Monday, December 14, 2015

Fading loyalty may explain leader's penchant for pomp

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TOKYO -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's decision to call the first party congress in nearly 36 years is stirring speculation about what he is up to.

The ruling Workers' Party on Oct. 30 announced that it will hold the convention in early May. The gathering, the party statement said, will present a new "strategic line" for building a "thriving socialist nation," and will galvanize the party, army and people into launching a "general offensive" toward that goal.
The announcement came less than a month after the regime staged a massive military parade to commemorate the party's 70th anniversary. Pyongyang watchers are mulling the meaning of Kim's penchant for big events.  

During the era of Kim Il Sung -- the Stalinist nation's founding father and Kim Jong Un's grandfather -- the Workers' Party held a congress every 10 years or so. Officials would make decisions concerning long-term policy goals and economic plans.

The sixth party congress was held in October 1980. Kim Jong Il, the current leader's father, who was in his late 30s at the time, was made general secretary. This effectively anointed him the heir to Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994.

Kim Jong Il refrained from calling a single congress. This, according to one North Korea expert, was because he was focused on enhancing the role of the Korean People's Army under his "military first" policy. A congress would have put the party in the decision-making driver's seat.

But why is Kim Jong Un, who inherited power following his father's death in December 2011, taking a different approach?

In its Japanese-language edition, South Korea's Joongang Daily newspaper suggested that Kim Jong Un will use the congress to show his own "colors" and lay out specific policy goals. Many experts say that since he became supreme leader, the young Kim has been shifting power back toward the party.

At the convention, Kim may take the opportunity to announce reforms of the party organization and a major personnel reshuffle, in an effort to strengthen the party's influence and promote a generational transition.

Still, there may be more to his motivations.

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