In this October 1980 photo provided by the Korea News Service (KNS), then North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, center, and his son Kim Jong Il, left, talk about the preparation for the convention of North Korea’s Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea.
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Though not literally in the same category, North Korea’s first Workers Party Congress in 36 years, scheduled for this Friday, could have its share of “noisemakers” and “fireworks” – in the form of ballistic missile launches and a nuclear weapons test.
The North Korean Workers’ Party Convention where Kim Jong-il (front row) was reappointed the supreme leader, and Kim Jong-un was given the rank of military general.
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said on Wednesday that his country’s military buildup will be focused on countering the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)’s nuclear devices and ballistic missiles. The gathering comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula following Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear test in January.
Kim Jong Un “has cemented his rule, shown progress in nuclear missile development and made economic reforms in his four years in power”, says Koh Yu Hwan, a North Korea professor at Dongguk University in Seoul.
While some analysts expect significant policy announcements or personnel changes, others are betting that Kim Jong Un, the founder’s grandson, will play it safe.
We’ve also seen the second launch of a North Korean ballistic missile from a subsurface platform. North Korea is using provocations to survive and the upcoming party congress will applaud the leadership for being so shrewd.
The first day of the congress is expected to include briefings by the party’s Central Committee, followed by discussions.
Chinese authorities are reportedly investigating what could possibly be a murder case, although they have not given any comment about the speculated involvement of agents from North Korea.
North Korea has invited foreign media to cover the congress, although journalists’ movements are closely managed and much of the country and its people remain off-limits to outsiders.
Over the past weeks, the Security Council has condemned missile launches by North Korea on three occasions and has warned of a possibility of further substantive measures against Pyongyang, on which it has already imposed the toughest possible sanctions. And skipping rehearsal isn’t an option in a country known for supersize parades to mark major events.
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Washington and Seoul insist that the system was necessary to protect America’s allies from a missile threat from North Korea, but the plan was criticised by both China and Russian Federation, which said such a move would upset the balance of power in the region.
