According to Yonhap:
North Korea stressed on Tuesday the historical importance of its upcoming meeting of core ruling party delegates, urging the younger generation of party members to be as loyal to the leadership as their predecessors.
In September, the communist state will hold its first meeting of senior Workers’ Party delegates in 44 years, a move that observers say may be aimed at paving the ground for leader Kim Jong-il to transfer his power to his third son, Jong-un.
Kim, 68, made his first public appearance in a 1980 convention, considered to be more authoritative, and sealed himself as the successor to his father, Kim Il-sung, who founded the North and died in 1994.
In an editorial seen here on Tuesday, the Rodong Sinmun, the party’s daily, heaped praise on party members who died loyal to the founder and called on new members to “follow suit.”
The paper, considered to be Pyongyang’s main mouthpiece, also described the September meeting as one that will “shine as a notable event in the history of the holy Workers’ Party.”
Late last month, the paper said that the party will expand its role and function through the meeting, stressing the importance of the central party organ that had once served as a venue for Kim Jong-il to rise up the power ladder when he was young.
Kim is believed to be quickening his power transfer after suffering a stroke two years ago. Earlier this year, North Korea promoted Kim’s brother-in-law as a vice head of the National Defense Commission, the highest seat of power. Jang Song-thaek is believed to be the central figure behind the succession process.
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N. Korea says upcoming party meeting will be historic
Yonhap
Sam Kim
7/13/2010
Friends, I don’t understand something. Is this meeting is the same as the party congress or a separate one. If this is the same, it means this meeting is not the first, because this will be the 3rd party congress. If this is a separate one, it can be ‘historical’.