North Korea's Kim convenes key party meeting ahead of new year -KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the December 2023 plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, at the party's headquarters building, in Pyongyang, North Korea in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 27, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has kicked off a key meeting of the country's ruling party, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday, setting the stage for unveiling policy decisions for the new year.

The ninth Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea wraps up a year during which the isolated country enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, successfully launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).