North Korea to elect new leaders in Sept

North Korea announced Saturday that it would hold a ruling Workers' Party (WPK) meeting in September to elect new leaders.

According to the North's Korean Central News Agency, the move reflects "the new requirements of the WPK."

Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Dongguk University, told AFP that the conference will be the most important party event since 1980, and "there will be an important reshuffle of the party's official posts aimed at preparing for an eventual succession."

Lü Chao, a researcher on Korean Studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that "the conference will have enormous political significance amid the mounting tension between the two Koreas."

"It is not only to help consolidate Pyongyang's current leadership system and set the stage for future government, but also to safeguard its political situation in the long term," he added.

North Korea held a large-scale assembly Friday on Kim Il-sung Square to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (1950-53).

Agencies - Global Times