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Workers' Party of Korea 조선로동당 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | WPK |
| General Secretary | Kim Jong-un |
| Founded | October 10, 1945 |
| Merger of | Workers' Party of North Korea Workers' Party of South Korea |
| Newspaper | Rodong Sinmun |
| Youth wing | Socialist Patriotic Youth League |
| Children's wing | Korean Children's Union |
| Armed wing | Korean People's Army |
| Political orientation | Juche Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism Songun |
| International affiliation | IMCWP |
| Website | |
| Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the WPK Central Committee | |
| Part of a series on |
| Communist parties |
|---|
The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the ruling political party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as well as the vanguard of the Korean working class. It was founded by Kim Il Sung on October 10, 1945[1] and is guided by the Juche Idea.[2] Independence, Songun and socialism are the strategic line of the Workers' Party of Korea.[3] The President of the WPK is Kim Il Sung, the Chairman is Kim Jong Il, and the General Secretary is Kim Jong Un.[4]
Symbol[edit | edit source]
The Workers' Party of Korea's symbol is a yellow hammer, sickle, and brush.[5] The hammer and sickle symbolizes the workers and farmers, while the brush symbolizes the intellectuals.[6] Its color is yellow to symbolize that the party will prosper and shine forever.[1]
History[edit | edit source]
The WPK has its roots in the Down-with-Imperialism Union (DIU) (Korean: 타도제국주의동맹)[7] which formed in 1926, founded by Kim Il Sung and other communist youths during the struggle for Korea's liberation from imperial Japan. The DIU set as its immediate task the destruction of Japanese imperialism and achievement of Korea's liberation and independence, with the ultimate aim of building socialism and communism in Korea and destroying all imperialists and building communism throughout the world. The DIU's program of anti-imperialism and independence formed the basis of the program of the WPK, which was later founded after the merger of various parties.[8]
Prior to the foundation of WPK, there were several active worker-oriented parties in Korea, such as the Communist Party and New Democratic Party in the north, and the People's Party, New Democratic Party, and Communist party in the south. While these were all worker-oriented parties, author Kim Han Gil observes that the New Democratic Party and the People's Party in the south mainly comprised the "petty-bourgeois stratum" among the working masses. Regarding the decision to form the WPK, Kim Han Gil writes that "the existence of several parties embracing the working people was detrimental to strengthening the unity and cohesion of the working masses and provided only favourable conditions for the manoeuvrings of the enemy to divide and destroy the democratic forces." Therefore, Kim Il Sung put forward the policy of merging the Communist Party and other working people's parties to found the Workers' Party, and by July 1946, the Central Committees of the Communist Party and the New Democratic Party adopted a decision on merging the two parties and founding the Workers' Party of North Korea (WPNK).[9]
In south Korea, the US military government (USAMGIK) rounded up and imprisoned the cadres and members of the Communist Party, the New Democratic Party and the People's Party, and also conducted subversion in the parties via spies and saboteurs. This and other factors such as factional strife led the party merger process in the south to be "quite a chaos" and "only nominal", according to Kim Han Gil's description, with the Workers' Party of South Korea failing to become a mass-based party capable of leading the working masses in a unified way. This left the working masses in the south divided, without a unified leadership, and with the intended purpose of the party merger remaining unfulfilled, all while facing intensified suppression by the US imperialist occupation.[9]
Congresses[edit | edit source]
The WPK's first congress was held in Pyongyang in August of 1946. Its most recent congress is the 9th Congress, held in February of 2026.
