In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, August 19. North Korea will hold a rare ruling party congress in January where leader Kim Jong Un will announce a new five-year plan to develop the country’s dismal economy ravaged by U.S.-led sanctions and the coronavirus pandemic, state media said today. The Workers’ Party last convened for a full congress in 2016, which was its first in 36 years, where Kim announced his initial five-year national development plan, which included goals for improving power supply and increasing agricultural and manufacturing production. It’s also possible Kim could use the party congress, which would take place after the U.S. presidential election in November, to announce a new foreign policy approach toward the United States and rival South Korea. During the 2016 congress, Kim declared that his country will not use its nuclear weapons first unless its sovereignty is invaded and proposed talks with the South.

Source: The Standard August 20, 2020 07:37 UTC