Residents turned out along the route with bouquets, banners and posters to give them a "hearty welcome". "They will spend significant days in Pyongyang, enjoying the greatest privileges and preferential treatment," KCNA said, promising a "joyful and delightful time" at the city's open-air ice rink and roller skating centre. The group will also visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun,
which holds the embalmed bodies of North Korea's founder Kim
Il-Sung and his son and former leader Kim Jong-Il. North Korea's third nuclear test was its most powerful to date, with yongyang claiming a breakthrough with a "miniaturised" device. While the outside world was united in condemnation, the test triggered days of orchestrated celebrations and mass rallies in North Korea. The test followed a widely criticised long-range rocket
launch in December, which the UN Security Council saw as a
disguised ballistic missile test. The North's current leader, Kim Jong-Un, awarded state medals and other benefits to the hundreds of scientists who worked on the rocket launch.