--- description: Foreign journalists in North Korea were told to prepare for a "big and important" event Thursday, though they were given no more details title: North Korea Says to Prepare for 'Big and Important' Event image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6f8466649482b69/6988c2957cdbac1e02d57ddc/north-korea-announcement.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korea Says to Prepare for 'Big and Important' Event  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 12, 2017 11:37 PM CUT  A general view of a national meeting took place to celebrate the 5th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's assumption of the top posts of the party and the state, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang April 12, 2017. A general view of a national meeting took place to celebrate the 5th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's assumption of the top posts of the party and the state, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang April 12, 2017.KCNA/Reuters  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 12, 2017 11:37 PM CUT Foreign journalists in North Korea were told to prepare for a “big and important” event Thursday. No details were provided about the event, including whether it was related to the current political climate, Reuters [reports](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-event-idUSKBN17E2CT "undefined"). Tensions have increased in the area over fears of another [missile test.](http://time.com/4726105/tillerson-north-korea-missile-no-comment/ "undefined") The country fired a [ballistic missile](http://time.com/4726060/north-korea-ballistic-missile-fire-sea-of-japan/ "undefined") into the Sea of Japan earlier this month. On Saturday, the U.S. [sent a Navy carrier strike group](http://time.com/4732530/navy-fleet-south-korea-vinson-pyongyang/ "undefined") towards the Korean peninsula to demonstrate force. Approximately [200 journalists](http://time.com/4234658/a-border-with-a-view-watching-north-korea-from-the-outside/ "undefined") are stationed in [North Korea ](http://time.com/4726210/china-xi-jinping-donald-trump-north-korea-kim-jong-nuclear-weapons/?iid=sr-link4 "undefined")for the “Day of the Sun,” the 105th anniversary of the country’s founding President Kim Il-sung. **READ MORE:** [China Urges Trump to Pursue a ‘Peaceful’ Resolution to North Korea Tensions](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/article144233494.html "undefined") Calls for journalists to prepare for similar events have happened in the past, and have not resulted in anything major, according to Reuters. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4737698/north-korea-big-and-important-event-kim-jong-un/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4737698/north-korea-big-and-important-event-kim-jong-un/"},"headline":"North Korea Says to Prepare for 'Big and Important' Event","datePublished":"2017-04-12T23:37:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T04:22:40.782Z","description":"Tensions are high after a recent missile test","url":"https://time.com/4737698/north-korea-big-and-important-event-kim-jong-un/","keywords":["North Korea","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6f8466649482b69/6988c2957cdbac1e02d57ddc/north-korea-announcement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6f8466649482b69/6988c2957cdbac1e02d57ddc/north-korea-announcement.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A general view of a national meeting took place to celebrate the 5th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's assumption of the top posts of the party and the state in this undated photo released by North Korea's KCNA in Pyongyang","caption":"A general view of a national meeting took place to celebrate the 5th anniversary of leader Kim Jong Un's assumption of the top posts of the party and the state in this undated photo released by North Korea's KCNA in Pyongyang","creditText":"KCNA/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4737698/north-korea-big-and-important-event-kim-jong-un/","name":"North Korea Says to Prepare for 'Big and Important' Event"}}]}] ```