It’s a North Korean version of Christmas, with Kim Jong-il playing Santa Claus. In past years, the authoritarian leader has celebrated his birthday by handing out gifts ranging from rice to Rolexes, an annual attempt to buy loyalty and stability.
As Kim was set to celebrate his 69th birthday yesterday, however, the gift baskets may have been lighter and knockoff Gucci may have replaced the real thing.
With North Korea begging other countries for food handouts and newly tightened international sanctions squeezing Kim’s ability to secure foreign merchandise, North Koreans might see a curtailed celebration this year.
PHOTO: AFP
Any such belt-tightening would be a gamble, though.
Kim needs to maintain loyalty while maneuvering his inexperienced youngest son, Kim Jong-un, into position to eventually succeed him.
The annual gifts, especially those given to the elite, have been a way for Kim Jong-il to do just that, no matter how tough times get.
However, this year many North Koreans are hungry, and a brutal winter is threatening the early spring harvest. The country is coping with natural disasters: Foot-and-mouth disease has devastated its livestock and heavy flooding swamped precious farmland last year.
There is also the ever-present tension with South Korea; conservative lawmakers in the South planned to mark Kim Jong-il’s birthday yesterday by floating balloons filled with propaganda across the border.
With all the misery, a little traditional birthday cheer is always welcome in the North.
North Korea, however, has vowed to turn itself into a powerful country by next year, the centennial of the birth of Kim Jong-il’s father, Kim Il-sung, the country’s revered founder and eternal president. It may be necessary to skimp this year to save up for next year’s celebrations, when making sure there are enough gifts and food to go around could be even more crucial.
In the past, Pyongyang has proudly announced that every child in the country got presents on the Kims’ birthdays, the nation’s most important holidays.
For Kim Jong-il’s birthday in 1998, North Korean troops received Seiko watches, a former elite soldier said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity. The ex-soldier, who defected to South Korea in 2003, also said houses, Mercedes-Benzes, Audis, Toyotas, Rolexes and other luxury goods were doled out to important officials.
This year, the gifts that get handed out may include rip-offs of luxury goods.
Over the past three months, North Korean officials have bought clothing and textiles, including fake Gucci and Armani suits, in bulk from Beijing’s Silk Street market, a person with direct knowledge of the transactions said, speaking anonymously because of the issue’s sensitivity. In the past, the source said, the North only bought original luxury brands.
Popular among both Chinese and foreigners, the cramped, multistory Silk Street market is filled with hundreds of clothing shops, many selling Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Armani fakes. Some are so well made that only experts can distinguish them from genuine designer goods.
A North Korean defector working with the Seoul-based civic group Committee for the Democratization of North Korea, Seo Jae-pyoung, said Pyongyang usually buys large amounts of fabric from Chinese markets to distribute to people taking part in events linked to Kim Jong-il’s birthday.
The North appears to be taking extraordinary measures to prepare for what the government hopes will be a triumphant 2012.
North Korean diplomats have been asking for food aid when meeting officials in foreign countries, a South Korean intelligence official said. The North’s food shortage is grave, and it is likely looking to stockpile food to distribute to citizens next year, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters.
The North has also reached out to the UN World Food Programme, saying it needs help because of the severe winter and a bad vegetable harvest. On Monday, the UN said it had begun a new assessment of North Korea’s food needs and planned more than 272,156 tonnes of humanitarian assistance.
Along with the North’s struggles and the birthday celebration, many are closely watching for word on the country’s secretive succession plans. Last year, Kim Jong-il promoted Jong-un to four-star general and gave him key political posts for an eventual transfer of power.
Chinese Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu (孟建柱) threw his support behind the power hand-over when he met with Kim Jong-il on Monday, hailing “the successful solution of the issue of succession,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim’s second son, meanwhile, Swiss-educated Jong-chol, apparently attended a concert by rock guitarist Eric Clapton in Singapore on Monday, an official with South Korea’s spy agency said. He gave no further details about the concert, which was first reported by South Korea’s KBS television, and asked not to be identified, citing office policy.
As Kim Jong-il marks another birthday, there is also speculation about the state of his health. US and South Korean officials believe a stroke in August 2008 kept him out of the public eye for months.
However, Kim Jong-il has been incredibly active this past year. In recent weeks alone, Kim Jong-il, sometimes accompanied by Jong-un, has given “field guidance” at an army medical institute, an art studio and complexes devoted to machines and fertilizer, according to state media.
It remained to be seen, though, how lavish he would be playing Santa Claus this year.
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