North Korea has kicked off the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party, the regime’s biggest political event that takes place every five years.

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported Friday that the party congress had opened the previous day in Pyongyang.

In an opening speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly said that, compared with five years ago when the eighth party congress took place, the regime had irreversibly consolidated its national status, bringing about major changes to the global political landscape and international relations.

The remarks are seen as a reference to its claimed status as a nuclear-armed state.

Kim did not mention the United States, South Korea or nuclear capabilities directly in his speech, instead devoting a substantial portion to economic issues.

The congress, which approximately five thousand delegates attended, will review achievements over the past five years and outline domestic and foreign policy directions for the next five years.