From December 21 to 24, the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) hosted the Fifth Conference of the Party Cells’ Chairmen. Presided over by Kim Jong Un, the conference took place in Pyongyang and was extensively covered by state press.

On the surface, the conference resembled other ideological meetings, but it differed with regard to the surprisingly honest assessment – at least for North Korea – that Kim Jong Un gave of problems within the country.

The difference was underscored on the last day when the Leader articulated the major point of the conference: the need to curtail dangerous foreign