N. KOREA’S KIM CONCEDES FAILURES, VOWS NEW GOALS

Leader Kim Jong Un opened North Korea’s 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 today.

The Korean Central News Agency reported North Korea 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 his nine-year rule because of what he calls “multiple crises” — an economy hammered by pandemiccaused border closings, a spate of natural disasters last summer and persistent U.S.led sanctions.

North Korea’s yearlong closure of its border with China, its biggest trading partner, to guard against COVID-19 is taking a heavy toll on its already-troubled economy. Bilateral trade volume plummeted by about 79 percent in the first 11 months of last year, according to analyst Song Jaeguk at Seoul’s IBK Economic Research Institute.

Another source of worry for Kim is the planned inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, who is expected to avoid top-down summit diplomacy with him and maintain punishing sanctions on the North.

Officially, the congress is the party’s top decision-making body, though key day-today decisions are made by Kim and members of his inner circle. The congress provides Kim with a chance to solidify his authority by announcing new state goals, naming loyal lieutenants to top posts and calling for a stronger unity behind his leadership.