Starting in September, North Korea launched extensive preparations to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), branding it the “grand festival of victors.” By early October, the regime had completed a series of celebratory events to mark the occasion. This year’s anniversary served to glorify “80 years of the Party’s victorious and glorious leadership,” while invoking the “spirit of the founding of the Party” and reinforcing absolute loyalty to Kim Jong Un, thereby further consolidating the monolithic leadership system. North Korea highlighted the Party’s leadership achievements, particularly Kim Jong Un’s decade-long rule, under the banner of “people-first politics” and promoted the notion of “our-state-first” to elevate Kim’s absolute authority. For party cadres, the event sought to rekindle the revolutionary enthusiasm of the Party’s founding era and strengthen the Party’s fighting spirit. For the general population, it aimed to instill “trust and gratitude” toward the Party, thereby mobilizing nationwide momentum ahead of the upcoming 9th Party Congress.

Accordingly, the 80th anniversary celebration can be interpreted as a stepping stone toward the forthcoming 9th Party Congress. The 80th anniversary events primarily focused on propagating the Party’s core leadership achievements while secondarily aiming to create a nationwide mobilization atmosphere then the upcoming 9th Party Congress is expected to primarily emphasize the presentation of a midterm vision and national mobilization pledges, while secondarily conducting a comprehensive review of the Party’s specific undertakings.

This Issue Brief analyzes the 80th anniversary celebration by focusing on the format and content of the events, particularly the propaganda surrounding Kim Jong Un’s leadership achievements, while offering a brief outlook on the 9th Party Congress.

This article is an English Summary of Asan Issue Brief (2025-34).

(‘북한의 당창건 80돌 기념행사 평가: 제9차 당대회 시사점 도출을 중심으로’)