Anchor: Some three-thousand members of the North Korean ruling party elected Kim Jong-un as the party chairman, culminating the first Workers' Party congress held in 36 years. The new highest position given to Kim restores a similar title created by Kim Il-sung, his grandfather and founder of North Korea, some 67 years ago.
As our Kim Bum-soo reports, North Korea experts say that the rare party congress was a coronation, marking the completion of a three-generation power succession.
 
Report: The Workers’ Party of Korea(WPK) finished its four-day congress in Pyongyang, reviving the chairman position once held by North Korean founder Kim Il-sung for his grandson.

The North’s state-run Korean Central Television on Monday night aired a recording of the seventh party congress, showing Kim Jong-un speaking after being unanimously elected as the "Chairman of the Workers' Party."

[Sound bite: N. Korean leader Kim Jong-un (May. 9 / KCTV)]
“I heartily accept the highest trust and hopes thrust upon me by the peoples’ representatives, party members, the peoples’ army and citizens by naming me to be the Committee Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea." 

An official at Seoul's Unification Ministry explained that the position stems from the "Chairman of the Central Committee of the WPK," held by North Korean founder and Kim's grandfather Kim Il-sung after the 1949 merger of the Workers' parties of the North and the South.
 
The young North Korean leader had so far been working under the title of the "First Secretary of the WPK."
 
North Korea experts like Professor Nam Sung-wook of Korea University say the North held its first ruling party congress in 36 years for a coronation, officially wrapping up the third-generation power succession.

[Sound bite: Prof. Nam Sung-wook – Korea University (Korean)]
“North Korea detained and expelled a foreign reporter for filing articles that it does not like. The party congress focused on a coronation to put a crown on Kim Jong-un’s head shows that North Korea still is in a different world.”
“North Korea will from now focus on boasting the new, third successive leader’s reign.”

At the party gathering, the North also reelected Kim, Kim Yong-nam and Hwang Pyong-so as standing members of the WPK central committee politburo.

Premier Pak Pong-ju and Party Secretary Choe Ryong-hae were newly chosen as the politburo standing members. Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong and 18 others were added to the politburo.

As the Workers' Party congress wrapped up, North Korea held a massive rally with around 100-thousand people in the capital city to celebrate Kim's assumption of the party chairmanship.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.