Kim Jong Un to receive new, more prestigious title

North Korea’s historic ruling party congress entered its second day Saturday with leader Kim Jong Un expected to be bestowed a new, more prestigious title.

North Korea’s state-run Korea Central News Agency reported that Saturday’s itinerary includes electing Kim to a new position that will likely put him on an equivalent level with his father and grandfather, who held the title of general-secretary of the Workers’ Party.

Kim currently holds the title of first secretary, and while symbolic, the elevated title is another clear signal to the world that Kim has a firm grasp on power within the country.

The agenda for Saturday also includes reviewing reports and audits from party commissions and revising party rules.

A U.S. monitoring group says North Korea may be preparing to carry out another nuclear test in the near future.

The website 38 North, which focuses on North Korean issues, said Friday that commercial satellite images taken May 5 over North Korea’s nuclear test site show vehicle movement at a command center, where there is often no activity “except during preparations for a test.”

South Korean officials have been on alert in the event that North Korea will conduct a fifth nuclear test to coincide with the high-profile political gathering now under way; the first of its kind in 36 years.

Opening day

Kim opened the seventh Workers’ Party Congress Friday by hailing the country’s January nuclear test and subsequent launch of a satellite into space, calling them a demonstration of “dignity and power at the highest level.”

“In this year of the seventh party congress, our military and people accomplished the great success in the first hydrogen bomb test and the launch of an earth observation satellite,” said Kim.

Washington called on Pyongyang to “refrain from actions and rhetoric that further destabilize the region” in response to Kim’s comments.

Despite the warning, Pyongyang did not conduct a test before the gathering. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul, said Beijing might have sent a warning to Pyongyang.

North Korea is not likely to conduct another nuclear test in the near future because of pressure from Beijing, Yang said.

But Seoul remains vigilant against a possible nuclear test. An official at South Korea’s presidential office told VOA Friday it is possible the North conducts the test after the gathering, adding it is ready to conduct a test at any time.

Address to congress

Wearing a dark Western-style suit, Kim delivered his opening speech before more than 3,400 delegates.

Kim was expected to announce major policies and the reshuffling of senior party officials during the event. But Friday’s speech showed few signs of a dramatic change.

Instead, the North Korean leader laid out a series of accomplishments that he has made since he took power in late 2011.

Kim also praised the success of so called “70-day battle,” a short-term economic campaign for maximizing industrial and construction output with limited time and resources. Since late February, the North’s state media has enhanced coverage of the campaign.

Officials

The young leader was flanked by Kim Yong Nam and Hwang Pyong So.

Kim Yong Nam is president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the country’s nominal head of state. Some South Korean news organizations speculated he could be ousted after the congress.

Hwang, who holds the rank of vice marshal in the North Korean army, heads its General Political Bureau, a position considered as the most powerful in the military after Kim Jong Un.

​However, some analysts in Seoul, however, cautioned it was too early to judge the outcome of the gathering, noting the event’s agenda still remains unclear. The gathering is expected to end Monday.

The last party congress in North Korea was held when Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, was president. The current leader’s father, Kim Jong Il, who rarely spoke in public, did not hold a party convention.

Preparation for the congress involved mobilizing the entire country in a 70-day campaign of intensified productivity and cleaning up the capital city.