- Title: REFILE: North Korea's Kim to tout power and military gains at party congress
- Date: 13th February 2026
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JANUARY 12, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE KOREA INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL UNIFICATION, HONG MIN, SAYING: “By standing alongside Putin and Xi Jinping, North Korea has elevated its international standing. The United States, in its own way, continues to signal that it is open to dialogue. North Korea is also beginning to c
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- Keywords: Kim Jong Un North Korea Trump Venezuela congress daughter military parade nuclear politics preview title weapons
- Location: PYONGYANG, WONSAN, PANMUNJOM, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS, NORTH KOREA / SEOUL, PANMUNJOM, SOUTH KOREA / BEIJING, CHINA / NEWBURGH, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: PYONGYANG, WONSAN, PANMUNJOM, UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS, NORTH KOREA / SEOUL, PANMUNJOM, SOUTH KOREA / BEIJING, CHINA / NEWBURGH, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: North Korea
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA005660814012026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: North Korea will convene the Ninth Party Congress this month, a major political undertaking aimed at showcasing leader Kim Jong Un's absolute grip on power and his image as a benevolent leader at home and as head of a world-class military.
The Congress is expected to open on an undisclosed date in late February. It will deliver a verdict on the current five-year development push and outline future priorities.
At the 2021 Congress, Kim said the prior economic plan had failed in "almost every sector" and called for greater investment in heavy industries, while strengthening agriculture and light industry to increase consumer goods supply.
With the next gathering approaching, South Korean lawmakers briefed by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) say they expect Pyongyang to use the congress to sharpen a more explicitly Kim-led governing line — pairing continued nuclear force-building with domestic messaging designed to reinforce political control and a sense of national momentum.
"Kim Jong Un is now marking his 15th year in power, and it is expected that he will move out from the shadow of his predecessors - Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il - and present a policy roadmap of his own making aimed at maintaining a nuclear arsenal and building a strong socialist state. It is also expected that he will accelerate the full-fledged transition to "Kim Jong Un Era 2.0,” Lee Seong-kweun, a member of South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters on Thursday (February 12) after a closed-door meeting with the NIS.
For Pyongyang, the party congress is the country's biggest domestic political stage — an opportunity to present unity among elites, promote or reshuffle senior figures, and package policy direction as both disciplined and inevitable. Outside North Korea, it is closely watched for any hints on whether Kim will emphasise economic management, weapons development, or a blend of both.
Hong Min, a senior research fellow at South Korea's Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim's external positioning could also feed into the internal messaging around the congress. Hong said North Korea has sought to elevate its international standing by appearing alongside Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, while the United States "continues to signal that it is open to dialogue."
North Korea, Hong argued, is also trying to craft a narrative of strategic success through its involvement in the war in Ukraine — a framing he said could translate into intensified "idolisation" efforts and a push to present the regime's preferred theory of "revolutionary development stages" as part of a broader domestic campaign.
On the military front, Hong said Pyongyang has been focusing on boasting that it can conduct "actual warfare" by integrating nuclear and conventional forces — a message he expects could be systematised this year.
"This is something North Korea consistently emphasised last year, and this year they will likely announce it in the form of a more systematic plan or blueprint," Hong said.
“At this point, they want to show that the situation is 'irreversible.'"
South Korean lawmakers also pointed to North Korea's recent efforts to showcase strategic weapons systems and platforms ahead of major political moments. Park Sun-won, another member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, cited the "8,700-ton nuclear submarine" unveiled late last year, describing it as potentially a strategic nuclear submarine based on its outward size and configuration.
But Park cautioned that it remains unclear whether the design can actually accommodate a nuclear reactor, and said that even if a reactor were installed, North Korea's technological limitations raise questions about whether such a submarine could operate reliably.
The congress run-up is also being watched for signs of how Kim is shaping the leadership narrative around his family.
Lee said the NIS has assessed that Kim's daughter, Ju-ae, has been increasingly in the spotlight — including at a recent Air Force Day event and during a visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun — and that the agency has detected indications she has begun offering opinions on some policy matters.
"Taken together, the agency assesses that the process of designating her a successor has now entered the stage of a succession nomination," Lee said.
Hong warned, however, that formalising authority around a minor would be unprecedented inside North Korea's party system. He noted Ju-ae is "14 years old in Korean age," and said bypassing party schooling and granting party authority to a young child could undermine the authority of the supreme leader.
The Congress may also signal foreign-policy messages directed at Washington and Seoul. Kim has declared South Korea a "hostile" nation and rebuffed outreach from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Trump has made it clear he wants to meet Kim again, to resume summit talks that collapsed in 2019 over sanctions and denuclearisation.
Kim has said there was no reason to avoid talks with the United States if Washington drops demands that North Korea gives up nuclear weapons. Experts are divided over whether the U.S. raid on Venezuela now makes diplomacy more or less likely.
But Hong said North Korea may still attempt limited contact with Washington, not to secure a major deal, but to manage tensions with what he described as a potentially aggressive Trump administration.
"This isn't about achieving meaningful negotiation results," Hong said. "It's about managing the Trump administration."
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