After months of buildup, thousands of North Korean officials descended on the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang for the Ninth Party Congress this month, endorsing leader Kim Jong Un’s policy directions for the next five years.

The once-in-five-years congress of the Workers of Party of Korea (WPK) kicked off on Feb. 19 and ran for seven days, ending on Feb. 25 with a celebratory military parade in the capital.

Overall, the tone of the congress was remarkably different from the last gathering in 2021, when Kim called for major changes to address economic failures. This time