Kim reelected to top post of North Korea’s ruling party as it hails his nuclear buildup

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was reelected to the top post of the ruling Workers’ Party, with delegates crediting him for bolstering the country’s nuclear arsenal and strengthening its regional standing, state media reported Monday.

The report from the party congress, where Kim is expected to outline his key political and military goals for the next five years, suggests he will double down on accelerating a military nuclear program already equipped with missiles capable of threatening Asian U.S. allies and the American mainland.

The congress, which began last Thursday, comes as Kim grows increasingly assertive in regional politics, following an aggressive expansion of his nuclear arsenal and closer ties with Russia forged through joint war efforts in Ukraine, which have deepened his standoffs with Washington and Seoul.

Analysts say Kim will likely use the meeting to unveil new military goals, including strengthening conventional forces and integrating them with nuclear capabilities, while reemphasizing a campaign for economic “self-reliance” through mass mobilization, following gradual post-pandemic gains fueled by rebounding trade with China and arms exports to Russia.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said Kim was reelected as the party’s general secretary with the “unshakable will and unanimous desire” of thousands of delegates on the fourth day of meetings Sunday.

Under party rules, the congress, which Kim has held every five years since 2016, elects the general secretary to serve as the party’s top representative and leader. Kim, 42, has held the party’s top post throughout his rule, though the title changed from first secretary to chairman at the congress in 2016 and then to general secretary at the congress in 2021.

The party said in a statement that by building up nuclear forces, Kim has created a military capable of handling “any threat of aggression” and “any form of war,” and credited his leadership with “reliably guaranteeing” the country’s future and “boosting the pride and self-esteem” of North Koreans.

KCNA said the congress adopted revisions to party rules during Sunday’s meeting but did not immediately provide details. Experts had anticipated that Kim would use the congress to entrench his hard-line stance toward South Korea and possibly rewrite party rules to codify his characterization of inter-Korean relations as between two “hostile” states.

State media so far haven’t mentioned any comments by Kim or other senior leaders at the congress directly addressing relations with Washington and Seoul.

North Korea has suspended all meaningful diplomacy with the United States and South Korea since the collapse of a 2019 summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump over disagreements about exchange sanctions relief for steps to wind down Kim’s nuclear and missile program.

Kim’s government has rejected dialogue offers from Trump since the American president began his second term, urging Washington to drop its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for talks. Inter-Korean relations further deteriorated in 2024 when Kim abandoned the North’s long-standing goal of peaceful reunification and declared the war-divided South a permanent enemy.

This photo provided Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center, attends the ruling Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

This photo provided Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un attends the ruling Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

This photo provided Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center, claps hands as he was re-elected to the top post of the ruling Workers’ Party, during the party's Congress in Pyongyang, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

This photo provided Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un, center, claps hands as he was re-elected to the top post of the ruling Workers’ Party, during the party's Congress in Pyongyang, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — They chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and a few openly wept at Lake Placid's Olympic Center, the same building where the “Miracle on Ice” happened exactly 46 years earlier. In Ohio, some waved flags inside a packed bar. And in Florida, a man played baseball wearing a USA Hockey jersey.

The man was George Springer. He plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. Canadians might not have appreciated his wardrobe.

USA 2, Canada 1. The U.S. men are Olympic hockey gold medalists for the first time since 1980, after topping their rivals to the north in overtime on Sunday in Milan. The country — even though the game started at 8 a.m. in the East, 5 a.m. Pacific — was clearly watching, and when it went final overjoyed reactions could be found from sea to shining sea.

“I wasn’t here for the Miracle game, obviously. since I’m only 44,” said Jackie Palmateer, a vacationer who watched from the arena in Lake Placid on Sunday. “We were going to go skiing, and then this happened, and you have to watch the game, and I said, ‘Why would we want to watch this from the hotel?’ So, we came here. It’s like seeing history happen when you’re already in the museum.”

