North Korea will hold a major Workers’ Party congress in late February, where leader Kim Jong Un is expected to lay out domestic and foreign policies for the next five years, state media reported.

The rare gathering comes after years of rapid nuclear and missile development and closer ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine, deepening tensions with the United States and South Korea.

Kim is widely expected to push self-reliant economic development while announcing further expansion and integration of nuclear and conventional military forces.

The congress will also likely highlight Pyongyang’s strengthening alignment with Moscow and Beijing and its increasingly confrontational stance toward South Korea and the U.S, the AP has reported.

Entering his 15th year in power, Kim appears more confident than at the last congress in 2021, with analysts suggesting North Korea’s economy has modestly improved due to renewed trade with China and arms exports to Russia.