Situation in North Korea

North Korea's Kim Jong-Un re-elected as party leader

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been re-elected as general secretary of the Workers' Party that governs the country. This is reported by several media outlets, citing the state news agency KCNA.

All of the approximately 5,000 delegates at the party's congress supported the decision, as expected. In his opening speech at the congress on Friday, Kim said that North Korea has overcome "the worst difficulties" and is now entering an era of "optimism and confidence," writes TT. 

Designated successor has not been seen

Recently, increasingly persistent rumors have claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has appointed his 13-year-old daughter Ju Ae as his successor. But during the Workers' Party congress that began on Friday, she has not yet been seen, Reuters reports.

Nor have there been any signs of major changes in the political lines. Instead, the focus has been on the party's claim to have brought the country out of an economic crisis. Kim Yong-Un, who was re-elected as party leader yesterday as planned, has however promised in advance that the "next phase" of the country's nuclear weapons program will be announced during the congress, writes AFP.