Leader Kim Jong Un threatened that the North was now capable of “hitting the heads of the South Korean puppet forces and the USA imperialists anytime as it pleases”.
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This time, the “supreme leader”, 33, is expected to further solidify his power, declare the nation a nuclear state, and reveal his plans for North Korea’s economy to thousands of delegates expected to attend.
A former White House adviser is speaking out about his belief North Korea has an attack planned and has put up a replica of the “Blue House” presidential palace for troop training.
Pyongyang has invited the world’s media to cover the congress, while offering few clues as to what might – or might not – be announced at the event.
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense added that there is a possibility that North Korea could conduct another nuclear test and fire a medium or long-range missile around the date of its congress.
In recent weeks, North Korea has held a series of missile tests, including the first unsuccessful trial of a midrange ballistic missile that might threaten Japan and USA bases in the region.
North Korean authorities have also enlisted people in Pyongyang and some other places in a 70-day campaign to ramp-up productivity and spruce-up the capital, the Daily NK reported.
While his father first promoted the idea that North Korea should have nuclear weapons, it was Kim Jong Il who made this idea a reality and ordered the country’s first nuclear test, in 2006. Instead, it has presented the congress as a chance for the ruling party to boast its achievements and unity in the face of the “U.S. imperialists”.
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The ruling worker’s party of Korea, headed by the country’s leader Kim Jong Un, is due to stage the first gathering of its kind for 36 years on Friday. “They set the target of 120 people including expats, soldiers and officials”, the newspaper said, citing an official source familiar with North Korean affairs. Analysts say his continuing purges of high-level officials indicate that he still has not fully consolidated power more than four years after taking over following his father’s death. “This power of unity we have is the real source of power that leads our country into victory”.
