North korea: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called on workers to serve as the "vanguard" of socialist construction and stressed their role in achieving the state's development goals, state media reported Friday. Kim met with the workers of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK) the previous day for a photo session and delivered a speech, underscoring their importance in advancing the nation's objectives.

According to Yonhap News Agency, during the session, Kim reaffirmed the workers' ideological role in supporting the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and advancing the state's economic and socialist development goals. He emphasized that the GFTUK must "fulfill its mission and duty as an organization for ideological education," preparing them "as a revolutionized and patriotic core force for national development and powerful vanguard for carrying out the three revolutions," the report said.

Kim highlighted the role of the GFTUK in mobilizing ideological power, which he stated served as significant support for the party during a pioneering period of comprehensive rejuvenation. The workers' group held its ninth congress from Monday through Tuesday, electing new leadership. It is one of North Korea's four major labor organizations operating under the guidance of the party, tasked with instilling party ideology and executing policies and directives. The other three organizations represent women, youth, and farmers.

In February, North Korea conducted a key party congress, where the leadership set major policy directions on the military, economy, and other fields for the next five years. Since then, Pyongyang has held a series of congresses of affiliated groups to refresh its organizational landscape.