N. Korea stages once-in-a-generation party congress

North Korea kicked off its first ruling party congress for nearly 40 years Friday, with state media lauding the isolated country's "prestige" as a nuclear power while maintaining a news blackout on the event itself.

The congress drew thousands of selected delegates from across the country to Pyongyang for what, in theory at least, was a gathering of North Korea's top decision-making body.

It also drew around 130 foreign journalists who were invited to cover the event but not allowed inside the venue, restricted instead to watching from a spot 200 metres (yards) away in the light drizzle falling on the capital.

And state television provided no live coverage, devoting its programming to archive material, films and patriotic concerts.

The top story on the main TV evening news at 8:00pm (1130 GMT) was about a special award given to a well-known patriotic song.

The 33-year-old Kim, who was not even born when the last Workers' Party Congress was held in 1980, was believed to have opened the conclave with a keynote address which, when published, will be scrutinised for any sign of a substantive policy shift, especially on the economic front.

Analysts will also be watching for personnel changes as Kim looks to bring in a younger generation of leaders hand-picked for their loyalty.