As its "70-day campaign of loyalty" wraps up, North Korea on Friday will hold its first Workers' Party Congress in nearly 40 years, with young Kim Jong Un looking to cement his position as the country's supreme leader — showing his people and the world who's in charge.
The congress was last convened 36 years ago, when Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and grandfather of the current leader, held power. Only seven have taken place since 1946.
While nations overseas may be watching for a shift of focus from missile silos to grain silos, the congress is expected to focus firmly on Kim himself, burnishing his credentials and his signature "byungjin" policy of simultaneously pursuing economic development and nuclear weapons.