In her recent meeting with families of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi clarified her position that she is willing to meet Kim Jong Un face-to-face to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries. This week, the Kim regime indirectly offered its response during the ninth congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The once-every-five-year party congress took place over the course of a week, reviewing policy implementation over the past half decade and establishing the country’s direction for the next. None of the reporting from the congress explicitly mentioned Japan, but there were clear signals that will dash the hopes that Takaichi and her administration may have had for dialogue with North Korea. Instead, the party congress indicated that absent a fundamental change in Japan’s policy interests, Takaichi’s near-term efforts lie more in engagement with Washington and Seoul than with Pyongyang.

The party congress has been a rare political-level meeting in North Korea. Although the regime under Kim has sought to regularize it, this was only the ninth event of its kind since 1946. Typically, the congress has served as a tool to consolidate power, to reinforce the regime’s strategic vision and to set near— to mid-term goals for the country.

The Ninth Party Congress was the third of Kim’s reign and it proved to be more evolutionary than revolutionary in its policy pronouncements. Rather than offering any groundbreaking new direction, the congress focused on formalizing sustainable institutions and policymaking processes. There was a notable shift in personnel, reshuffling Kim’s old mentors and advisers to his generational and institutional allies. The congress also called for a continuation of the same sort of economic development and military modernization initiatives that have already been under way the past few years.

There was some clear signaling to external powers;........

© The Japan Times