North Korea to Hold 8th National Veterans Conference in Pyongyang on 26th... Kim Jong Un Absent

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] North Korea held the National Veterans' Meeting in Pyongyang for the third consecutive year to mark the 69th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice Agreement, which it calls 'Victory Day.' Initially, it was expected that Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party, would make strong remarks such as nuclear tests, but he did not attend the meeting on that day.

On the 27th, the Korean Central News Agency and Rodong Sinmun reported, "On the occasion of the eternal Victory Day of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the 8th National Veterans' Meeting was held on July 26 in the capital Pyongyang amid the profound respect and enthusiastic congratulations of the entire country's people."

They introduced that attendees included Premier Kim Deok-hoon of the Cabinet and Standing Members of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party such as Jo Yong-won, Choe Ryong-hae, Pak Jong-chon, and Ri Pyong-chol, who were on the presidium, while noting that the General Secretary did not attend the event.

The Victory Day commemorative veterans' meeting in North Korea was first held on the 40th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement in 1993, during the de facto rule of Kim Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission. Since then, under the rule of Kim Jong-un, it has been held on the 59th anniversary (2012), 60th anniversary (2013), 62nd anniversary (2015), 65th anniversary (2018), 67th anniversary (2020), and last year's 68th anniversary, making this year the third consecutive year it has been held.

Out of the total eight veterans' meetings, seven have been held since Kim Jong-un's rule. Among them, Kim Jong-un attended and gave direct speeches at the meetings in 2015, 2020, and last year.

Since the veterans' meeting is held at a time when North Korea has completed preparations for the 7th nuclear test, there had been speculation that Kim Jong-un would deliver related messages.

News of General Secretary Kim's public activities has not been reported for 19 days as of the report date, following the news on the 9th that he took commemorative photos with participants of a special training session for cadres in the Party Life Guidance Department of the Organization Department of the Party Committees at all levels of the Workers' Party.

Meanwhile, along with the news of the veterans' meeting, the news agency also reported a 'congratulatory message' sent to the veterans in the name of the 'Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.