North Korea yesterday marked a key state anniversary with calls for stronger loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, but there was no word on an expected military parade to display new weapons amid heightened animosities with the US.
The 110th birth anniversary of Kim’s late grandfather and state founder, Kim Il-sung, comes after North Korea conducted a spate of weapons tests in the past few months, including its first full-range intercontinental ballistic missile launch since 2017.
Experts say that North Korea aims to expand its weapons arsenal and ramp up pressure on the US amid long-stalled nuclear diplomacy.
Photo: AP
“Let’s work harder in devotion to our respected comrade Kim Jong-un and on that path ultimately realize the dreams of our great president [Kim Il-sung] to build a powerful socialist state,” state-run Web site Uriminzokkiri said in a commentary.
North Korea’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the country is revering Kim Il-sung as “eternal president” under the “outstanding leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un.”
Kim Il-sung’s birthday is the most important national holiday in North Korea, where the Kim family has ruled under a strong personality cult since the nation’s founding in 1948. Kim Jong-un is the third generation of his family to rule the country after his father died in late 2011.
Kim Jong-un has pushed ambitiously to advance his nuclear arsenal while simultaneously reviving the economy.
North Korea often marks key state anniversaries with huge military parades featuring newly built missiles, especially during anniversaries that end in zero and five.
State media said Kim Il-sung’s birthday would be celebrated with fireworks, a dance party and a performance, but did not mention a military parade.
Commercial satellites earlier indicated an apparent rehearsal for a military parade at Pyongyang’s main plaza, the site for past parades.
The South Korean Ministry of Unification yesterday said it has detected signs that North Korea was preparing for a military parade that could come on Kim Il-sung’s birthday or the North Korean army’s founding anniversary on April 25.
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