Top N. Korean officials join discussions on major policies for 2022 at party plenary

North Korea had high-profile discussions on key policy issues for 2022 during a year-end plenary session of the Workers' Party, with senior officials, including those in charge of inter-Korean relations and foreign affairs in attendance, according to its state media Thursday.

The North convened a third day of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the party's 8th Central Committee on Wednesday, during which "sectional workshops" continued from the previous day to "map out plans according to the fighting policies set forth" by leader Kim Jong-un, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Kim presided over the first- and second-day sessions of the plenary and made a report "on the orientation of the work of the party and state in 2022."

The KCNA did not provide details, but it released photos of a workshop led by Kim Yong-chol, head of the United Front Department and the North's Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon, suggesting that inter-Korean relations and nuclear negotiations could have been among the agenda items.

"It's the first time the formation of a separate panel on South Korea or foreign relations was confirmed at a major party event by the North's state media report," an official at Seoul's unification ministry said.

Pak Jong-chon, the North's top military official, also led a separate consultative session apparently to discuss plans for the country's weapons development and defense strategies.

Details of the discussions are likely to be unveiled at the end of the plenary through a resolution, though it's unclear for how long the party gathering will continue. Previous plenary meetings were held between one and four days.

The participants also discussed the country's budget for the new year, which will be approved at its rubber-stamp legislature in February.

This week's meeting has drawn keen attention from the outside world, as it may offer a clue to the reclusive regime's next step amid a prolonged stalemate in its nuclear negotiations with the United States.

The North has remained unresponsive to U.S. overtures for talks after their no-deal Hanoi summit in 2019, demanding Washington first retract what it calls "double standards" and "hostile policy" against its regime.

The plenary also comes as North Korea marks the 10th anniversary of Kim's rise to power.

Kim officially took the helm of the North on Dec. 30, 2011, with the "supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army," 13 days after his father and former leader Kim Jong-il died.

In an editorial Thursday, the North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, touted Kim for developing its military into "the world's strongest," and called for further boosting the country's defense capabilities. (Yonhap)