N. Korea to hold party congress in February, first since 2021During the last ruling party congress in North Korea, Kim Jong Un (C) was named general secretary, resurrecting a title previously held by his late fatherSEOUL - North Korea's leadership will hold a party congress later this month, state media announced Sunday, in what will be the first such major gathering since 2021. The decision was made Saturday in a meeting of top leaders of the country's ruling Workers Party of Korea (WPK), including Kim Jong Un, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The last party congress -- the reclusive nuclear-armed nation's eighth -- was held in January 2021. Analysts described the choreographed messaging from the party congress as one of defiance toward the United States, after the breakdown in negotiations with Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump. Since the 2021 gathering, North Korea has continued to develop its nuclear arsenal, repeatedly test-launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) in defiance of bans ordered by the UN Security Council.

Source: Bangkok Post February 07, 2026 23:04 UTC