North Korea is set to reveal the direction of its policies for the new year at a ninth Plenary Meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party this week.

At the upcoming meeting, agreed upon on December 1, regime leader Kim Jong-un is set to reaffirm his country’s “power for power” principle with regard to the U.S. while stressing the need to boost the national defense capacity, including pursuing additional launches of military reconnaissance satellites.

Since 2019, the North has disclosed the direction of its policies for the new year during a plenary session of the central committee with Kim in attendance.

Considering previous practices, Pyongyang is likely to convene the session sometime around Wednesday and conclude the meeting on Sunday, with a speech by Kim typically following on January 1.

In the upcoming address, Kim will likely express determination to expand exchanges with China and Russia.