with a serious remoulding struggle, a struggle for achieving transformation, which we must surely undergo in the course of advance towards an ideal society in which the independence of the masses of the people has been fully realized, and it is an indispensable struggle for carrying out more formidable tasks and gigantic projects than those we have done up to now but clear is the road ahead of us and definite is our success.
He said that the main idea and main spirit of the Ninth Congress of the WPK is, in a word, to consolidate the successes of the struggle for pioneering the era of comprehensive development and continue to lead them to a greater result.
Expressing conviction that, thanks to the soaring revolutionary spirit and undaunted struggle of all the delegates and other members of the Party, the people across the country and the service personnel of the People’s Army, the lines, policies and decisions put forward at this Congress will surely be carried out with credit and a new historic turn will be brought about in the development of our Party and revolution and in socialist construction, he declared the Ninth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea closed.
The song "Internationale" was played.
The venue of the Congress was brimming with conviction and confidence that victory and glory are always in store for us, thanks to the wise leadership and sacred revolutionary activities of
All the delegates were filled with the revolutionary enthusiasm to devote themselves to fulfilling their duty befitting to the vanguard of the Party who shoulders the destiny of the Party's decision and the successful national rejuvenation, solemnly recollecting the importance of the great revolutionary tasks they pledged before the people to unconditionally carry out at the most important and decisive time in the history of development of the WPK and the DPRK.
An all-people grand march, which is to be launched in the immutable principle of self-sustenance and offensive way under the leadership of the Party Central Committee headed by the great
The Ninth Congress of the WPK, recorded in the history as a great review of the arduous struggle and the start of a new journey, will be immortal as a political event that demonstrated the outstanding leadership ability and absolute prestige of the WPK which has always won victories on the road of the Juche revolution, and as a militant banner which powerfully encouraged our state and people to advance towards the brilliant peak of the powerful and highly civilized socialist construction.
KCNA