South Korea-US: The Allies announced that a typhoon has prompted them to postpone the anti-submarine warfare exercise in the Yellow Sea for safety reasons.
North Korea-South Korea: The Korean Central News Agency said on 6 September that North Korea will release the South Korean fishing boat and its crew which the North captured last month for violating the exclusive economic zone. The announcement described the release as made "from the compatriotic and humanitarian points of view."
Comments from KGS NightWatch: Like the release of the US citizen to former President Carter, this is further confirmation that the North wants no grievances with neighbors and enemies to cast a shadow over the Party Conference - most likely this week - that might be exploited to disrupt it.
North Korea: Party Conference Update. The Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on 6 September that delegates from the Workers' Party are arriving in Pyongyang for the 3rd Party Conference. The leadership has not announced the date the conference begins or how long it will last. Often for security purposes, the North withholds that information for significant internal events until after they have concluded their work.
Comments from KGS NightWatch: More than 1,300 delegates attended the 1966 conference. Accommodation is a significant burden, but delegates will have been arriving most likely for weeks before now. If the Conference has not already begun, it is likely to this week, based on today's announcement.
Kim Chong-il is not likely to designate in public his third son as his successor. Instead he is likely to appoint him to a post that will point to his succession. Kim's brother-in-law and the youth's uncle, Chang Song-taek, has been promoted to party and government positions that supposedly will enable him to act as regent and tutor for Kim Chong-eun, whom Japanese sources say is only 27.
The public appearance of the third son would be a sign that the speculation about his succession to leadership is accurate.
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