N. Korea's largest workers' group holds 1st congress in 5 years

SEOUL, May 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's largest group of workers has held its first congress in five years to elect a new leadership and called for efforts to implement the country's five-year economic development plan, state media reported Wednesday. The General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, affiliated with the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), held its ninth congress Monday to Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The workers' group is one of the four largest labor organizations under the guidance of the WPK and is mainly aimed at instilling party ideology in the people. At the latest congress, the labor group elected a new leadership and discussed the amendment of the organization's rules and other issues, the KCNA said. The gathering came after North Korea held a key party congress in February to set major policy directions on the military, the economy and other fields for the next five years. Ri Won-jong was elected chairman of the labor group's central committee. Ri was named an alternate member of the WPK central committee in a personnel reshuffle held at the party congress. He also serves as a member of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly. In a congratulatory message sent to the ninth congress of the labor union federation, the WPK central committee urged workers to "thoroughly" reject the "reactionary ideology and culture" and fight against anti-socialism, according to the KCNA. In 2020, North Korea enacted an anti-reactionary thoughts law in a bid to prevent North Koreans from accessing outside information, such as South Korean movies and music.