PYONGYANG (AFP) -
North
Korea's first ruling party congress since 1980 moved into a second day
Saturday, after leader Kim Jong-Un opened with a defiant defence of his
nuclear weapons programme and amid fresh signs Pyongyang is readying a
fifth nuclear test.
The once-in-a-generation gathering of the
country's top decision-making body is being scrutinised for signs of any
substantive policy change or major reshuffle in the isolated state's
ruling elite.
In his opening address on Friday, the 33-year-old
Kim, dressed in a western-style suit and tie, hailed the "magnificent
... and thrilling" nuclear test carried out on January 6, which
Pyongyang claimed was of a powerful hydrogen bomb.
The test and
long-range rocket launch that followed a month later had "smashed the
hostile forces' vicious manoeuvres geared to sanctions and
strangulation, and displayed to the world the indomitable spirit, daring
grit and inexhaustible strength of heroic Korea," Kim said.
North
Korea has conducted a total of four nuclear tests, two of them since
Kim came to power in late 2011 following the death of his father and
former leader Kim Jong-Il.
Speculation that the North might be
readying a fifth test, in defiance of toughened UN sanctions, was
fuelled Saturday by recent satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri nuclear
test site in the northeast of the country.
- New nuclear test? -
Analysts
at the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said the presence
of vehicles at the complex's test command centre signalled the
possibility of a test "in the near future".
"While the historical
record is incomplete, it appears that vehicles are not often seen there
except during preparations for a test," they said.
Most experts
have doubted the North's H-bomb claim, saying the detected yield from
the January test was far too low for a full-fledged thermonuclear
device.
However, they acknowledge the strides the North has made
under Kim Jong-Un towards its ultimate goal of developing an
inter-continental ballistic missile capable of striking targets across
the US mainland.
Reacting to Kim's speech, Washington urged North
Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions altogether and rejoin the
international community.
"We obviously are aware of the risk that
is posed by North Korea's effort to develop nuclear weapons and systems
capable of delivering those nuclear weapons," said White House
spokesman Josh Earnest.
"There is a path .... North Korea can take
to come out of the wilderness. But it will require them renouncing
nuclear weapons," he added.
- Kim 'coronation' -
The ongoing
party congress is widely seen as Kim Jong-Un's formal "coronation" and
recognition of his status as the legitimate inheritor of the Kim
family's dynastic rule which spans almost seven decades.
Giant
portraits of his father and his grandfather -- founding leader Kim
Il-Sung -- dominated the backdrop to the podium where he made his
opening speech.
The congress agenda, published for the first time
on Friday, included an item on electing Kim to the "top post" of the
Workers' Party.
Kim is currently first party secretary, but may take on the post of party general secretary, a position held by his late father.
Other items on the agenda included revising party rules and elections to central party organs.
Since
taking power, Kim has shown a ruthless streak, purging the party,
government and powerful military of those seen as disloyal, and ordering
the execution of his powerful uncle, and one-time political mentor,
Jang Song-Thaek.
The congress will elect its central committee
which will in turn select a politburo, with Kim expected to bring in a
younger generation of leaders hand-picked for their loyalty.
The
conclave may also enshrine as formal party doctrine Kim's "byungjin"
policy of pursuing nuclear weapons in tandem with economic development.
Some
analysts have suggested Kim might signal a shift in emphasis towards
the economy and, in his speech, he mentioned the beginning of a new
"leap forward" but offered no specific details.
by Simon Martin
© 2016 AFP
