Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- North Korea said Monday that a special conference of its ruling Workers ' Party would take place next week , an event expected to solidify the authority of its new leader ahead of a controversial rocket launch . The meeting of party delegates , announced by state media , also comes just ahead of a significant anniversary for the secretive , nuclear-armed state -- the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung , the founder of North Korea . At the conference on April 11 , Kim Il Sung 's grandson , Kim Jong Un , is likely to be named secretary-general of the Workers ' Party , a key post that would underline his status as `` supreme leader '' of the insular regime , said Chung-In Moon , professor of political science at Yonsei University in Seoul . That appointment would be `` a very important signal that he 's consolidating power and positions from an institutional point of view , '' Moon said . It would also mean that Kim Jong Un would ex officio become chairman of the party 's central military committee , following in the footsteps of his father , Kim Jong Il , who died in December . The expected conferring of the new titles on Kim Jong Un is scheduled to happen just before the planned launch of a satellite by Pyongyang between April 12 and 16 , using a long-range rocket . The announcement last month of the satellite launch -- which countries like the United States and South Korea see as a cover for a ballistic missile test -- ratcheted up tensions in the region and prompted Washington to suspend a recent deal to supply food aid to the North . International leaders have urged North Korea to cancel the launch , but Pyongyang has refused to back down , insisting that the operation is for peaceful purposes . The last time Pyongyang carried out what it described as a satellite launch , in April 2009 , the U.N. Security Council condemned the action and demanded that it not be repeated . Part of the significance of this launch is its timing to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung , who ruled the Communist state for more than four decades . His birthday on April 15 , known as the `` Day of the Sun , '' is a key public holiday in the North Korean calendar . By holding the party conference a few days before that day , the regime is probably aiming to ensure that Kim Jong Un holds the main titles in time for the big event , Moon said . He is already described by in official North Korean discourse as the `` supreme leader '' of the party , state and army . Moon noted that it is still unclear how directly the young Kim , thought to be in his late 20s , in involved in policy decisions . So far , Kim Jong Un , as the direct descendant of the country 's founder , appears to be `` reigning , '' while powerful senior officials in the regime like his uncle , Jang Song Taek , seem to be doing the `` ruling , '' said Moon .
North Korea announced it will hold a ruling party conference on April 11 . It is ahead of a major anniversary and a planned satellite launch . The conference is seen as a way to strengthen Kim Jong Un 's leadership .