Kim Jong-un Dictatorship

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reelected to the top post of the ruling Workers' Party, with delegates crediting him for bolstering the country's nuclear arsenal and strengthening its regional standing, state media reported Monday. The report from the party congress, where Kim is expected to outline his key political and military goals for the next five years, suggests he will double down on accelerating a military nuclear program already equipped with missiles capable of threatening Asian US allies and the American mainland. The congress, which began last Thursday, comes as Kim grows increasingly assertive in regional politics, following an aggressive expansion of his nuclear arsenal and closer ties with Russia forged through joint war efforts in Ukraine, which have deepened his standoffs with Washington and Seoul. Analysts say Kim will likely use the meeting to unveil new military goals, including strengthening conventional forces and integrating them with nuclear capabilities

North Korea will convene a major political conference later this month, the country's state media said Sunday, where leader Kim Jong Un is expected to outline his domestic and foreign policies for the next five years. The ruling Workers' Party congress, which Kim previously held in 2016 and 2021, comes after years of accelerated nuclear and missile development and deepening ties with Moscow over the war in Ukraine that have increased his standoffs with the United States and South Korea. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said the party's political bureau met under Kim's supervision and decided the congress would be held in late February. State media did not immediately specify a date or release agenda details. The congress will likely continue for days as a highly choreographed display of Kim's authoritarian leadership. In recent weeks, Kim has inspected weapons tests and toured military sites and economic projects as state media highlighted his purported achievements

Kim Il-sung, who founded North Korea in 1948, ruled the country until his death in 1994

Nuclear ambitions have provided the foundations for strong economic development: Kim Jong-un

There's one particularly close parallel for the style and strategy of the Kim cult: Stalinism