What You Need to Know About North Korea's 8th Party Congress

The Korean Workers' Party Congress held from January 5 to January 12, 2021 was the biggest gathering of its kind since the party's founding in 1946. The general purpose of a Party Congress is to set the direction of the state - and this year's was no different. With 5,000 delegates and 2,000 observers in attendance, Kim Jong-un announced a new five year plan. In addition, the Party Congress set out to address military and governance challenges.

So, what are North Korea's new economic benchmarks? What does its foreign policy aims say about Pyongyang's outlook towards the new administration? And how should the new Biden administration interpret these developments?

KEI Vice President Mark Tokola was joined by Kim Byung-yeon (Seoul National University), Kim Jina (Korea Institute for Defense Analysis), and Ken Gause (CNA) on January 20 to answer these questions. Click on the button below to watch the conversation now.