N. Korea to hold 1st party congress in 36 years on May 6

North Korea's official media reported the opening date, announced a day before by the party's Political Bureau of the Central Committee, but did not say until when the rare political event will take place in Pyongyang.
The congress, the seventh of its kind, is expected to offer Kim an opportunity to play up his achievements since taking power in late 2011 and serve as a stage for him to further consolidate his power.
In the months and weeks leading to the convention, North Korea has raised international tensions by carrying out tests of nuclear and missile technologies and put out a string of belligerent statements.
Countries including Japan, South Korea and the United States have been on the alert for a fifth nuclear test and more missile launches by North Korea before the key event, which was last held in October 1980, under the rule of Kim Il Sung, state founder and grandfather of the current leader.
"We cannot deny the possibility of additional provocative actions in the run-up to the party congress," Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters in Tokyo.
South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon Hee said the congress is expected to last four to five days.
"We always watch carefully (the situation) and prepare thoroughly" for another nuclear test, he told a regular press briefing in Seoul.
In late October, North Korea unveiled its plan to hold the congress, the party's highest-level guidance body, in early May, but did not provide the starting date.
At the previous five-day party gathering, Kim Jong Il, the current leader's father, appeared in public for the first time and emerged as the successor to his own father.
During the upcoming congress, outside observers predict the youngest Kim, in his fifth year in power following the death of his father, will underscore, among other points, that his so-called byungjin policy of simultaneously pursuing the development of nuclear arms and improving the nation's economy has been a great success.
This will likely be trumpeted by Kim despite the global condemnation that has been heaped on his nuclear and missile programs.
At the start of this year, North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test followed by a rocket launch one month later. The two acts, both in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, led the world body to impose its toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea last month.
While being under intense pressure from the international community, North Korea started waging a nationwide "70-day campaign of loyalty" in February to prepare for the congress, pressing its people to work harder and increase productivity.
Since mid-April, delegates and observers have been picked from across the nation to attend the convention, while Kim, presumed to be 33 years old, has been selected as the representative of the military and provinces.
The meeting, which will likely be attended by thousands of delegates, has been receiving much attention, with focus on whether Kim will also announce a fresh lineup of senior officials or any change in the country's major policies.
For the previous gathering of the party, which held its first congress in 1946, political leaders and delegates from 118 countries traveled to Pyongyang. However, the participation of any foreign guests this time has yet to be confirmed.
For the 1980 congress, North Korea's only major ally China sent Li Xiannian, then vice chairman of the Communist Party.
On Wednesday, China's Foreign Ministry suggested that there would be no high-ranking official from Beijing attending next month's major political event in Pyongyang.
Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the ministry, dodged questions about how China might be represented at the event, saying coolly that it is an "important event for the Korean party, its people and their politics and lives. We hope it will go successfully."
Along with other major countries, China has also been irked by North Korea's dogged pursuit of nuclear weapons in recent years.