PYONGYANG – North Korean strongman Kim Jong-Un cemented control over his ruling Workers’ Party on Monday with a new role seen as a coronation for the young leader.
Thousands of delegates, many in uniform, clapped and cheered enthusiastically as the country’s official head of state, Kim Yong-Nam, proclaimed him chairman at the first top-level meeting of the party for 36 years.
Kim – the third generation of the dynasty that has ruled the country since its founding in 1948 – was previously first secretary of the party. The appointment will further bolster his authority at a congress seen as a coronation of sorts for the young leader, who came to power in December 2011 after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il.
Kim Jong-Il has been designated eternal party general secretary. The current leader’s grandfather and the country’s founding leader, Kim Il-Sung, remains eternal president of the nation despite having died in 1994.