Kim Jong-un reviews ‘splendid’ achievement made this year after plenary

Kim Jong-un says country has achieved ‘remarkable’ power in fields of ‘politics, military, economy and culture’

Kim Jong-un at a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed his nation’s growing power, which he claimed has increased “remarkably” in the fields of “politics, military, economy and culture”.

During a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Mr Kim highlighted “successes and progress” in 2022 while urgiing officials to launch “more exciting and confident policies.”

According to Associated Press, North Korea’s military this year test-launched a record number of missiles, many of them nuclear-capable weapons capable of reaching the US mainland and its allies South Korea and Japan.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency [KCNA] reported on Tuesday that Mr Kim praised the “splendid” achievement made by North Korea this year.

Mr Kim was quoted as saying that “the eventful and changeful present world, in which unpredictable difficulties [are] constantly threatening the existence and development of our state and people ... requires the WPK ... to make a more responsible, scientific and timely judgment and determination”.

The Workers’ Party plenary meeting is expected to last several days, and Mr Kim will likely address issues such as his arms buildup, and relations with the United States and the economy in later sessions, it was reported.

The KCNA reported that the North Korean leader stressed the need for the members of the leadership body of the Party Central Committee to “display a high sense of responsibility and activeness in the discussion of agenda items, bearing deep in mind their heavy responsibility and duty”.

The plenary meeting unanimously approved five major agenda items including the review of the implementation of major Party and state policies in 2022, the work plan for 2023, the implementation of the state budget for 2022 and the draft state budget for 2023.

Meanwhile, the days-long gathering of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party is often used to announce major policies.

The gathering also comes as South Korea’s president Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday called for stronger air defence and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea. On Monday, Seoul accused North Korea of flying five drones across the border for the first time in five years. In response to this activity, South Korea’s military fired warning shots and scrambled warplanes and attack helicopters.