In Madison, Wisconsin, the goal horns went off at the Badgers' hockey arena before the powerhouse women's team hosted St. Cloud State — because the gold-medal game was being shown on the arena screen. When Jack Hughes scored the winner, people inside the arena began cheering.

Among those people: the St. Cloud State women's team, because they were watching even though they had their own game to get ready for. Wisconsin — coached by Mark Johnson, who played for the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team — won the game 4-2.

“We were all watching that game. I was up early and doing my video and watching the game. Man, I think hockey in general won out, whether you’re a female player who likes females’ hockey or you’re a male player and like males’ hockey," Johnson said after his team clinched the Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championship.

“We saw a great final game with Canada and the U.S. in the women’s game, and then today was a classic. The USA figured out how to win a game they didn’t play their best in. Canada’s a proud country. They played a real solid game and came up a little short, but I think in general hockey won, because I guarantee you every house, restaurant and bar in Canada had the game on and they were all watching it, and I’m sure a lot of people in the States that maybe had never watched hockey before watched.”

The White House took notice, with President Donald Trump posting on social media, “Congratulations to our great U.S.A. Ice Hockey team. THEY WON THE GOLD. WOW!” Other politicians also weighed in; Sen. Amy Klobuchar posted a video of a hockey bar — Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub — in St. Paul, Minnesota, jammed at 7 a.m. local time. “They don't call Minnesota the State of Hockey for nothing,” she wrote.

And in South Florida, the Elbo Room — a preferred hangout spot for Matthew Tkachuk — was filled as well for the early morning start time, then went bonkers when the Americans prevailed.

“Extremely proud,” Florida Panthers forward Mackie Samoskevich said.

It was must-see-TV, even across different sports.

Some NBA teams might not have been watching customary pregame film on Sunday. They were watching hockey instead.

“I wasn’t waking up at 5:30," Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "But incredible, what an incredible sporting event, competition at its highest, amazing to watch.”

Kerr had dual rooting interests: He coached the U.S. to the men's basketball gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024, And the Warriors' vice president of player health and performance is Rick Celebrini — the father of Canada forward Macklin Celebrini, someone the entire Golden State organization follows and roots on, for obvious reasons.

The Miami Marlins gathered in their spring training clubhouse to watch overtime, chants of U-S-A breaking out in there when Hughes got the game-winner. Springer, according to MLB.com, bolted from the Blue Jays' clubhouse to celebrate outside when the U.S. won the game, then took live batting practice in the USA Hockey jersey.

And in Mesa, Arizona, the Athletics watched the Olympic hockey final together in the clubhouse of Hohokam Stadium — and Canadian center fielder Denzel Clarke was the one left heartbroken afterward.

A's manager Mark Kotsay said the game was “pretty incredible.” But he felt for Clarke as well.

“Well, it was one against 72 in there," Kotsay said. “He would have definitely let us all know about it. So, we kind of got fortunate and very thankful for Team USA to win the gold today. Not much does quiet Denzel, but it definitely quieted him.”

It wasn't quiet in Lake Placid. Or just about anyplace else in the U.S. that had the game on Sunday. What happened on Feb. 22, 1980, with the “Miracle” team will resonate, and odds are, so will what happened on Feb. 22, 2026, with this golden group.

“The next generation," U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck said, “has something to look up to.”

On Sunday, it seemed like an entire nation felt that way.

AP reporters Michelle Price, Janie McCauley, Steve Megargee and Dennis Waszak Jr. contributed.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States fans cheer after a men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

United States players greet fans after defeating Canada in the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

United States' Dylan Larkin (21) celebrates with fans after the men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

United States' Brady Tkachuk (7), Matthew Tkachuk, center, and Zach Werenski (8) celebrate after their overtime win against Canada in the men's ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

United States' Jack Eichel celebrates after the United States defeated Canada in a men's ice hockey gold medal game between Canada and the United States at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)