In 2025, North Korea intensified its construction and economic development efforts as it approached the final stages of its Five-Year National Economic Development Plan. In the lead-up to the ninth Party Congress, scheduled for January 2026, the regime strategically harnessed its political, economic, military, and diplomatic resources to highlight measurable successes under Kim Jong Un’s leadership. Domestically, the government reinforced administrative control by enhancing the power of party organizations and directing significant material resources to local construction projects considered vital for the regime’s stability and survival. On the international front, North Korea worked to bolster socialist ties with China and Russia, perceiving global development as moving toward a multipolar world order. In inter-Korean relations, the regime maintained its hostile “two-state” policy, which is not likely to change in the near future because it stems from structural problems that have significantly widened the gap between North and South Korea.
Ha et al. (Sun,) studied this question.