A pro-Pyongyang newspaper reported on November 19 that North Korea has a 15-year development plan to build a socialist powerhouse by 2035. The plan consists of three five-year phases, with the second stage set to begin at a ruling party congress early next year. Leader Kim Jong-un emphasized this 15-year struggle in a letter to a youth association shortly after the 2021 party congress.
The Japan-based Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper, revealed the development plan on November 19 in a travelogue by its delegation that recently visited North Korea for the 80th founding anniversary of the North's Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
"The first stage of the 15-year vision to accomplish a socialist powerhouse by around 2035, where prosperity reigns and the entire people enjoy happiness, will be finalized and a new reform period will begin," the outlet said, referring to a ruling party congress set for early next year.
At its eighth party congress in 2021, North Korea adopted a five-year economic development plan. At the upcoming ninth congress, the country is expected to present another five-year plan outlining its major policy stance. The latest Choson Sinbo report indicates that North Korea is following a 15-year development road map, implemented in three five-year phases.
Shortly after the 2021 party congress, North Korean media quoted leader Kim Jong-un as writing in a letter to a youth association that the ruling party will undertake a large-scale struggle to establish a socialist powerhouse over the next 15 years to help bring happiness and prosperity to its people. The Choson Sinbo is considered to represent North Korea's official stance.