Glimpse of world's largest 'political show' (photos)
A picture made available on May 6, 2016, shows military personnel posing for a photograph before the portrait of Kim Il-sung during the Immortal Flower Festival "Kimilsungia" in Pyongyang, North Korea, 13 April 2016. North Korea will hold the party congress of its ruling Korean Workers' Party for the first time in 36 years on May 6, 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
By Park Si-soo
North Korea kicked off Friday its first congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in 36 years, with scores of foreign journalists allowed to watch it up close.
The gathering is scheduled to continue until Sunday or Monday. Despite U.N. sanctions and pressure from China, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is expected to reaffirm his nuclear ambitions during the gathering.
Measures designed to tighten Kim’s grip on power are expected to be announced at the meeting, one of which would give more power to his younger sister Kim Yo-jong.
It also remains to be seen who else will be elevated (or fall) in the strict political hierarchy of the totalitarian state. Any change to its political landscape means a lot to its allies and foes alike.
The Korea Times selected photos taken in Pyongyang, the congress venue, in the lead-up to the event, through which you might be able to feel the tension and anxiety in the city and its people preparing for what foreign journalists there described as “the world’s largest political show.”
Visitors gather before the portrait of Kim Il-sung during the Immortal Flower Festival "Kimilsungia" in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 13, 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
Workers at a construction site in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 16, 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
Foreign journalists film the April 25 House of Culture, the venue for the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea has been duly spruced up, the masses prepped for their rallies and leader Kim Jong Un appears to be set to take center stage Friday when North Korea pulls back the curtain on what promises to be the country's biggest political show in years, if not decades: the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980. / AP-Yonhap
A North Korean man walks out of an underpass while seen framed by the Workers' Party flags, in front of the April 25 House of Culture, the venue for the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea has been duly spruced up, the masses prepped for their rallies and leader Kim Jong Un appears to be set to take center stage Friday when North Korea pulls back the curtain on what promises to be the country's biggest political show in years, if not decades: the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980. / AP-Yonhap
A girl walks in front of the April 25 House of Culture, venue of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) congress in Pyongyang, North Korea May 6, 2016. / Yonhap
A guide wearing a traditional dress at the Party Founding Museum in Pyongyang, North Korea, 14 April 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
Portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il-sung, left, and Kim Jong-il, right, are displayed on the side of a building in Pyongyang on May 5, 2016. / AFP-Yonhap
Mmebers of a Chinese delegation look at artwork in the lobby of the Yanggakdo hotel in Pyongyang on May 5, 2016. / AFP-Yonhap
North Koreans carry bouquets of decorative flowers as they wait at the Kim Il Sung Square on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea has been duly spruced up, the masses prepped for their rallies and leader Kim Jong Un appears to be set to take center stage Friday when North Korea pulls back the curtain on what promises to be the country's biggest political show in years, if not decades: the first full congress of its ruling party since 1980. / AP-Yonhap
A North Korean traffic police woman stands in front of Workers' Party flags decorating the streets on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. / AP-Yonhap
North Korean women sweep the roads on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. / AP-Yonhap
North Koreans carry bouquets of decorative flowers as they make their way towards the Kim Il Sung Square on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. / AP-Yonhap
Visitors gathering before the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea, 17 April 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
Women performing with flags in Pyongyang, North Korea, 17 April 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
A guide wearing a traditional dress standing next to the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea, 15 April 2016. / EPA-Yonhap
Foreign journalists are seen filming and reporting from across the April 25 House of Culture, the venue for the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, on Friday, May 6, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. / AP-Yonhap