North Korea kicks off key party congress

SEOUL, February 20 (AJP) - North Korea has kicked off its massive party gathering, state media reported on Friday.

According to the state-run [North] Korean Central News Agency, the ninth congress of the Workers' Party "opened with splendour" in Pyongyang the previous day.

In his opening address, its leader Kim Jong-un said he is "full of optimism and confidence about the future," comparing this year's gathering with the previous one five years ago, which convened "with the faith, will and resolution to tide over the worst situation facing the revolution by our own efforts and open a new era of progress and development without fail."

North Korea "has also irreversibly solidified the country's status externally, bringing about a massive change in the global political order and relations affecting our country," Kim was quoted as saying, apparently referring to the country's pursuit of status as a nuclear-armed state.

But Kim devoted most of his speech to highlighting economic issues and outlining tasks to improve "the people's living standards" through mid- and long-term plans aimed at achieving a "rural revolution."

The rare gathering, which typically runs several days, brought together about 5,000 party members and other representatives from across the country this year, who will review the past five years and set the direction for domestic and foreign policy over the next five years.