North Korea will hold its first party congress in 30 years next week, setting the stage for a possible power transfer in the Stalinist state from Kim Jong Il to his youngest son. Kim will attend the meeting as a delegate. The party congress is significant because it's taking place as Kim's failing health forces him to pass on leadership responsibilities, U.S. and South Korean officials have said. The last such gathering in 1980 secured Kim's position as heir to his father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. "That succession was well planned and the son was groomed for a lengthy period, giving the regime time to shore up his legitimacy," said Jeff Kingston, head of Asian Studies at Temple University, Japan Campus. "This succession has been poorly planned and hastily arranged."