The Seventh Congress of the Workers Party of Korea, the first in 36 years, had a heavy agenda as it officially appointed Kim Jong Un chairman of the WPK – just as his father was appointed at the Sixth Congress in 1980 – and expanded of the Political Bureau of Central Committee of the Party. It appears that the goal of the Congress was to institutionalize “Kim Jong Un-style of governing” and showcase it to the international community.

The five-year national economic development plan, closely associated with the “brilliant blueprint” of Kim’s New Year’s address, was announced as well. This is quite notable as it is a correspondence to the international community’s sanctions against North Korea after the fourth nuclear test.