Kim Jong-un is once again making it pretty clear to the rest of the world that he has no intention to ever denuclearize:
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country will not use nuclear weapons as long as the country’s sovereignty is not threatened and called his regime “a responsible nuclear state” at the seventh congress of the Workers’ Party in Pyongyang.
“Our republic will not use a nuclear weapon unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes,” Kim was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Sunday. Kim made the remark in a report on the achievements of the Workers’ Party during the congress. KCNA didn’t specify whether Kim made the remark on Friday or Saturday.
It was considered a clear rebuff to calls from the international community that he drops North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
This image taken of the North’s Shinpo Shipyard on April 29, 2016, six days after the North’s latest submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test, shows that a submersible missile test stand barge has been moved from its normal position, in this photo provided by the website 38 North and Airbus Defense and Space. (Yonhap)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed the country’s nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year as a success in his opening address at its first party congress in nearly four decades.
Clad in a black western-style suit and tie, Kim called the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) congress, which kicked off on Friday, a “historic landmark” for the country, according to footage aired by the communist country’s state-run TV station.
The seventh party congress, the first in 36 years, was held as the U.N. Security Council slapped tougher sanctions on Pyongyang in March over its January nuclear test and long-range rocket launch in February.
“This year, our military and people successfully carried out the first hydrogen bomb test and launched a satellite (into orbit), boosting the country’s dignity and national power,” Kim said in an opening speech, flanked by his key aides.
The party gathering is the first of its kind since October 1980 and also the first under the current leader, who assumed power in late 2011 following the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong-il. [Yonhap]
In the totally unsurprising news of the day, North Korea has nursery schools that promote the use of rifles, RPGs and hand grenades to its toddlers:
We foreign journalists were supposed to be marveling at the model farm on the outskirts of the North Korean capital – a 1,200-worker-strong vegetable commune with lots of amenities for the fieldhands, including homes equipped with solar power panels and solar water heaters. And I did manage an odd appreciation for the huge mosaic in the parking lot, depicting North Korean founding father Kil Il Sung gazing beatifically across a field of cabbages.
But when our government minders brought us reporters into the Changchon farm community’s nursery school, my brain got a little fixated on the wall art: Just past a painting of children skipping hand-in-hand beneath large letters saying “We Are Happy!” were some fratricidal forest friends.
First to catch my eye was a duck firing a machine gun at a wolf. Then I noticed the squirrel with hand grenades taking out a cowering weasel, with backup provided by a hedgehog with a RPG launcher. I suppose in a country that has long followed a policy of songun, or “military first,” the powers-that-be figure it’s never too early to let the youngsters know what’s what. [LA Times]
Here is what the kids are watching, this sounds better than Pororo!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuXJBJWR36Y
“Squirrel and Hedgehog,” my guides informed me, is as familiar to and beloved by North Korean kids as any Disney toon is to Yankee tots. Produced by state-run SEK Studios, the long-running animated TV show centers on the inhabitants of a make-believe place called Flower Hill, which is populated by squirrels, hedgehogs, and ducks.
The squirrels are the leaders, while the hedgehogs are the soldiers. Ducks are, duh, the navy. As you might guess, this squadron represents North Korea. The Flower Hill gang must contend with evil weasels (Japan) and wolves (the United States), while occasionally dealing with friendly but drunk bears (Russia).
“It’s a classic,” my guide, Ms. Hwang, informed me. “Everyone knows Squirrel and Hedgehog.”
Kim Jong-un’s big political convention in North Korea has begun, hopefully for the attendees no one gets dragged off and executed before it is over:
North Koreans with umbrellas walk near the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang on May 6, 2016, where the congress by the Workers’ Party of Korea is being held, in this photo released by the Associated Press. (For Use in S. Korea Only & No Redistribution) (Yonhap)
North Korea kicked off its rare party congress at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, the first in 36 years, according to foreign media reports. The North’s state media has yet to publish any reports on the gathering.
The event is the first party congress since October 1980 and also the first under the current leader, who assumed power in late 2011 following the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong-il.
“North Korea appears to seek to establish the socialist party-centered system and further consolidate the Kim Jong-un regime through the party congress,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman at Seoul’s unification ministry, said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.
The party congress, which may last for three to four days, starts with an opening speech by the North’s young leader, which will serve as a gauge for his policy directions. North Korea’s state media has not yet made public its leader’s keynote address.
Later in the day, the WPK’s central committee will hold a session to review accomplishments and discuss future plans. On the final day of the event, it is expected to elect new members to the party central committee. [Yonhap]
The rumor mill is circulating that Kim Jong-un is going to use his big political convention this week to promote his younger sister Kim Yo-jong to a higher level within the government. It makes sense for him considering she is trusted family and is female, thus no threat to replace him in male dominated North Korea:
Kim Yo-jong
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may promote his youngest sister to a ministerial-level post as he moves to consolidate power during the ruling party congress that begins Friday, experts say.
The 7th Workers’ Party Congress — the first in 36 years — is expected to last three days, It comes against the backdrop of rising international tensions after the North staged its fourth nuclear test in early January, followed by a long-range rocket launch and other attempted missile tests despite harsh new U.N. sanctions.
Kim has given little hint of what he plans for the congress. But the 33-year-old leader is expected to use the chance to put his stamp on power and extinguish doubts about his lack of experience and military credentials after inheriting power from his father, who died of a heart attack in late 2011.
North Korea watchers say one possibiluty would be promoting his youngest sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is one of his closest confidantes. [Stars & Stripes]
