Weddings and funerals have been banned and Pyongyang is in lockdown as preparations for a once-in-a-generation party congress get underway in North Korea. 
 
 The ruling Worker’s Party of Korea, headed by the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, is due to stage the first gathering of its kind for 36 years on Friday. 
 
 Free movement in and out of the capital has also been forbidden and there has been an increase in inspections and property searches, according to Daily NK, which claims to have sources in the country. 
 
 Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30 show all Life in North Korea captured with a mobile phone 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1/30 Farmer works in a field Getty Images 
 
 2/30 Women soldier walk on the street Getty Images 
 
 3/30 A female soldier guards railway Getty Images 
 
 4/30 A general view of platform of Pyongyang Railway Station Getty Images 
 
 5/30 Students stage a protest against South Korea and the US in Pyongyang Getty Images 
 
 6/30 Students rehearsal for celebrating the 70th birthday of Workers' Party of Korea Getty Images 
 
 7/30 People enjoy the cool at the carriage door Getty Images 
 
 8/30 A general view of countryside Getty Images 
 
 9/30 Korean People's Army soldier rest on the rail 2015 Getty Images 
 
 10/30 A little boy begs food on the platform in Hamhung Railway Station in Hamhung 2015 Getty Images 
 
 11/30 Children swim in a river in noon Getty Images 
 
 12/30 People cross a railway crossing 2015 Getty Images 
 
 13/30 A boy collects corn cob beside a railway Getty Images 
 
 14/30 A customs officer is seen on the train No.100 from Moscow to Pyongyang at Tumangang railway station in Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 15/30 A customs officer checks a passenger's mobile device on the train to Pyongyang Getty Images 
 
 16/30 A railway station in Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 17/30 A general view of the railway station in Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 18/30 Kids pass by Tumanggang railway station in Tumanggang 2015 Getty Images 
 
 19/30 A general view of Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 20/30 A general view of Tumangang - a small town located at North Korea and Russia border Getty Images 
 
 21/30 A train carriage on it's way to Pyongyang is delayed for a day and half due to military transportation in Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 22/30 A customs officers talks to a passenger at Tumanggang railway station in Tumanggang Getty Images 
 
 23/30 A little girl walks on the street in Tumanggang 2015 Getty Images 
 
 24/30 An elderly man is seen in Tumangang Getty Images 
 
 25/30 Kids go to school in morning in Tumangang 2015 Getty Images 
 
 26/30 People ride bicycles in Pyongyang 
 
 27/30 People work in a 'template' farmer village in Pyongyang 
 
 28/30 People cross a river using a boat 
 
 29/30 A Korean People's Army officer watches train from a window 
 
 30/30 A general view of the inside of Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang 
 
 The temporary measures are said to be an attempt to minimise the risk of “mishaps” at the event, according to Cheong Joon-hee, a spokesman at South Korea’s Unification Ministry. 
 
 The last party congress was held in 1980, during which Kim Jong-un’s father - Kim Jong-il - was confirmed as the successor to the state’s founder, Kim Il-sung. 
 
 Kim, 33, who is already the country’s supreme leader, is expected to use the congress to cement his leadership, declare North Korea a nuclear state and outline his vision for the nation’s economic and military future. 
 
 The party’s official newspaper, said: “The [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] proudly joined the ranks of advanced nuclear and space powers while demonstrating the might of the invincible politico-ideological, military and youth power and is now dashing ahead toward to a socialist economic power and highly civilised nation.” 
 
 In March, the UN Security Council approved its toughest sanctions yet on the nation, with an aim to withhold funds being used to finance the state’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, following a series of military tests this year. 
 
 The sanctions have added to the socialist dynasty’s economic turmoil. Following the vote, US ambassador Samantha Power explained, “Virtually all of the DPRK's resources are channelled into its reckless and relentless pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.” 
 
 Speaking in New York ahead of a UN climate change conference, North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Su-yong told reporters the economy remained at the forefront of the congress. 
 
 He said: “One of the most important things through this party congress is to show to the entire world the union of our people. I'm sure our country will be even more vibrant after the party congress to build up a more prosperous and powerful, economically sound nation. 
 
