North Korea's '80-Day Battle' Ends Tomorrow... Countdown to the 8th Party Congress

1980 '100-Day Battle' Two Days Later 6th Party Congress
2016 '70-Day Battle' Four Days Later 7th Party Congress Precedent

On November 29, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, presided over the expanded meeting of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea at the Workers' Party Headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea.

As North Korea's '80-day battle' is expected to conclude within a few days, the countdown has begun for the 8th Workers' Party Congress scheduled for January next year. North Korea has only stated that the 8th Party Congress will be held in 'early next year' without specifying an exact date.

The holding of the Party Congress in North Korea is closely related to the 'speed campaign' known as the '00-day battle.' Ahead of the Party Congress, North Korea has been implementing the speed campaign, which is the 'basic form of socialist construction battle to achieve the best quantitative and qualitative results in the shortest possible time.'

The 6th Party Congress in 1980 was held on October 10, two days after the 100-day battle (July 1 to October 8) ended. The 7th Party Congress in 2016 was held on May 6, four days after the 70-day battle (February 23 to May 2). The Party Congress has been held immediately after the conclusion of the speed campaign.

Considering the strong binding nature of precedents in the North Korean system, the date of the 8th Party Congress may also be linked to the end of the 80-day battle.

North Korea has never disclosed the start date of the ongoing 80-day battle. However, the October 13 edition of the Korean Central News Agency reported, "In response to the great Party's call, a joint rally of Pyongyang city and county residents was held on the 12th at Kim Il-sung Square to fully devote themselves to the 80-day battle and to welcome the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea as a proud victory."

Then, on November 1, the Rodong Sinmun reported, "20 days have passed since the start of the 80-day battle," indirectly revealing that the 80-day battle began on October 12.

Based on these circumstances, the 8th Party Congress is likely to be held 2 to 4 days after the end of the 80-day battle, possibly on January 1 or 3. The state-run research institute, the Institute for Unification Studies, predicted on the 1st that the 8th Party Congress would be held between January 2 and 5. North Korea's reference to 'early next year' and the birthday of Chairman Kim Jong-un (January 8) also increase the likelihood of the event taking place before January 10.

In this case, the annual New Year's address traditionally delivered by North Korea's top leader in January may be omitted again. This year, Chairman Kim replaced the New Year's address with the results of the Party plenary meeting held in December of last year.

Meanwhile, amid the triple hardships of sanctions, epidemics, and natural disasters, the upcoming 8th Party Congress is expected to announce the five-year national economic development plan and domestic and foreign policy directions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.