North Korea was marking the 65th birthday of leader Kim Jong-il yesterday amid progress in ending its nuclear programs.
Kim's birthday is one of North Korea's most important national holidays and one in which the personality cult inherited from his father, the country's founder Kim Il-sung, is arguably the most visible.
North Koreans usually receive benefits such as extra food, but it remains unclear whether the country can dole out such largesse this year, given chronic food shortages and UN sanctions imposed over its Oct. 9 nuclear test.
"Holidays in North Korea mark occasions on which the leadership is obligated to show tangibly its ability to care for the people," said Scott Snyder, a senior associate at the Asia Foundation.
The North Korean "leadership will be able to perform at a higher level in this area" amid reduced tensions with the international community following this week's nuclear agreement, Snyder added.
"Psychologically, Kim Jong-il would not be in a somber mood," said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, citing the nuclear deal and the prospect of winning economic aid.
Still, on the eve of yesterday's birthday celebrations, North Korea escalated its anti-US rhetoric and urged its people to rally around Kim, known as the "dear leader."
"We will mercilessly repel the aggressors and achieve reunification by mobilizing all potentials" in case of a US attack, the North's No. 2 leader Kim Yong-nam said on Thursday in a speech to thousands of party members and military officers in Pyongyang. The speech was monitored in South Korea.
In a separate speech, Choe Thae-bok, a member of the Central Committee of the North's ruling party, also accused the US of escalating "appeasement, pressure and sanctions" on the country, warning that the North will never tolerate any moves to tarnish its authority and prestige.
Experts, however, dismissed the harsh language as being aimed at bolstering support at home. North Korea regularly says the US is plotting an attack, a charge Washington consistently denies.
"It is a declaration of its will to safeguard its internal system," Koh said of the anti-US rhetoric.
In the run-up to yesterday's celebrations, North Korean media reported a festive mood in the country, with arts performances being held as well as exhibitions in Pyongyang, the North's capital, of the Kimjongilia -- a red flower cultivated to bloom around Kim's birthday.
RSS