Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party, met with youth representatives following the 11th Congress of the Socialist Patriotic Youth Alliance, held after a five-year hiatus. He emphasized the importance of passing down patriotism and combat spirit to future generations.
The party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on May 3 that Kim met with participants of the 11th Congress. The meeting was also attended by Party Central Committee secretaries Kim Jae-ryong, Ri Il-hwan, and Ju Chang-il, as well as Kim Sung-ki, head of the General Political Bureau of the People’s Army.
According to the newspaper, Kim praised the youth representatives for their exceptional achievements and communist virtues in advancing the country’s prosperity and glorifying the socialist system.
Kim declared that never before has there been a time like today when the extraordinary patriotic awareness, revolutionary fervor, and fearless struggle of our youth have so firmly dominated the vast frontiers of socialist construction. The noble character and iron-clad combat readiness of the youth, unparalleled anywhere else in the world, are proud symbols of the national strength.
He continued that the current reality, which presents new and extensive challenges for the Party and revolution, demands more proactive involvement and courageous action from the youth. It must orient all aspects of the Alliance’s work towards educating and nurturing all young people to become passionate young patriots who align their lives with the Party’s ideals and find fulfillment and happiness in that pursuit.
Kim stressed the importance of strengthening grassroots organizations to ensure the revolutionary spirit and combat readiness of youth groups are passed down through generations. Following his address, he took a commemorative photo with the Congress participants.
The Youth Alliance Congress, held from April 28 to 30, was the first such meeting in five years since 2021. The agenda included a review of the Central Committee’s activities, amendments to the Youth Alliance charter, and elections for the central leadership.
The Youth Alliance is one of several peripheral organizations that promote North Korean state ideology but is not an official governing body. It is considered one of the four major labor organizations, alongside the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, the Socialist Women’s Union, and the Agricultural Workers’ Union. These groups are tasked with disseminating party-decided policies to the public and encouraging their implementation.
While North Korea has traditionally looked to the Chollima Era and Paektu Mountain Hero Youth as models for its youth movement, it now appears to be emphasizing the patriotism and combat readiness of young people deployed in overseas military operations, particularly following the dispatch to Russia. This shift seems aimed at fostering internal unity among the nation’s youth.