North Korea kicked off a once-in-a-generation congress on Friday in a bid to confirm the absolute power of leader Kim Jong-un and to show unity before a possible nuclear test in the coming weeks.
Kim, the third in his family line to rule the belligerent state with an iron fist, is expected to kick off the 7th Congress of the Workers’ party with a speech that will be closely watched for signs of a change in attitude in the upper echelons of power in the unpredictable east Asian nation.
Human Rights Watch, the non-governmental advocacy organisation, said that “Kim is expected to solidify his power and formally announce his policies for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” at the congress.
“Kim Jong-un talks a lot about improving the lives of North Koreans, but we’ll only know if he’s serious if he takes action to end human rights abuses,” Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at HRW, said. “But I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.”
At the last congress, held in October 1980, the then-ruling Kim Il-sung elevated his son Kim Jong-il to number two in the party, cementing the family dynasty that has lasted to this day.
At that time, the Berlin Wall was nine years away from falling, Margaret Thatcher was a year into her prime ministership and Jimmy Carter still president of the US.
This time, the agenda of the event remains under wraps, though there are few signs of a dramatic change in the direction of the nation.
Under Kim Jong-un, North Korea has embarked on a policy known as “byungjin” — developing nuclear weapons alongside the economy.
There is widespread speculation that new nuclear test could take place during congress, as a display of strength to the people during an event that some are calling a “coronation” for Kim.
Kim took over North Korea after his father Kim Jong-il died in December 2011. Since then, the country has conduced two nuclear tests and two satellite launches — largely derided as thinly veiled ballistic missile tests — in defiance of international pressure.
“Regardless of whether someone recognises it or not, our status as a nuclear state that is armed with H-bombs cannot change,” Pyongyang’s committee for the peaceful reunification of Korea said hours before congress was set to begin.
In recent years, North Koreans have endured suffering under a regime that has defied global demands to end its nuclear program and move closer to the international community.
In the process, however, the government in Pyongyang has lost some control of the economy, and a black market has in recent years prevented humanitarian crises on the scale of 1994-98 famine from occurring.
It is unknown how long congress will last, but the previous event in 1980 ran for five days.