1st Congress[edit | edit source]
The 1st Congress of the WPK was held in Pyongyang in August of 1946.[5]
Kim Il Sung delivered a report entitled "For the Establishment of a United Party of the Working Masses" at this congress, as well as a concluding speech, "On the Immediate Tasks of the Workers’ Party".[5]
2nd Congress[edit | edit source]
The 2nd Congress of the WPK was held in Pyongyang in March of 1948.[5]
Kim Il Sung delivered the Report to the Second Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea on the Work of the Central Committee on March 28, 1948. He delivered the concluding speech, "Every Effort for the Consolidation of the Democratic Base and the Reunification and Independence of the Country" on March 29.[10]
3rd Congress[edit | edit source]
The Third Congress of the WPK was held in Pyongyang from April 23 to 29, 1956.[5][11]
Kim Il Sung delivered the report of the central committee to the third WPK congress. The report was divided into sections covering the international position of DPRK, the internal situation of DPRK, and topics relating to the party itself. The section on the international situation discussed the various successes of socialist and anti-colonial struggles worldwide, and also discussed the "frenzied efforts" of the imperialists to overthrow socialist governments, provoke wars, occupy countries, and install puppet governments. The report also commented on the Bandung Conference which had been held in Indonesia the previous year, which it said "manifested the unanimous aspiration of hundreds of millions of Asian and African peoples for an enduring peace against colonialism."[11]
The central committee report's section on the domestic situation covered topics such as the struggle for unification and independence of Korea, building a socialist economy in the northern half of Korea, the strengthening of the state and social system, and the peaceful reunification of Korea. The section on the party addressed topics such as the struggle for the consolidation of the party, the organizational leadership of the party, and the ideological work of the party.[11]
4th Congress[edit | edit source]
The 4th Congress of the WPK held in Pyongyang in September of 1961.[5]
5th Congress[edit | edit source]
The Fifth Congress of the WPK was held in Pyongyang in November of 1970.[5]
6th Congress[edit | edit source]
The 6th Congress of the WPK was held in Pyongyang in October of 1980.[5]
7th Congress[edit | edit source]
The 7th Congress of the WPK was held in May of 2016.[12]
8th Congress[edit | edit source]
The 8th Congress of the WPK was held from January 5 to 12, 2021.[13]
9th Congress[edit | edit source]
The 9th Congress of the WPK opened on February 19, 2026, in Pyongyang.[14] Participating in the congress are 5000 delegates in total, with 224 members of the eighth-term Party central leadership and 4776 delegates elected by all Party organizations.[15] According to a KCNA report, the congress approved the following agenda items: first, review of the work of the WPK Central Committee; second, on the revision of the WPK rules; and third, election of the central leadership body of the WPK. Discussion on the first agenda item began on the opening day and was resumed on the second day.[16]
Kim Jong Un made an opening address at the congress, highlighting the difference between the present conditions and conditions during the previous congress, and the work which was put in during the interim, evaluating that there had been major improvements since the previous congress, when "the subjective and objective conditions of our revolution were literally so harsh that we could hardly maintain our own existence". In contrast, by the time of the ninth congress, the situation had "fundamentally changed".[15] In summation of these changes, he stated:
Five years ago we convened the Eighth Congress of the Party with the conviction, will and determination to break through the worst difficulties facing the revolution by our own efforts and usher in a new era of advance and development without fail, but today we are here at its Ninth Congress, filled with optimism and confidence in the future.[15]
According to his opening address, at the time of the eighth party congress, the WPK has fallen short of its goals from the seventh congress, and economic work in the country was being conducted in "transitional and temporary ways just as it had been since several decades ago" and "struggling to maintain the status quo" without a development orientation. Furthermore, he noted the effects of hostile forces to blockade and sanction DPRK, successive natural calamities, and the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions at the time which he said severely hindered development of all sectors and threatened the security of the state and the safety of the people.[15]
