N. Korea urges allegiance to Kim Jong-un ahead of youth congress

North Korea urged its young people to pledge allegiance to leader Kim Jong-un three days before a rare youth congress, a state-run daily said Tuesday, as the country moves to solidify its one-man rule through support from the youth.

In an editorial on Tuesday, North Korea's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun said the 9th Congress of the Kim Il-sung Youth League which opens on Friday is the start of a new history for young Korean heroes, claiming that "now is the most golden time for the youth movement."

The daily, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said that Kim Jong-un's belief in the youth is like a "fireball of affection" and added the heroic biography of Korean youth will continue endlessly.

North Korean Flag (Stock image) 123rf.

It will be the country's first congress for the youth league, which all North Koreans are required to join from ages 14 to 30, since February 1993. At that time the country was ruled by the incumbent leader's grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il-sung.

The youth group reportedly played a pivotal role in marshalling public support behind the founder’s son and successor, Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader.

North Korea watchers in Seoul said the newspaper's report is aimed at rallying support from younger generations to find a breakthrough to overcome severe international sanctions imposed on the North for its nuclear and missile tests this year.

"It is inevitable for Kim Jong-un to seek support from the young generation to solidify his political base," professor Kim Yong-hyun at Seoul's Dongguk University said.  (Yonhap)