North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has warned that his government will "eliminate any movements" that threaten the authority of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), as the country marks the 80th anniversary of the Party's founding with major celebrations in Pyongyang.
He made the remarks during his visit to the Party Founding Museum in Pyongyang on Wednesday, Yonhap News reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency.
"We should continue to firmly consolidate strict order and sound discipline climate within the Party, while giving precedence to the process of finding out and eliminating in time all sorts of elements and acts that undermine the Party's leadership prestige," said Kim.
The WPK was founded Oct. 10, 1945, by Kim Il Sung, North Korea's founding leader. He was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il in 1994, and later by Kim Jong Un, who assumed power in December 2011, following his father's death.
During his visit, Kim paid tribute to his grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il, and emphasizing that the party's purity and revolutionary ideals must be "preserved and defended at all costs."
He said the leadership would not tolerate any "ideological or political decay" that could weaken the party's rule.
The anniversary celebrations are expected to begin with a massive military parade late Thursday and nationwide events on Friday.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, former Russian President and Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, top Vietnamese leader To Lam, who is the general secretary of the Southeast Asian nation's ruling Communist Party, and Laotian President Thongloun Sisoulith have already arrived in Pyongyang to attend the celebrations.
A delegation from Tehran also arrived in Pyongyang, which is led by Mohammad Ali Amani, the secretary general of the Islamic Coalition Party of Iran.