In contrast, after the eighth party congress had "critically reviewed and analyzed the unscientific nature" of previous goals and "scrapp[ed] all that had gone out of date" and then developed new plans "through strict scientific review and discussions", he asserted that the situation has "fundamentally changed" by the time of the ninth congress, saying that the economic sector fulfilled the five-year plan for national economic development, and as a result, various sectors of the economy "have freed themselves from the protracted obsolescence and stagnation, and instead built up their foundations and potentials to achieve significant growth under a plan." Meanwhile, in terms of the external situation "the position of our state was firmly consolidated as an irreversible one, bringing about a great change in the global political landscape and in the influence on our state," resulting in "favourable conditions and circumstances for giving a greater spur to our socialist construction."[15]
In the address he went on to thank "all the Party members, working people, service personnel and citizens for having turned the eighth term of the Party Central Committee into a period of great upsurge in socialist construction", paid tribute to "revolutionary comrades and martyrs who dedicated their valuable lives to the sacred cause of achieving the prosperity of the country and the happiness of the people during the period under review" and extended warm greetings to Chongryon (the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan) "and other overseas compatriots' organizations and all the overseas compatriots that share will and mind for the prosperity and development of their socialist homeland."[15]
Following this he stated that the ninth congress would review the work done during the period of the eighth term of the Party Central Committee, establish the lines and policies for developing socialist construction onto a higher stage, and take organizational and institutional measures for readjusting and consolidating the Party's leadership ability, review shortcomings from a critical and developmental point of view, work out the struggle plan for the next stage in an elaborate and scientific way, and strengthen the leadership forces capable of leading the implementation of the plan. Regarding "shortcomings and negative elements", he stated: "deep-rooted defeatism, irresponsibility, conservatism, formalism and immaturity in leadership ability, are latent at present in the work of the Party and government organs and officials, and this constitutes an artificial obstacle to the work of our Party and state which aspire to rapid development in all fields." After some further remarks, the ninth congress was declared open.[15]
Further reading[edit | edit source]
- Understanding Workers' Party of Korea (External link)
- Understanding Workers' Party of Korea (ProleWiki Library)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Workers' Party of Korea, organizer and guide of all victories". DPRK Today. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ↑ Official USA Delegate (2013-01-18). "Workers’ Party of Korea and Juche Idea" Korean Friendship Association USA. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ↑ Official USA Delegate (2016-04-25). "Strategic Line of the (WPK) Workers Party of Korea" Korean Friendship Association. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ↑ "President Kim Il Sung". Naenara. Archived from the original on 2022-12-26. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Understanding Workers' Party of Korea." Foreign Languages Publishing House, Pyongyang, Korea, 2016.
- ↑ Kang Sung Il (2022-04-21). "The noble meaning of the emblem of the Workers' Party of Korea" Kim Il Sung University. Archived from the original on 2023-03-13. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
- ↑ "타도제국주의동맹." Uriminzokkiri.
- ↑ Ro Myong Sim. "Historical Roots of the Workers’ Party of Korea." Explore DPRK. Archived 2023-09-28.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kim Han Gil (1979). Modern History of Korea: 'Part Two, Chapter One.; 5. Merger of the Communist Party and Other Working People's Parties' (pp. 201-205). [PDF]
- ↑ Kim Il Sung (1981). Kim Il Sung: Works 4, January-December 1948: 'Report to the Second Congress of the Workers' Party of North Korea on the Work of the Central Committee'. [PDF] Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Workers' Party of Korea (1956). Third Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea: Documents and Materials. Pyongyang: Foreign Languages Publishing House.
- ↑ "[North Modern History] The 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea held after 36 years" ("[북현대사] 36년 만에 열린 조선로동당 제7차 대회.") Tongil Times, 2023-05-06.
- ↑ "[북현대사] 새 격변기 준비한 조선로동당 제8차 대회." 북 바로알기, 통일시대. 2023.07.01. Archived 2023-09-28.
- ↑ "Ninth Congress of WPK Opens with Splendor" (2026-02-20). KCNA.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Kim Jong Un (2026-02-20). "Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un's Opening Address at Ninth Congress of WPK" KCNA.
- ↑ "Second-day Sitting of Ninth Congress of WPK Held, Comrade Kim Jong Un Starts Report Reviewing Work of Eighth-term WPK Central Committee" (2026-02-21). KCNA.