North Korea has been emphasizing people-first ideology through its state media, leading analysts to suggest that the upcoming 9th Party Congress in early next year may implement measures to strengthen a distinct Kim Jong Un doctrine that sets it apart from previous leadership.
On December 28, the North Korean ruling party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on events related to Constitution Day (December 27), reiterating the importance of people-first principles.
The newspaper proclaimed that officials attending the flag-raising ceremony and oath-taking event for Constitution Day were filled with enthusiasm to embody Comrade Kim’s unique philosophy of people-first governance and lead the nation’s comprehensive revival and development.
During the subsequent Exemplary Law-Abiding Unit Award Ceremony, Choe Ryong-hae, the chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, stated that all regions and units must adopt the Party’s people-first political ideology as an unwavering guide.
People-first principles represent one of the core governance philosophies of the Kim era, prioritizing the interests and needs of the people in national and party policies, reflecting the Supreme Leader’s purported compassion for the populace.
At the 8th Party Congress in 2021, Kim partially inherited the military-first politics of his father, Kim Jong Il, while replacing it with his own new keyword, people-first politics, which he specified in the party charter.
At the upcoming Party Congress, we can expect a clearer definition of Kim revolutionary thought, experts believe that Kim has completed efforts to internalize this concept over the past five years and predict that the 9th Party Congress will present a more detailed and developed declaration.
Recently, North Korea held a year-end plenary meeting from December 9 to 11, announcing plans to revise the party charter at the 9th Party Congress.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, stated that North Korea is likely to clarify that the concept of people-first principles, formalized in the party charter five years ago, will be explicitly recognized as Kim’s revolutionary thought at the upcoming congress.
Additionally, there is speculation that another core idea of Kim, our state-first principles, may be formally included in the party charter for the first time. Recently, North Korean media have frequently used the term self-reliance first principles to emphasize the nation’s military strength and economic power.
On November 15, Rodong Sinmun reported that in socialist construction, it can rely only on its own strength, not on external support or anyone else’s help, urging the implementation of self-reliance first principles. This message was interpreted as a response to the series of sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration at that time.
Lim Il-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Far East Studies Institute, analyzed that self-reliance first principles assert that, amidst complex international circumstances including sanctions from the U.S. and cooperation with Russia, internal strength is ultimately the most important factor. He added that this concept could also be formalized as part of Kim’s revolutionary thought during this party congress.
Our State-First Principles emerged at the end of 2017 in Rodong Sinmun as a replacement for the term Our Nation-First Principles, previously emphasized by leaders like Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Analysts interpret Kim’s intentional use of the term state instead of nation as a strategic move, and if this term is specified in the party charter, it could strengthen the narrative of hostile duality between North and South Korea.
Professor Yang predicts that the upcoming Party Congress and the subsequent Supreme People’s Assembly may initiate constitutional procedures for follow-up actions regarding the declaration of hostile duality.