Update: An event took place on Feb. 25 at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, but state media did not disclose details of the event the following day. 

Mid-level party officials from around North Korea appear to be gathering in Pyongyang for a major ideological conference scheduled for the coming days, according to NK News satellite imagery analysis, as buses filled the parking lot of a key hotel.

State media announced earlier this month that the 2nd Conference of Primary Committee Secretaries of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) would be held in “late February,” without specifying the start date.  

Officials attending the event are expected to demonstrate their loyalty to Kim Jong Un and correct problems with corruption, selfishness, laziness and other obstacles to achieving the party’s socialist “utopia,” according to the announcement and state media reports on the first conference held in Dec. 2016. 

Kim attended all three days of the first such conference in 2016 and made multiple speeches, taking the opportunity to mention the status of relations with South Korea and the U.S. and defend the country’s nuclear weapons development.

As with large-scale party conferences last year for chief city and county secretaries in March and for cell secretaries in June, this month’s conference appears to be part of Kim Jong Un’s efforts to enforce the party’s strict ideological system at all levels.

In speeches at those and other party organization conferences in the last year, Kim demanded that lower party leaders reject formalism and cheating, sacrifice and care for local residents, and perfectly carry out central party decisions and ideology to overcome chronic defects in the country’s political system.

Primary party committees contain at least 61 members each and are situated in the power hierarchy under city and county party committees but above sub-primary committees and party cells, according to the latest party rules approved last year and obtained by NK News. 

GATHERING AT HOTEL

In a sign that the conference is set to begin in the coming days, the parking lot of the April 25 Hotel in the southeast part of the city appeared to be full of buses for event attendees on Feb. 24, according to Planet Labs satellite imagery.

This hotel appeared to be used to house attendees of two major conferences already this month and most other large-scale party meetings in Pyongyang in recent years, with its parking lot filling with buses on each occasion. 

On the following day, Feb. 25, buses were seen filling the parking lot of the April 25 House of Culture across town – one of Pyongyang’s largest event venues.

However, state media did not report on the event on Feb. 26, indicating the meeting will last multiple days.

Meanwhile, soldiers appeared in the Feb. 24-25 imagery to continue marching practice for an upcoming military parade at the Mirim military base located next door to the April 25 Hotel.

Updated on Feb. 26 at 12:35 p.m. KST

Edited by Arius Derr