(5th LD) N.K. leader hails nuke, missile tests as success at party congress

(ATTN: RECASTS dateline, lead; UPDATES with more info, photo throughout)

SEOUL, May 7 (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.

The political event is expected to serve as a key venue to highlight Kim's monolithic leadership at a time when he has strengthened his reign of terror by purging and executing party and military officials.

"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, will also serve as an occasion to reshuffle top officials and unveil his vision for the defense and economic sectors, experts said.

Tensions are running high as Pyongyang is threatening to detonate another nuclear device and carry out a ballistic missile test in defiance of the international community.

Since March, Pyongyang has fired off projectiles and ballistic missiles, warning that it is ready to carry out nuclear strikes against Seoul and Washington.

The North's leader has warned that his country is ready to conduct a nuclear warhead test and launch ballistic missiles "in a short time."

Pyongyang made three botched attempts to launch its Musudan intermediate-range missiles last month, a move which analysts say was aimed at building up the country's accomplishments in the run-up to the party congress.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday listed a set of the leaders' feats on its nuclear and missile programs including what it called the successful development of a small nuclear warhead which can be fitted onto a missile.

Experts said that at the congress Kim is expected to defend his signature policy of developing nuclear weapons in tandem with boosting its moribund economy, commonly known as the "byeongjin" policy.

"There is a possibility that North Korea could adjust or refine the byeongjin policy," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University.

Analysts said that the North may reaffirm the dual-track policy as the WPK's official party line.

The current leader's father Kim Jong-il advocated a military-first, or "songun," policy, highlighting the role of the military, but the young leader has shifted his focus to the WPK while promoting the byeongjin policy.

In the face of tougher sanctions and pressure, the North had been pressing its people to work harder under a "70-day campaign of loyalty" and forcing them to offer money to the regime ahead of the major party event.

"Ordinary North Koreans are increasingly expressing complaints as the regime's labor mobilization has hampered their economic activities," said a Seoul government official.

North Korea is known to have invited around 130 foreign journalists to Pyongyang for the party congress, but it did not allow them to go inside the convention center named the April 25 House of Culture to cover the event.

Pyongyang appears to be holding the event without the attendance of high-profile foreign guests, since countries including China are presumed to have shunned it as the U.N. sanctions take hold, according to a Seoul official.

A total of 177 delegates from 118 countries including China and Russia attended the sixth party congress decades earlier, South Korea's unification ministry said.

With the start of Kim's speech, the gathering will involve the party committees' lengthy sessions to review accomplishments and discuss future plans. On the final day of the event, it is expected to elect new members to the party's central committee.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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