PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has praised the legacy of the country’s ruling party ahead of Friday’s 80th anniversary of its founding.
Delegations from China, Russia and Vietnam have arrived in Pyongyang to attend the Workers’ Party of Korea anniversary celebrations.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang was met by an honour guard at Pyongyang’s airport and emphasised the profound traditional friendship between China and North Korea.
Vietnam’s Communist Party chief To Lam attended a welcome ceremony at a Pyongyang sports centre in the first visit by a Vietnamese leader to North Korea in nearly 20 years.
Russian former President Dmitry Medvedev is visiting with a delegation that includes Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov and the governor of the Kursk region.
Kim visited the Party Founding Museum in Pyongyang on Wednesday with senior party officials and delivered what state media called a significant speech.
The North Korean leader paid tribute to his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung and anti-Japanese fighters for laying a solid cornerstone for the party’s enduring strength.
Reflecting on eight decades of party history, Kim said it was time for the current generation to renew its understanding of revolutionary obligations and duties.
Kim pledged to preserve the party’s ideological purity and vitality without decrepitude and discolouration, calling the Party Founding Museum a sacred sanctuary representing the party’s tradition.
Last month, the North Korean leader stood alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a massive military parade in Beijing.
Nuclear-armed North Korea has not yet confirmed whether a military parade will take place to mark this week’s holiday.
South Korean officials said there were signs that Pyongyang will stage a military parade to commemorate the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea. – Reuters