North Korea’s all-powerful leader Kim Jong Un has been elected to another term as chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party, effectively securing his continued leadership of the state. North Korea’s state media, a mouthpiece for the regime, reported that party delegates voted for Kim because he strengthened the country’s nuclear arsenal and its regional standing.
The announcement of Kim’s election came from a congress of the Workers’ Party, a major propaganda event at which he is expected to lay out his political and military goals for the next five years. State media coverage suggested that Kim intends to further expand his country’s nuclear stockpile. North Korea is already equipped with missiles capable of threatening the United States and its allies in Asia.
The ruling party also released a new list of members of its powerful Central Committee, confirming a generational shift within Kim’s leadership circle. Among dozens replaced in the 138-member body were aging military commanders and Pyongyang’s 76-year-old parliamentary speaker. The parliament is largely symbolic and functions as a rubber stamp.
The party congress opened Thursday as Kim projects growing assertiveness in regional politics following the expansion of his nuclear arsenal and closer ties with Russia. He is also seeking to strengthen relations with China. In September, he visited Beijing for his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in six years.
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Thousands of delegates voted for Kim, who they said 'strengthened the pride' of North Koreans
(Photo: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP)
Analysts say Kim may use the gathering to unveil new military objectives, including strengthening conventional forces and integrating them with nuclear capabilities. He is also expected to renew emphasis on a campaign for economic “self-reliance” through mass mobilization, following gradual growth after the coronavirus pandemic, aided in part by recovering trade with China and weapons exports to Russia.
The official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim was reappointed as party general secretary based on the “unwavering will and unanimous desire” of thousands of delegates who convened on the fourth day of the conference Sunday. In a statement, the party said that by building nuclear forces Kim created a military capable of countering “any threat of aggression” and “any form of war.” It credited his leadership with providing a “reliable guarantee” for the country’s future and strengthening the “pride and self-respect” of North Koreans.
Under party rules, the congress, held every five years since 2016, elects the general secretary, who serves as the party’s top representative and leader. Kim, 42, has held the party’s highest post throughout his rule, though the title has changed from “first secretary” to “chairman” at the 2016 congress and then to “general secretary” at the 2021 congress.
Kim’s renewed term comes amid growing signs that he is grooming his 13-year-old daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor and future ruler. In recent years she has appeared with him at military exercises and meetings with senior regime officials. This month, South Korea’s intelligence agency assessed that he is close to formally designating her as his heir.
South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon said that during a closed-door briefing by Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, legislators were told that while the agency previously described Kim Ju Ae as someone “being considered as a successor,” it now says she is “in internal stages of designation as successor.” According to Lee, the agency has identified signs that Kim Ju Ae has recently begun intervening in policy decisions.