N. Korea holds children's union congress for first time in five years: state media

Delegates of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) under North Korea's ruling Workers' Party arrive in Pyongyang from across the nation to attend the 9th KCU Congress, in this photo released by the North's Korean Central News Agency, Dec. 20. Yonhap

North Korea publicly called for loyalty to its leader Kim Jong-un as it convened a congress of a major children's group in Pyongyang for the first time in five years, according to its state media Monday.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, said the members of the Korean Children's Union (KCU) participating in the 9th Congress received certificates of delegation Sunday. The North appears to have kicked off the event given that the certificates have been handed out to the members that arrived in the capital Tuesday.

In another article, the paper called on children to show their loyalty to Kim, saying, "No other children in the world enjoy happiness" as much as the KCU and continue the "bloodline of the revolution."

The KCU, formed in 1946, is a youth organization composed of children aged around 7 to 13. Its members are known for wearing red neckerchiefs.

The latest KCU meeting marks the third of its kind since Kim took power in 2011. Kim took part in both the 7th Congress in 2013 and the 8th in June 2017.

Whether Kim's publicly revealed daughter, presumed to be his second child Ju-ae, will attend the event is one of the major points of attention, according to observers.

The North revealed Kim's daughter for the first time last month as it test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on Nov. 18. (Yonhap)