 “The first thing is to advance the pace of economic building for a powerful nation. The second is to improve the people's living standards and to find the best, optimum ways to improve the people's living standards under these circumstances, and the third, to strengthen our national defence capabilities. 
 
 “The real source of power in our country isn't nuclear weapons or any other military means, but the single-minded unity of the people and the leader. This power of unity we have is the real source of power that leads our country into victory." 
 
 North Korea propaganda video depicts imagined attack on Washington 
 
 The congress is likely to last four or five days. 
 
 It follows a 70-day “loyalty drive” which has seen members of the country’s workforce put in extra hours to increase productivity and show their devotion to the leader and the Worker’s Party of Korea. 
 
 Reuters and AP contributed to this report. ||||| Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email 
 
 Kim Jong-un has banned all weddings and funerals in North Korea as he prepares to be crowned as the country's supreme leader at a rare ruling party congress. 
 
 The 33-year-old is expected to cement his leadership and formally declare the nation a nuclear-armed state at the first congress in a staggering 36 years. 
 
 Ahead of the meeting next week, North Korea has tightened security, with its capital, Pyongyang, placed on lockdown to avoid any 'mishap' at the event. 
 
 Weddings and funeral services have also been cancelled this week for security reasons, according to the Sunday Times. 
 
 (Image: Getty) 
 
 "Strengthening security can be seen as a measure to prevent mishaps over the party congress," Cheong Joon-hee, spokesman at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which oversees dealings with the North, told a briefing. 
 
 North Korea has in the past taken such steps ahead of major events and has at times also shut down its border with China for the same reason, Cheong said. 
 
 Read more: North Korea builds replica of South Korea's presidential Blue House for 'target practice' 
 
 North Korea announced the Korean Workers' Party congress in October but only confirmed the May 6 starting date on Wednesday. 
 
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 Thousands of delegates are set to travel to Pyongyang for the congress, at which advances in the drive for nuclear weapons will likely be hailed. 
 
 During the meeting, Kim is expected to mark his official coronation as leader. 
 
 The Daily NK, a website run by defectors with sources in North Korea, said that since mid-April, free movement in and out of the capital has been stopped and security personnel have been summoned from the provinces to step-up domestic surveillance. 
 
 (Image: Getty) 
 
 The congress, expected to last four or five days, will be closely watched for any new policies and for how North Korea presents its pursuit of nuclear weapons, which has intensified since January when it conducted its fourth nuclear test. 
 
 The nuclear test was followed with a string of missile tests, though not all successful. 
 
 Read more: North Korea sentences US citizen to 10 years of hard labour 'for spying on Kim Jong-Un's secretive regime' 
 
 On Thursday, it tested what appeared to be two intermediate-range ballistic missiles but both failed, the U.S. and South Korean militaries said. 
 
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 South Korea, and others nervously watching the North's defiance of U.N. resolutions aimed at curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile technologies, expect another nuclear test before the congress. 
 
 North Korean authorities have also enlisted people in Pyongyang and some other places in a 70-day campaign to ramp-up productivity and spruce-up the capital, the Daily NK reported. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites.
– Heading to North Korea for a wedding this week? Better put that on hold—the nation's leader, Kim Jong-un, has banned all weddings, funerals, and movement in and out of Pyongyang ahead of a rare ruling party congress, the Independent reports. What's more, anyone arrested before the 7th Party Congress kicks off on Friday will be considered a political criminal, per the Daily NK. "They are creating a day-to-day atmosphere that is terrifying," says an unnamed source in South Pyongan Province. "Patrols by the Ministry of People's Security have teamed up with inminban [people’s units, a type of neighborhood watch] to visit not only the houses of ordinary people, but also hotel and motel rooms to check the identification of those staying in temporary lodgings." The heightened security "can be seen as a measure to prevent mishaps over the party congress," a South Korean official tells the Mirror. Not a big surprise, considering they haven't held a party congress since 1980, when Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il, was officially made leader. This time around, 33-year-old Kim Jong-un is expected to fortify his leadership, lay out plans for North Korea's military and economy, and declare the country a nuclear state. The congress is expected to run four or five days and "will be closely watched for any new policies," the Mirror says. (The UN Security Council hit North Korea with particularly hard sanctions in March, and the country responded by firing missiles toward the Sea of Japan.)