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North Korea announces congress on five-year economic plan

August 20, 2020

North Korea's economy has been heavily impacted by US-led sanctions and the pandemic. The lockdown has also affected the nation's trade with China, who is a major economic partner.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the plenary meeting.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/KCNA VIA KNS

North Korea announced plans on Thursday to hold a ruling party congress in January next year, to decide on a five-year plan to develop its economy. 

During a meeting of the Workers' Party's decision-making Central Committee on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke about an economic downturn due to ''unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects and the situation in the region surrounding the Korean Peninsula,'' according to the state news agency KCNA. 

During a meeting of the Workers' Party's decision-making Central Committee on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un blamed the economic downturn on ''unexpected and inevitable challenges in various aspects and the situation in the region surrounding the Korean Peninsula,'' according to the state news agency KCNA. 

Economic struggles

The last congress meeting was in 2016, when Kim Jong Un was officially elected to the position of chairman of the Workers' Party. He had then announced the country's first economic plan since the 1980s. 

Read more: What's driving North Korea's aggression toward the South?

The plenary meeting on Wednesday said the implementation of the previous congress had been an "indomitable struggle" and said the party had made "a great revolutionary turn." The meeting also acknowledged that the economy had not developed as expected, owing to "severe internal and external situations and unexpected manifold challenges." 

The coronavirus crisis and resulting lockdown in North Korea have affected its trade with China, which derailed some major economic goals for the country. China is a major economic partner for North Korea. 

Relations with USA

Last year, Kim Jong Un had made a vow to build a self-reliant economy, as economic sanctions were placed against North Korea. 

During the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and Kim in Singapore in 2018, aspirational plans were made of a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. However, relations deteriorated after the second meet in Vietnam last year when the US rejected North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for the partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. 

Experts believe it is likely that Kim would announce a new foreign policy during the congress next year, which will take place after the US elections. 

tg/rc (AP,Reuters)