In this Oct. 10, 2015 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un salutes at a parade in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea鈥檚 ruling party says it will hold its biggest convention in decades next May. The Workers鈥� Party said Friday, Oct. 30, 2015 its 7th congress will be convened as it鈥檚 faced with 鈥渢he heavy yet sacred task鈥� of build a thriving nation. But it didn鈥檛 elaborate on what the party鈥檚 highest-level body will determine. AP Photo File
SEOUL, South Korea鈥擭orth Korea announced Friday it would convene a congress of its ruling Workers鈥� Party for the first time in 35 years, reviving a forum last gathered under the rule of current leader Kim Jong-Un鈥檚 grandfather, Kim Il-Sung.
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The congress鈥攐nly the seventh since the official founding of the party in 1945鈥攚ill be held in May next year, the party central committee鈥檚 politburo said in a statement carried by the North鈥檚 official KCNA news agency.
The statement gave no specific indication of what the congress would discuss, although it mentioned the need to 鈥渇urther strengthen the party鈥� and enhance its leading role.鈥�
Observers said it would provide an opportunity to signal any significant policy shifts or reshuffle the party leadership.
The last congress was held way back in October 1980 under North Korea鈥檚 founding leader鈥攁nd party supremo鈥擪im Il-Sung.
Kim Il-Sung鈥檚 son and successor Kim Jong-Il never called a congress and next year鈥檚 gathering will also be the first for third generation Kim dynasty leader Kim Jong-Un.
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The decision is clearly partly attributable to the fact that this year is the 70th anniversary of the ruling party鈥檚 founding鈥攁 milestone marked with a massive military parade and multiple celebrations in Pyongyang earlier this month.
The Worker鈥檚 Party was originally conceived, under Soviet patronage, as a classic communist entity guided by Marxist-Leninist ideology.
But as the leadership of Kim Il-Sung spawned a personality cult that went into overdrive in the late 1960s, it was redefined as the party of the leader, and has remained so ever since.
After Kim Il-Sung鈥檚 death in 1994, Kim Jong-Il instituted a 鈥渕ilitary first鈥� policy that saw a shift in influence from party officials to the generals.
When Kim Jong-Un, took over following his father鈥檚 death in 2011, the party regained some lost ground as he replaced scores of powerful military commanders and forged alliances with influential party officials.