North Koreans are sprucing up the border city of Sinuiju amid a blaze of propaganda as Kim Jong Un prepares to lead the first Workers’ Party of Korea Congress in 36 years.

As the “70-day battle” draws to a close ahead of the landmark Party Congress on May 6, teams of workers could be seen squatting on roadsides and suspended from platforms on the facades of buildings at work sites across the city.

Workers have repainted apartment blocks, re-laid turf, planted flowers and renovated the base of a stone mural engraved with a eulogy to the country’s leaders beside the