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A Study on the Backgrounds of the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea - With a focus on domestic and foreign factors

  • The Journal of Northeast Asia Research
  • Abbr : NEA
  • 2017, 32(2), pp.101-133
  • DOI : 10.18013/jnar.2017.32.2.004
  • Publisher : The Institute for Northeast Asia Research
  • Research Area : Social Science > Political Science > International Politics > International Relations / Cooperation

Kim Byeong Uk 1

1동국대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The purposes of this study were to analyze the backgrounds of the 7th congress of Workers' Party of Korea and examine the policy directions of North Korea revealed at the congress. Party congresses hold important significance in the analysis of changes to the North Korean regime. The overall policy trends of North Korea are officially approved at the congress of Workers' Party of Korea, which is the most important political event in North Korea. It is thus possible to estimate the future policy directions of North Korea according to the policy lines of the congress and necessary to pay attention to the backgrounds of the congress. There were total seven congresses of Workers' Party of Korea. The last one before the 7th congress took place in 1980. The 7th congress was held in 2016 after 36 years when no congress was held during the regime of Kim Jong-il. Not a single congress was held for 36 years because North Korea was in the worst economic hardship. Kim Jong-un decided to hold the 7th congress in the fifth year of his regime despite no improvement of economic situations in the nation after the death of Kim Jong-il in 2011 in order to grow out of his predecessor's influence and promote the stabilization of his regime home and abroad. At the 7th congress, he created a new position called "Chairperson of Workers' Party of Korea" for himself and raised his status to the overall control of the Party, thus marking the official launch of his regime through the transmission over three generations. He stipulated the term "nuclear state" in the Constitution in 2012 and insisted on the principle of "responsible nuclear state" at the 7th congress. Under those conditions, it is difficult to expect that relationships between North and South Korea will improve in the future. There is rather a huge possibility of deterioration of relationships between them. The global community will reinforce its strong sanctions on North Korea. South Korea needs to work together with the international community and ensure the strong South Korea-the U.S. alliance for the peace and stability of Northeast Asia and the entire world as well as the Korean Peninsula. It should also solidify its position of allowing for no nuclear weapons in North Korea by collaborating with Japan, China, and Russia and persuade it to give up nuclear weapons through sanctions and pressure.

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