Ahead of the 9th party congress of the Workers' Party, North Korea is heavily touting achievements in the economy and construction to bolster internal unity. State media have put front and center the completion of plans for the first month of the new year and progress at various construction sites day after day, focusing on building momentum for the party congress.
Korean Central News Agency on the 6th, in a report titled "A bold, all-people charge toward the 9th Party Congress," said new standards and records have continued at multiple production sites and that the January people's economy plan was fulfilled. The agency listed factories, mines, and fish farms in institutional sectors such as metal, chemical, electric power, coal, machinery, and extractive industries that it said exceeded targets, and stressed in effect that "the drive to achieve the first-month plan must carry through to the party congress."
The 9th party congress is assessed as the highest decision-making venue to review achievements of the past five years and gauge directions for domestic and foreign policy over the next five years. However, the specific date has not yet been officially confirmed.
The agency also spotlighted the completion of a large greenhouse farm built in flood-hit areas around Sinuiju. North Korea had pushed a plan to build a large greenhouse farm near Wiwado in Sinuiju, which suffered flooding in the summer of 2024, and held a completion ceremony on the 2nd, about a year after groundbreaking, with State Affairs Commission Chairperson Kim Jong-un attending in person. Emphasizing that Kim guided the project in detail, the agency lauded the facility as a symbolic outcome of the "local construction initiative" and "overall national rejuvenation."
News related to the "20×10 policy for local development," known as a priority initiative of Kim, also ran alongside. The agency said a groundbreaking ceremony under this policy was held in Nakwon County, South Hamgyong Province. North Korea has put forward a vision to build modern local industrial factories in 20 counties every year from 2024 and narrow the urban-rural gap within 10 years.
Achievements in rural housing construction were also given prominent coverage. The agency said 32,000 new cultural dwellings were built over the past year and evaluated this as a result of the "new-era rural revolution program."
The agency also reported that a large architectural complex related to stage four of the Hwasong district development is nearing completion. At the party plenary meeting in Dec. 2024, North Korea decided to wrap up the "goal of building 50,000 households in Pyongyang" through stage four housing construction in the Hwasong district. Housing construction in the Hwasong district has been pursued for years as a task set at the 8th party congress.