North Korea opens key party meeting

As North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il prepares to hand power to his youngest son, Pyongyang opens the country’s biggest meeting of the ruling Workers Party in 30 years.

The meeting comes as speculation is mounting that the North Korean leader’s successor will be Kim Jong-un.

Kim earlier promoted his son to the rank of four-star general along with five other people including his sister.

Despite his visibly fragile health, the party has also renamed Kim Jong-Il as its general secretary.

“His re-election is an expression of absolute support and trust of all the party members, the servicepersons and the people,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The North’s nuclear program and tension on the troubled Korean peninsula have resulted in the potential succession of Jong-un being closely watched.

Many consider the 27-year-old Jong-un, whose name has appeared in the media for the first time, as still too young and inexperienced to replace his father.