Kim Jong-Un becomes North Korea ruling party chairman

Kim was previously first secretary of the party

PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un was Monday given a new title -- chairman of the Workers' Party -- at a rare top-level meeting of the ruling party.

The country's de facto head of state Kim Yong-Nam announced the post as foreign journalists briefly watched proceedings at the party congress -- the first for 36 years.



Kim -- the third generation of the dynasty that has ruled the country since its founding in 1948 -- was previously first secretary of the party.

The appointment will further bolster his authority at a congress seen as a coronation of sorts for the young leader, who came to power in December 2011 after the death of his father Kim Jong-Il.

Kim Jong-Il has been designated eternal party general secretary.



The current leader's grandfather and the country's founding leader, Kim Il-Sung, remains eternal president of the nation despite having died in 1994.