The party Congress is nominally the highest body of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) according to its charter. The charter stated specifically that it should convene at least every fifth year; however, the congress has never managed to be convened in that time frame. There was a gap of 36 years between the 6th Congress and the 7th Congress. However, two party conferences were convened in the period 2010–2012. The 3rd Party Conference in 2010 formally deleted the five-year clause from the party charter, but it was later restored at the 8th Congress in 2021.