North Korea held commemorative events across the country to mark the 136th anniversary of Labor Day (May Day), urging workers to complete the first-year tasks of the five-year economic development plan laid out at the Workers' Party's 9th Congress. This year's Labor Day also featured workers visiting the "Overseas Military Operations Combat Feats Memorial Hall," which was completed last month, to honor the achievements of deployed troops.
The Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that a central commemorative meeting marking the 136th May Day anniversary was held at the People's Palace of Culture on Thursday. Party and government officials including Premier Pak Thae-song and Party Secretary Ri Il-hwan attended, while foreign diplomatic missions stationed in North Korea and overseas Koreans were also invited.
At the meeting, Premier Pak stressed that "all workers must raise the banner of the three revolutions even higher and unconditionally complete the first-year tasks of the new five-year national economic development plan presented by the 9th Party Congress." He added that "the government of the republic will make responsible efforts for the rights and interests of the working masses."
Senior officials, including Jo Yong-won, chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, visited factories and enterprises across the country in person. They encouraged workers and watched sports and entertainment events together at sites including the Sangwon Cement Complex, the Chollima Steel Complex, the Pyongyang Thermal Power Plant, the Sunchon District Youth Coal Mining Complex, and the Chonsong Youth Coal Mine. The visits are seen as a display of party-level attention to industrial sites in the first year of the 9th Congress economic plan.
Particularly notable this year was that workers visited the "Overseas Military Operations Combat Feats Memorial Hall," completed last month, to honor the achievements of deployed troops and foster patriotism. The inclusion of a visit to a deployment-related facility in Labor Day events shows that North Korea is actively using its troop deployment to Russia as material for regime consolidation.
Crowds also paid their respects and offered flowers at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and the statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill. While Labor Day is an official holiday in North Korea, residents are typically mobilized in large numbers for leader worship and regime-unity activities. Performances were held at theaters and outdoor stages across Pyongyang, while visitors also gathered at venues such as the Central Zoo and the Natural History Museum.
