In February, leadership looks ahead to party congress
Kim focuses attention of satellite launch, military affairs, lead-up to Seventh Party Congress
North Korea’s leadership in February focused primarily on the country’s Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite launch and preparations for the upcoming Seventh Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, to be convened in early May. These two aspects of Kim Jong Un’s activity in February show a continued trend of emphasis on the country’s Byungjin line policy of simultaneous economic and nuclear development as well as apparent efforts to bolster the dominance of the Party.
At the same time, Pyongyang has continued to place much attention on military affairs, including military training and other events as