Kim Jong Un gathers North Korea’s ruling elite for key party meeting

The Workers’ Party gathers once every five years

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has convened a high-level meeting to prepare for the ruling Workers' Party's first full congress in five years, state media reported.

This significant gathering takes place as both the United States and South Korea seek to resume talks with Pyongyang.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) stated that Mr Kim presided over a plenary session of the Workers' Party's Central Committee on Tuesday.

During the meeting, participants reportedly began discussing unspecified key issues related to the upcoming party congress and reviewed this year's state policies.

While KCNA provided no further details, observers anticipate the plenary meeting will likely last several days, setting the official agenda for the congress, which is expected to be held in January or February.

The congress, which serves as the Workers’ Party’s top decision-making body, was revived by Mr Kim in 2016 after a 36-year hiatus. Experts suggest this move was part of efforts to solidify his grip on power by increasing the party’s authority.

International attention on the congress will focus on whether Mr Kim signals any response to Washington and Seoul’s ongoing attempts to improve diplomatic ties.

The congress, the top decision-making organ of the Workers’ Party, was revived by Kim Jong Un in 2016 after a 36-year hiatus (Reuters)

North Korea has steadfastly rebuffed the US and South Korea's calls to resume talks since Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, but some experts say Kim could return to talk with the US next year.

In an apparent response to Trump's repeated outreach, Kim suggested in September that he could return to talks if the US drops “its delusional obsession with denuclearization” of North Korea.

Meanwhile, South Korea's military said North Korea fired several artillery rounds off the North's west coast on Tuesday. Observers say the artillery launches were likely part of the North Korean military's wintertime training.

Last year, Kim declared that his country was abandoning its long-standing goal of peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered the rewriting of the North’s constitution to mark the South as a permanent enemy.