North Korea puts on once-in-a-generation political event
Story highlights
- North Korea's biggest political event in 36 years has begun
- Thousands of party members pour into country's capital
- Speculation Kim Jong Un will move away from his father's "military first" ideology
(CNN)North Korea, one of the world's most secretive nations, is putting on its biggest political event in 36 years.
The 7th Congress of Workers' Party began Friday in Pyongyang, the nation's capital and biggest city.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the event will "lay out the brilliant blueprint that will advance the final victory of our revolution," according to the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
But the secrecy surrounding the event continues, even with the presence of more than 100 international media outlets.
About 3,000 party members have poured in for this once-in-a-generation political gathering, officials tell CNN.
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The congress will be held at a convention center called April 25 House of Culture. While the building also hosted the previous party congress in 1980, it was not officially announced as this year's venue until the day before the gathering.
There will be plenty of spectacle as thousands of costumed North Koreans will parade and perform choreography in this scrubbed-down metropolis.
Political pronouncements are likely, though nobody is sure what Kim has in mind.
The meeting, which was initially reported in October, is being convened to reflect "the demand of the party and the developing revolution," the official state Korean Central News Agency reports.