North Korea Prepares Party Congress
Bloomberg reports:
North Korea is preparing its biggest political gathering in 30 years, drawing parallels with the 1980 summit that ensured Kim Jong Il’s succession amid speculation he will transfer power to his youngest son.
Delegates from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea held meetings in the past week ahead of the congress to pledge loyalty to Kim, according to reports published by the official Korean Central News Agency. Troops and tanks have been deployed near Pyongyang to plan military parades to mark the party gathering, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Aug. 24.
Kim, 68, last week made his second trip this year to China in what analysts said was an effort to win the endorsement of his closest ally for a power transfer to his son, Kim Jong Un. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lauded the congress as “a political event of great significance,” KCNA reported yesterday.
“The fact that Kim has visited China twice this year and so shortly before the meeting indicates that he has sought support for his upcoming decisions,” said Rudiger Frank, professor of East Asian Economy and Society at the University of Vienna. “These will have to do with succession, both directly and indirectly, as this is the most pressing issue for North Korean domestic politics at the moment.”
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