History of North Korea
Era of Kim Jong-un (2011–present)
Era of Kim Jong\-un (2011–present)
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[thumb\|right\|A computer lab classroom in the [Grand People's Study House](/wiki/Grand_People%27s_Study_House "Grand People's Study House"), Pyongyang, 2012](/wiki/File:Computer_lab%2C_Pyongyang%2C_2012.jpg "Computer lab, Pyongyang, 2012.jpg")

Kim Jong Il died on 17 December 2011 and was succeeded by his son, [Kim Jong Un](/wiki/Kim_Jong_Un "Kim Jong Un"). In late 2013, Kim Jong Un's uncle [Jang Song\-thaek](/wiki/Jang_Song-thaek "Jang Song-thaek") was arrested and executed after a trial. According to the South Korean spy agency, Kim may have purged some 300 people after taking power. In 2014, the [United Nations Commission of Inquiry](/wiki/Report_of_the_Commission_of_Inquiry_on_Human_Rights_in_the_Democratic_People%E2%80%99s_Republic_of_Korea "Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea") accused the government of [crimes against humanity](/wiki/Crimes_against_humanity "Crimes against humanity").

In 2015, North Korea adopted [Pyongyang Standard Time](/wiki/Pyongyang_Standard_Time "Pyongyang Standard Time") (UTC\+08\.30\), reversing the change to [Japan Standard Time](/wiki/Japan_Standard_Time "Japan Standard Time") (UTC\+9\.00\) which had been imposed by the Japanese Empire when it annexed Korea. As a result, North Korea was in a different time zone to South Korea. In 2016, [7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea](/wiki/7th_Congress_of_the_Workers%27_Party_of_Korea "7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea") was held in Pyongyang, the first party congress since 1980\.

On 30 October 2015, the [Politburo of the Central Committee](/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Workers%27_Party_of_Korea "Politburo of the Workers' Party of Korea") of the Workers' Party of Korea announced through the Korean Central News Agency that it had decided to convene the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party in early May 2016\. In May 2016, North Korea held the Seventh Congress of the WPK, the first gathering of its kind in over 35 years. By revealing the 5\-year national economic development strategy, the mid\-term economic development plan was announced for the first time in 24 years.

In 2017, North Korea tested the [Hwasong\-15](/wiki/Hwasong-15 "Hwasong-15"), an [intercontinental ballistic missile](/wiki/Intercontinental_ballistic_missile "Intercontinental ballistic missile") capable of striking anywhere in the United States of America. Estimates of North Korea's nuclear arsenal at that time ranged between 15 and 60 bombs, probably including [hydrogen bombs](/wiki/Hydrogen_bombs "Hydrogen bombs").
[thumb\|Kim and Moon meet at the DMZ in 2018](/wiki/File:2018_inter-Korean_summit_square.jpg "2018 inter-Korean summit square.jpg")

In February 2018, North Korea sent an unprecedented high\-level delegation to the [Winter Olympics in South Korea](/wiki/North_Korea_at_the_2018_Winter_Olympics "North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics"), headed by [Kim Yo\-jong](/wiki/Kim_Yo-jong "Kim Yo-jong"), sister of [Kim Jong Un](/wiki/Kim_Jong_Un "Kim Jong Un"), and President [Kim Yong\-nam](/wiki/Kim_Yong-nam "Kim Yong-nam"), which passed on an invitation to South Korean President Moon to visit the North. In April the two Korean leaders met at the [Joint Security Area](/wiki/Joint_Security_Area "Joint Security Area") where they announced their governments would work towards a denuclearized Korean Peninsula and formalize peace between the two states. North Korea announced it would change its time zone to realign with the South. This time zone change was enacted in May 2018\.

On 12 June 2018, Kim met American President [Donald Trump](/wiki/Donald_Trump "Donald Trump") at a [summit in Singapore](/wiki/2018_North_Korea%E2%80%93United_States_Singapore_Summit "2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit") and signed a declaration, again affirming a commitment to peace and denuclearization. Trump announced that he would halt military exercises with South Korea and foreshadowed withdrawing American troops entirely. In September, South Korean President Moon visited Pyongyang for a [summit with Kim](/wiki/September_2018_inter-Korean_summit "September 2018 inter-Korean summit"). In February 2019 in Hanoi, a [second summit](/wiki/2019_North_Korea%E2%80%93United_States_Hanoi_Summit "2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit") between Kim and Trump broke down without an agreement. On 30 June 2019, Trump, Moon, and Kim met at the DMZ. Talks in Stockholm began in October between US and North Korean negotiating teams, but broke down after one day.

Starting in January 2020, the North Korean government took extensive measures to block the spread of the [COVID\-19 pandemic](/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_North_Korea "COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea"), including quarantines and travel restrictions. In April, the US analyst website [38 North](/wiki/38_North "38 North") said this appeared to have been successful.

The [8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea](/wiki/8th_Congress_of_the_Workers%27_Party_of_Korea "8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea"), held in early January 2021, restored the operative functions of the [General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea](/wiki/General_Secretary_of_the_Workers%27_Party_of_Korea "General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea"), a title previously awarded "eternally" to Kim Jong Il in 2012, and elected Kim Jong Un to it.


What was announced by the Politburo of the Central Committee in 2015?