NORTH KOREAN leader Kim Jong Un was re-elected to the top post of general secretary of the country’s Workers’ Party at the party’s ninth Congress, local media reported today.

The country’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr Kim was re-elected as the party’s general secretary with the “unshakable will and unanimous desire” of thousands of delegates on the fourth day of the congress on Sunday.

Under party rules, the congress, which is held every five years, elects the general secretary to serve as the party’s top representative and leader.

In a statement the party praised Mr Kim for strengthening North Korea on the world stage by building up nuclear forces, Mr Kim has created a military capable of handling “any threat of aggression” and “any form of war.”

The statement also credited his leadership with “reliably guaranteeing” the country’s future and “boosting the pride and self-esteem” of North Koreans.

It also praised Mr Kim’s foreign policy, which it said raised national prestige.

KCNA said the congress adopted revisions to party rules during Sunday’s meeting and also elected a new central committee.

The most notable change to the new central committee list was the exclusion of Choe Ryong Hae, chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly.

Also left out were military marshals Pak Jong Chon and Ri Pyong Chol.

State media so far haven’t mentioned any comments by Mr Kim or other senior leaders at the congress directly addressing the continuing tense relations with the United States and South Korea.

Yoon Min Ho, a spokesperson at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, described Mr Kim’s re-election as a predictable move and Seoul will closely watch further messages from the congress.

There is no public dialogue between North Korea and the US or with South Korea since the collapse of a 2019 summit between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump over disagreements over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programme.