North Korea’s Kim Opens Congress with Policy Failures Admission

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened its first ruling party congress in five years with an admission of policy failures and a vow to lay out new developmental goals, state media reported Wednesday. The Korean Central News Agency reported North Korea has kicked off the Workers' Party Congress in Pyongyang on Tuesday, with thousands of delegates and observers in attendance.

In his opening speech, KCNA cited Kim as saying the previous state developmental goals set in a 2016 congress were not met in almost all areas to a great extent. Kim said North Korea must not repeat the painful lessons," according to KCNA. North Korea has said it will lay out a new five-year development plan at the ongoing congress.

This year's congress comes as Kim faces the toughest challenge of nine-year rule because of what he calls multiple crises — an economy hammered by pandemic-caused border closings, a spate of natural disasters last summer and persistent US-led sanctions. Another source of worry for Kim is the planned inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who unlike President Donald Trump is expected to avoid top-down summit diplomacy with him and maintain punishing sanctions on the North, unless Kim takes significant steps toward denuclearisation.