USA military officials have expressed concern despite the apparently limited successes of North Korea’s recent tests.
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The congress is to mark a turning point in Kim Jong Un’s leadership.
The South Korean Committee for the Joint Implementation of the June 15 Summit Declaration has offered to hold the games in Seoul on August 15, the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, according to the North’s main propaganda website Uriminzokkiri.
Claims US troops taunted North Korea’s army with “disgusting acts” have been dismissed by the American-led United Nations command. According to Cheong Joon-hee, a spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry, the measures are created to prevent “mishaps” at the event.
The Party Congress is Pyongyang’s largest political event.
The Supreme Court of North Korea on Friday sentenced South Korean man with American citizenship to 10 years of hard labour for espionage after he reportedly confessed to spying.
The nuclear test was followed with a string of missile tests, though not all successful.
The country has also been conducting a number of weapons tests, including a failed attempt to launch three intermediate-range Musudan missiles.
The gathering will be the first of its kind since 1980, when dictator Kim Jong-un’s grandfather was in power. Kim may decide to take on the post of party General Secretary, a position held by his late father, elevating himself from first secretary.
Protesters burn effigies of Kim Jong-un in response to recent nuclear tests.
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“North Korea’s goal is to be internationally recognised as a nuclear weapons state”, Han told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. “I’m sure our country will be even more vibrant after the party congress to build up a more prosperous and powerful, economically sound nation”. The second is to improve the people’s living standards and to find the best, optimum ways to improve the people’s living standards under these circumstances, and the third, to strengthen our national defence capabilities.
