North Korea celebrates the birth of its founder

On Friday, North Korea commemorated the 110th anniversary of the birth of late leader Kim Il Sung with fireworks, a parade, and an evening spectacle in Pyongyang’s main plaza, attended by thousands of people dressed in vibrant traditional attire and singing and dancing.

Nuclear-armed Pyongyang often utilises the festival, dubbed Day of the Sun, to demonstrate its newest arsenal.
However, although this year’s celebration comes on the heels of a wave of weapons testing – only three weeks ago, the Korea conducted its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test since 2017 – there was no trace of the traditional military parade.

Kim Jong Un paid a visit to his grandfather’s tomb and took part in a “national assembly and public parade” in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square, but made no public statements. A top official said at the meeting that North Korea will overcome all obstacles and always emerge triumphant, according to state news agency KCNA.

On Friday, state television broadcast live images of an evening extravaganza on the plaza after performances, art displays, and ideological talks.

A lit-up tank with a North Korean flag affixed to its turret during an event commemorating the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung.
North Korea held a light display to commemorate the birth of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung, the country’s traditional most significant festival [Cha Song Ho/AP Photo].
Additionally, a light festival was held in Pyongyang’s central business district, complete with dancing fountains and adorned boats on the Taedong River, according to KCNA.

According to KCNA, the celebration “artistically represented” Kim Il Sung’s birthplace and “the holy peak of revolution, Mt Paektu.” Residents may pose in front of illuminated arches that read ‘Pyongyang Is Best’ and ‘We Are the Happiest People on Earth’.

“I came with my daughter to view the illumination festival. Looking at it now, it’s rather remarkable. The most striking is this one that says’self-reliance,'” Ri Bom Chol, a 40-year-old doctor in Pyongyang, said an AFP news agency reporter.

‘Love is eternal’
Analysts, along with South Korean and US officials, had widely expected North Korea to mark the occasion with new weaponry, or even a test of the country’s banned nuclear weapons.

However, there was no mention of any military parade in official media.

According to Seoul-based specialised site NK News, satellite picture analysis indicated that training was occurring at the Mirim military parade training camp, with a few thousand men walking in formation. Planet Labs images also revealed a rising amount of tyre tracks surrounding a protected storage area for heavy weaponry on the facility, indicating that practise drives were being conducted, the statement stated.

According to experts, the parade’s next most probable date is April 25 – the anniversary of the North Korean army’s creation.

“Given that the two anniversaries are just ten days apart, it seems to be quite impossible to stage a parade on both occasions,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.

From childhood, North Koreans are trained to idolise Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il, and all adults wear badges representing one or both men.

“As the days pass, the hunger for the great leader grows,” Ri Gwang Hyok told an AFP reporter in Pyongyang during a visit to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il statues.

“Love is eternal,” Ri, 33, said.

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