North Korea has officially kicked off the era of Kim Jong-un by reaffirming his unchallenged one-man rule at a rare congress of its ruling Workers’ Party.

The party congress is being held for the first time in 36 years. The young leader’s father, Kim Jong-il, had never convened it during his reign for 17 years because his father, Kim Il-sung, the founder of the communist country, told him not to hold a congress until “everyone lived in tile-roofed houses with a hot bowl of rice and beef soup every meal.”

This “land of perfect bliss” envisioned by the young leader’s grandfather has not been achieved yet, but he nevertheless decided to convene the congress to demonstrate his solid grip on power and his ability to run the country amid tough internal and external challenges.

Kim’s confidence is based on the progress achieved in the country’s nuclear and missile programs. In his opening speech made on the first day of the congress on Friday, Kim praised the successful test early this year of what he claimed to be the country’s first hydrogen bomb and the subsequent launch of an earth observation satellite, which is widely seen as a long-range ballistic missile.

Kim said the two events “raised the dignity and might of North Korea to the highest level possible.”

Seoul officials interpreted Kim’s trumpeting of the nuclear test and long-range rocket launch as a reaffirmation of his dual-track policy of bolstering nuclear and missile capabilities in tandem with shoring up the moribund economy.

On the surface, the young leader’s two-track, or “byeongjin,” policy appears to be more reasonable than the military-first, or “songun,” policy advocated by his father. But it is not much different from his father’s as long as it pursues nuclear weapons.

Kim’s decision to go ahead with the nuclear test and rocket launch prompted the United Nations Security Council to impose its strongest-ever sanctions on the country.

The concerted reaction of the international community has not only deepened the isolation of the reclusive country but doomed any chances of its economic reform.

In the face of tougher sanctions, the North had no choice but to press its people to work harder. Hence, the regime launched a “70-day campaign of loyalty” early this year for large-scale mobilization of labor.

While Kim lauded the achievements of the campaign in his opening address, intensified labor mobilization only hampered ordinary people’s efforts to improve their livelihoods.

The predicament that North Korea has gotten itself into by committing itself to nuclear weapons development is well illustrated by its inability to invite high-profile foreign guests to the important party gathering.

When the previous congress was held 36 years ago, a total of 118 countries, including China and Russia, sent congratulatory delegations. This time, even China, the North’s only ally in the world, did not send a delegation to the event. The Beijing government instead urged Pyongyang to heed calls by the international community to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

The young North Korean leader should awaken from his misguided dream of achieving nuclear development and economic growth at the same time. He should realize that nuclear adventurism will only bring stronger sanctions and deeper isolation to his impoverished country.