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

The congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, which is expected to run for about four days, is intended to further consolidate and centralize Kim's monolithic leadership.
It comes as tensions remain high over North Korea's enthusiastic pursuit of nuclear and missile technologies.
While the convention, the first since October 1980, could roll out economic reforms and a reshuffle of the party's top ranks, many observers outside North Korea think Kim is unlikely to give up his nuclear ambitions.
Instead, the leader is widely expected to underline his conviction that the "Byungjin Line" -- his signature policy of seeking the development of nuclear weapons and the country's economy in parallel -- has been a great success since it was adopted as national policy in 2013.
Kim is likely to say that North Korea has steadily advanced in building a strong and prosperous country, thanks to the sweat and blood of party officials and people from all walks of life.
Until just days before the congress, North Korea mobilized people across the country for a "70-day campaign of loyalty," under which they were pressed to work even harder than usual to boost productivity.
In the weeks and months leading up to the once-in-a-generation event, North Korea also carried out a spate of missile and other weapons tests.
Even after the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted its toughest-ever sanctions on North Korea in March, the tests, including those aimed at improving the ability to make nuclear warheads small enough to fit on long-range ballistic missiles, continued, some successfully and some ending in failure.
The U.N. sanctions, also backed by China, North Korea's only major ally and dominant trading partner, were in response to Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test at the beginning of this year and the launch of a long-range rocket using banned missile technology a month later.
North Korea has said it needs a nuclear deterrent to protect itself from hostility and military threats from the United States, and this long-held position will most likely be repeated by Kim, presumed to be 33 years old, who now heads the party founded in 1946.
Speculation is rife that Kim could use the political event to raise North Korea's profile as a nuclear-armed state.
What is more certain is Kim's attempt to elevate the status of the ruling party and restore the overwhelming influence it had under North Korea's first leader, Kim Il Sung, his grandfather.
During the rule of Kim Jong Il, the third-generation leader's father, "Songun," or military-first, policy was promoted and many senior officials of the current regime were originally from that era.
Since inheriting power following the death of his father in late 2011, the younger Kim has pledged to lift the living standards of North Korean people. He may outline economic plans in his speech and some of his close aides will likely be replaced with younger officials.
For the congress, the seventh of its kind, major streets in North Korea's capital, where a new district dedicated to scientists and tens of new buildings have sprung up in recent years, are ornamented with signs extolling Kim's regime.
The April 25 House of Culture, a convention center where the rare assembly will take place, and other central locations are also decorated with red flags of the party.
Security and surveillance are tight, but North Korea, one of the world's most closed-off countries, has allowed more than 100 foreign journalists to enter and report on the party event.
All of the six previous meetings were held when Kim Il Sung, the country's founder, who died in 1994 at the age of 82, was in power.
During the 1980 congress, the highest decision-making body of the party, Kim Jong Il appeared in public for the first time and was identified as the successor to the state founder. That event was attended by 177 representatives from 118 countries, including China, Guinea, Japan, Romania, Spain, the Soviet Union and Zimbabwe.
However, this time, the participation of any foreign delegations has yet to be confirmed.