By Kim Se-jeong
North Korea appears to have postponed a meeting of its ruling Workers’ Party due to internal problems, Minister of Unification Hyun In-taek said Wednesday.
It had been widely speculated that the meeting, which would have been the biggest political gathering in the communist state in decades, could take place earlier in the day.
“It’s apparent that the party meeting has not been held yet,” Hyun told reporters. “We don’t exactly know why, but presume that internal problems caused a delay.”
Quoting anonymous sources from North Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported that the authorities there had informed international organizations operating in Pyongyang that the meeting would be delayed due to recent flooding.
“It appears that the flood damage had a severe effect on public opinion toward the regime, and North Korea decided to appease the public first before holding a political gathering. No information is available on when it will convene,” the report said.
But popular speculation on the conference’s delay was Kim Jong-il’s health, which has worsened after his clandestine trip to China, observers said.
The delay of the meeting is bound to generate a deluge of guesswork in the outside world about Kim’s health, amid speculation that he was going to use it to transfer power to his third son, Jong-un, they added.
The extraordinary interest in the party conference comes from the expectation that Jong-un will make his debut in North Korean politics, laying the foundation for a father-to-son succession.
A European diplomat based in Korea also hinted that a delay had always been on the cards.
Coming back from a three-day visit to Pyongyang last week, he told The Korea Times, ``Everybody knew the meeting scheduled for Sept. 6 to 8 would be delayed, but didn’t know until when.”
Asked whether he had any problem entering the country, he said, “I didn’t have any problems. I guess they already knew that the conference would be postponed.” In North Korea, visits by foreigners are suspended during political meetings.
The conference may not take place for another week-and-a-half because Pyongyang is opening a week-long international film festival Friday.
Yang Moo-jin from the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told Yonhap that the next possible date for the conference would be Oct. 10, when the party will celebrate the 65th anniversary of its founding.
skim@koreatimes.co.kr