Kim re-elected head of ruling party as N.Korea hails N-arms

North Korean leader Kim Jong

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Kim Jong-un applauds at the Eighth Party Congress in Pyongyang in 2021. Agence France-Presse

Un was reelected to the top post of the ruling Workers' Party, with delegates crediting him for bolstering the country's nuclear arsenal and strengthening its regional standing, state media reported on Monday.The report from the party congress, a major propaganda spectacle where Kim is expected to outline his political and military goals for the next five years, suggests he will double down on accelerating a nuclear arsenal already equipped with missiles capable of threatening Asian US allies and the American mainland.

The party also released a new roster for its powerful Central Committee that confirmed a generational shift in Kim's leadership circle, with aging military chiefs and the 76-year-old head of Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament among dozens replaced in the 138-member body.

China’s President Xi Jinping hailed on Monday a “new chapter” in relations with North Korea as he congratulated Kim Jong Un his reelection to the helm of the ruling Worker's Party, according to Chinese state media.