On Friday, the DPRK opened the first congress of its ruling party in more than three decades. Appearing before thousands of delegates, the young leader, Kim Jong Un, praised his country's nuclear achievements and said the DPRK would adhere to the ruling ideology of his predecessors-his father and grandfather.
United in support for their leader- the first Worker's Party Congress in nearly 40 years and the first under the leadership of 33-year-old Kim Jong Un. He emphasized he was the continuation of his grandfather's and father's rule.
"The Party Congress will be a historic opportunity, marking a new milestone in a struggle for consolidating and developing glorious party adhered to the ideology of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il as well as completing the great achievements of socialism," he said.
Ignoring the threat of sanctions for their illegal nuclear weapons program, the DPRK's three-thousand assembled officials applauded as the leader celebrated recent tests and rocket launches -and the DPRK's Marxist nationalist political system known as Juche Joson.
"In this year of the 7th Party Congress, the military and the people accomplished the great success in the first hydrogen bomb test and the launch of an earth observation satellite, (Kwangmyongsong-4) to brilliantly illuminate the prowess of Juche Joson. With a 70-day campaign of intensified productivity, great achievements in developing the socialism have been created and unprecedented results have been accomplished," he said.
The world had been hoping for more conciliatory remarks. China, the DPRK's neighbor, said as the congress opened that Pyongyang should focus on development rather than acquiring nuclear weapons.
"DPRK is at an important stage of its national development. We hope DPRK can realize the country's development and the people can be happy. We also hope that the country can listen to the voices from the international community to jointly protect the sustainable peace and stability in the region of north-eastern Asia," said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei.
