North Korea Holds Socialist Patriotic Youth League Congress After Five Years, Calls it Loyal Vanguard of the Party

North Korea held a congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League (youth league) for the first time in five years, emphasizing the role of youth organizations in achieving the goals of the 9th Party Congress.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, reported on May 1 that “the 11th Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth League was held with great ceremony in the capital Pyongyang, North Korea, from April 28 to 30.”

The congress was the first since 2021 and was attended by key officials, including Workers’ Party Central Committee secretaries Kim Jae-ryong, Ri Il-hwan and Ju Chang-il, as well as Kim Song-gi, head of the military’s General Political Bureau.

Agenda items discussed at the congress included a review of the work of the Youth League Central Committee, revisions to the league’s rules and the election of central leadership bodies.

The newspaper described the congress as “an important process in strengthening the youth league into a loyal vanguard of the party in line with the demands of the party and the revolution, which expect the active role of millions of young people in the nationwide advance to carry today’s proud achievements of the state into a more prosperous future.”

In a congratulatory message, the Workers’ Party Central Committee said expectations for youth and youth league organizations nationwide are “very high,” outlining measures to transform the next five years into a period of strong revitalization for the country’s youth movement.

The newspaper also referenced North Korean troops deployed to Russia, encouraging loyalty among young people. It said, “Even at this moment, soldiers of overseas operation units who have rushed to distant battlefields in faithful response to the party’s orders are writing records of victory with their blood,” adding that “they are exemplary patriotic youth who have demonstrated the heroism of the youth of the Kim Jong Un era to the world.”

The newspaper also reported that on the evening of April 30, a student gala and torchlight procession were held in Kim Il Sung Square to commemorate the youth league congress. Photos showed crowds gathered in the square forming large slogans such as “Patriotic Youth” and “Follow the Party Central Committee Across Ten Million Ri” using torches as they marched.

The youth league is one of the regime’s “auxiliary organizations” tasked with promoting state ideology, rather than serving as a formal governing body. Alongside the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, the Socialist Women’s Union of Korea, and the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea, it is part of the country’s four major mass organizations. These groups are responsible for disseminating party policies and encouraging their implementation, and citizens—including youth, women, workers, and farmers—are required to join the respective organizations.

Since holding its 9th Party Congress in February, North Korea appears to have been actively convening meetings of these auxiliary bodies. With the party congress outlining domestic and foreign policy goals for the next five years, these gatherings are seen as forums to develop concrete plans for carrying out the party’s directives.