Kim Jong Un Chairs North Korea’s Year-End Meeting, Sets Key Agendas

A scene of Kim Jong Un, chairman of the National Defense Commission (NDC), reporting on the execution form of the party and state policies for 2023 at the plenary meeting./Yonhap News

North Korea entered the year-end ruling party meeting scheduled on the 26th, with Kim Jong Un in attendance. The year-end ruling party meeting of the Workers’ Party of North Korea is a place to settle this year’s business and set the direction of state administration and business plans for next year. Kim attended the expanded meeting of the 9th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee, convened at the headquarters of the Party Central Committee on the day, and reported on the execution form (situation) of this year’s party and state policies, according to the Korean Central News Agency on the 27th. The picture is the scene of the plenary meeting./Yonhap News

North Korea entered the year-end ruling party meeting schedule on the 26th. Six major agendas were proposed at this meeting, including the totalization of the execution form of party and state policies, the direction of struggle for next year, the execution form of this year’s state budget, next year’s state budget plan, and issues for strengthening the guiding function of the party.

Since 2019, North Korea has been following the practice of wrapping up the year and charting policy directions for the upcoming year with Kim Jong Un in attendance.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, on the 27th, Kim Jong Un participated in the expanded session of the ninth plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee, held at the Party Central Committee headquarters. During this meeting, he provided a report on the status of implementing this year’s party and state policies.

Kim defined at the meeting that “2023 is truly a great year of transition, a great year of transformation that has left a great mark on the glorious development path of the republic in terms of national power enhancement and national prestige promotion.”

He also conveyed that “the proud evaluation of the miraculous victories and events achieved in various fields of socialist construction and national power enhancement in 2023 was clearly stated.”

He added, “The overall development indicators of the people’s economy were introduced in detail, and the new changes and progress achieved in party construction, national sovereignty activities, politics, national defense, and diplomacy were evaluated.”

Meanwhile, several high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Kim Tok Hun, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly Choi Ryong Hae, Secretary and Chief of the Organization and Guidance Department of the Worker’s Party of Korea Jo Yong Won, Minister of National Defense Kang Sun Nam, and director of the Workers’ Party of Korea Agriculture Department Ri Chul Man attended the plenary meeting on the day. The outcomes of the meeting’s final day are typically conveyed directly by Kim Jong Un, and the contents of his report are shared with the public through state-run media in the form of a New Year’s address on the first day of the following year.

By. Young Hun Park