North Korean leader praises construction workers of newly built ruling party training school

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves toward soldiers clapping for him in Pyongyang, May 23. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has praised construction workers of a newly built school for the country's ruling party officials, state media reported Thursday.

Kim had a photo session with members of Unit 267, who participated in the construction of the Central Cadres Training School of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Wednesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Footage from the state-run Korean Central TV also showed Kim arriving at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the photo session took place, by self-driving his luxury sedan, a Mercedes-Maybach.

The site is where the bodies of national founder Kim Il-sung and the current leader's late father, Kim Jong-il, lie in state.

Kim has made multiple public appearances in different Mercedes-Maybach vehicles, including a limousine, despite international sanctions on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs that ban such luxury items.

The KCNA said the leader praised workers "for having demonstrated to the whole world the prestige of the world's most prestigious political and ideological school with perfect appearance as the 'pedigree farm' for training core members of the WPK."

Kim also said that the unit is "extraordinary in its capacity, as evidenced by many world-startling monumental edifices it has built over more than recent decade." The unit also has participated in the construction of major facilities aimed at idolizing the Kim regime.

Kim visited the site on March 30 and May 15 before attending the opening ceremony Tuesday, a move that could show his commitment to the education of party officials.

Seoul's unification ministry noted that such frequent visits to the site within just around 50 days are "extremely unusual," hinting at the regime's emphasis on the importance of ideological education for officials.

"In the future, it is expected that there will be an increased emphasis on Kim Jong-un's status as an ideological leader and his idolization, along with a strengthening of the ideological training of party officials," a ministry official said on customary anonymity.

The training school, which traces its roots back to the Central Party School established in 1946, is the highest educational facility to train WPK officials. (Yonhap)