Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, congratulating him on his election as ruling party chairman at a congress at which Beijing – Pyongyang’s closest ally – was notably absent.
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The path of dialogue is closed for now, according to US and South Korean officials, who say that North Korea has shown no willingness under Mr. Kim to discuss denuclearization.
In this image made from video by North Korean broadcaster KRT, North Koreans parade to celebrate the first congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in 36 years, in Pyongyang, North Korea Tuesay, May 10, 2016. Indeed, Kim declared North Korea to be “a permanent nuclear weapon state”, and a phrase to this effect was added to the party’s bylaws.
Kim presided over the parade and waved down to the crowd from his “tribune of honor” on a balcony of the Grand People’s Study House, which overlooks the square.
The four-day party congress, which ended on Monday, marked the first such gathering of the party’s top decision-making body in more than 35 years.
The party congress not only mapped out a course for future development and mulled state and economic policies, but also became a chance to consolidate Kim Jong Un’s grip on power and strengthen the people’s loyalty to the core leadership.
Mostly, however, the congress put Kim front and centre in the eyes of the people and the party as the country’s sole leader.
Kim cut a modern figure during the congress in tortoise-shell glasses and a dark suit with gray necktie, a departure from the drab jacket buttoned to the neck favored by North Korean leaders, or the jumpsuits worn by his late father.
In unison the delegates shouted “Mansae!”
PYONGYANG, North Korea (TNS) – To cheers of “long life!”
Kim Yo-jong was 42nd on a list of 129 members of the committee, which is a stepping stone to the Politburo.
Kim vowed to refrain from using nuclear weapons unless the North’s sovereignty is violated. Previously, Kim was the first secretary of the WPK, and the symbolic change in his official title is expected to have no bearing on the authority he wields, which is already absolute.
His predecessors keep their posthumous titles. Senior party official Choe Ryong Hae regained a seat that he had lost.
State media has also said Kim Yo Jong has served as a vice department director at the ruling party. Kim Yong Nam, 88, stayed on despite speculation from North Korea-watchers that he might lose his position because of his age. He had covered an earlier trip of Nobel laureates and had been scheduled to leave on Friday. Instead, he was stopped at the airport, detained and questioned.
Now that North Korea was a powerful nation, he said, “we can concentrate on economic construction and improving people’s living standards”. Earlier Monday, three BBC journalists were expelled for allegedly “insulting the dignity” of North Korea.
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Although the reports were never confirmed by Pyongyang, the reclusive regime named a new chief of staff, Mr Ri Myong Su, in the same month.
