North Korea is likely to convene a major political conference within days. 

The North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) reported on Wednesday that delegates to the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party paid tribute the previous day at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state.

The KCNA said a ceremony to present delegate credentials took place at the same venue, during which the late Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il were also proclaimed delegates.

A similar ceremony took place six days before the opening of the eighth congress of the Workers’ Party in 2021.

Delegates to the party congress gathered in Pyongyang on Monday, where they were welcomed by senior party secretaries including Ri Hi-yong, Kim Tok-hun and Choe Tong-myong.

North Korea announced at a Politburo meeting on February 8 that the ninth congress would convene later the same month.

The upcoming congress will review the regime's achievements over the past five years and outline domestic and foreign policy directions for the next five-year period.