Tens of thousands flock to Pyongyang’s main square to enjoy light shows and art exhibitions in honor of Kim Il Sung.
North Korea marked the 110th anniversary of the birth of the late founder Kim Il Sung on Friday with fireworks, a procession and an evening gala in Pyongyang’s main square, but without the expected military parade.
Nuclear-armed Pyongyang usually uses the holiday – known as Sun Day – to showcase its latest weapons.
But as this year’s event follows a wave of weapons tests – three weeks ago the country conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in 2017 – there were no signs of a parade.
Leader Kim Jong Un visited his grandfather’s mausoleum and attended a “national meeting and public march” in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, but made no public remarks. A high-ranking official spoke at the meeting, saying that North Korea will overcome all difficulties and will always emerge victorious, the state news agency KCNA reported.
State media broadcast live footage of an evening gala in the square after sunset on Friday, following concerts, art exhibitions and ideological seminars.
North Korea organizes light show as part of its commemorations to mark the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung, traditionally the country’s most important holiday [Cha Song Ho/AP Photo]
There was also a light festival in central Pyongyang with dancing fountains and decorated boats on the Taedong River, KCNA reported.
The festival “artistically depicted” Kim Il Sung’s birthplace and the “sacred mountain of the revolution, Mount Paektu,” KCNA said. Residents could take pictures in front of arches lit by phrases such as “Pyongyang is the best” and “We are the happiest in the world.”
“I came to see the lighting festival with my daughter. Looking at it today, it’s really great. The most impressive thing, in particular, is what it says, “self-reliance,” Ri Bom Chol, a 40-year-old doctor, told an AFP reporter in Pyongyang.
“Love is forever”
Analysts, along with representatives of South Korea and the United States, expected North Korea to mark the case with a new weapon or even a test of banned nuclear weapons in the country.
But no military parade was mentioned in the state media.
“The Kim regime needs more sources of national pride and legitimacy than military parades,” Leif-Eric Isley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said in an email. “So the public celebrations around its founder’s birthday tried to portray an economy that is not only sustainable but also growing, and a society that is not only united but also modern and happy.
“But this is not a departure from North Korea’s military build-up. Kim Jong-un’s stated goal of deploying tactical nuclear weapons, Kim Yo-jong’s recent threats to Seoul and satellite imagery of the Punggye-ri tunnel activity all point to an impending nuclear test. Additional missile launches are expected to improve weapons delivery systems.
Seoul-based NK News reported that the analysis of the satellite images suggested that the training was taking place at a military parade training base in Mirim, with several thousand soldiers marching in formation. Images from Planet Labs also showed a growing number of tire tracks around a protected area of a heavy weapons garage on the site, suggesting that training drives are being conducted, he added.
According to experts, April 25 – the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean army – is the next most likely date for the parade.
“Since the two anniversaries are only 10 days apart, it seems a little difficult to hold a parade in both cases,” Yang Mu-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.
People pay homage to statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il during Friday’s Sun Day [Jon Chol Jin/AP Photo]
Kim Il Sung died in 1994, but is the “eternal president” of the country, and his preserved body lies in a red-lit camera in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the outskirts of the capital.
North Koreans have been taught from birth to honor Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, and all adults wear badges depicting one or both men.
“Over the days, the longing for the great leader has grown,” Ri Guang Hyuk told an AFP reporter in Pyongyang while visiting statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
“Love is forever,” said 33-year-old Ree.
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