(LEAD) N. Korea’s Kim visits mausoleum for 1st time in 4 yrs to mark late leader’s birthday
(ATTN: UPDATES with more info in paras 6, 9-11)
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has paid his respects at the mausoleum of his father, late leader Kim Jong-il, on the anniversary of his birthday, state media reported Monday, marking his first reported visit to the family mausoleum on the late leader’s birth anniversary in four years.
Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun the previous day, on the late leader’s birthday, known as the Day of the Shining Star, accompanied by his powerful sister Kim Yo-jong, party secretaries, Defense Minister No Kwang-chol and others, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
This marks the first reported visit by Kim to the family mausoleum on his father’s birth anniversary since 2021.
A floral basket was laid in his name before the statues of the late leader and national founder Kim Il-sung, and he paid “homage of immortality and best wishes” to his father, the KCNA said.
“He expressed his solemn will to devote himself to the sacred struggle for the eternal prosperity of the country, the security of the people and the promotion of their well-being, remaining faithful to the revolutionary ideas and cause” of the two late leaders, it also reported.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (4th from L) and other officials pay their respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on the birthday of his father and late leader Kim Jong-il on Feb. 16, 2025, in this image captured from the website of the Rodong Sinmun daily. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The Day of the Shining Star and the national founder’s birthday, the Day of the Sun, are the biggest national holidays in North Korea.
North Korea has often avoided using the term the Day of the Shining Star, instead often referring to the former leader’s birthday simply as Feb. 16, as the current leader has sought to reduce his dependency on his ancestors for authority and solidify his stand-alone status. However, the KCNA and other state media used the reverent term for the late leader’s birthday this year.
The KCNA also reported that Premier Pak Thae-song and Choe Ryong-hae, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee, as well as other party and government officials, separately visited and paid their respects at the mausoleum, while general workers, soldiers and students laid flowers at the late leader’s statue in the city.
Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman at South Korea’s unification ministry, assessed that North Korea’s idolization campaigns for the two former leaders and its promotion of allegiance to the top leader remain unchanged.
Since 2012, Kim Jong-un had visited the Kumsusan mausoleum every year for about a decade on the occasion of his ancestors’ birthdays, but he skipped such visits in the last three years, Koo said.
Referring to the “February holiday,” North Korea also said that Kim sent stationery and confectionery items to schools, orphanages and child care facilities on the occasion, while a series of celebratory events, including a performance, a banquet and a ball, were hosted.
pbr@yna.co.kr
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