North Korea marks 81st anniversary of Workers’ Party founding in Kim’s presence

North Korea marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party on Sunday with a celebratory performance attended by leader Kim Jong-un at an indoor stadium in the capital Pyongyang, with the participation of party and military officials, diplomatic envoys, members of foreign missions and residents of the capital.

Artistic performances and family presence at Pyongyang celebration

The Korean Central News Agency said patriotic songs, acrobatics and dances filled the indoor stadium in Pyongyang during the performance held the previous day, saying the event affirmed loyalty to the party and leader Kim Jong-un. The agency added that Kim waved to the audience, extending his congratulations to all participants on the party’s founding day, and expressed his satisfaction with the performance.

A photograph released by the agency showed the North Korean leader with his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, during the event. According to the agency’s report, diplomatic envoys and members of foreign missions sat alongside senior Workers’ Party and military officials, as well as Pyongyang residents, during the celebrations marking the anniversary of the ruling party’s founding.

Yonhap notes absence of statement and modest celebrations

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, meanwhile, reported that Kim had not issued a statement on the anniversary. It added that the series of performances and gatherings organised this year to mark the occasion were modest in scale compared with other celebrations held in the country.

North Korea regards five- and 10-year anniversaries as major occasions and traditionally marks them with large-scale military parades, along with mass gymnastics performances and weapons exhibitions. At last year’s celebrations, Pyongyang organised a huge military parade late at night in Kim Il-sung Square, during which it unveiled the Hwasong-20 intercontinental ballistic missile.

In a separate report, the Korean Central News Agency said party officials had visited the Party Founding Museum, without specifying when the visit took place. During the tour, the officials were briefed on a visit Kim made to the museum in October 2025.