North Korea celebrates 110th birthday of late President Kim Il-sung

A panel to celebrate the 110th birthday of the late President Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on April 15 – Photo: AFP

According to Chosun Central Television’s North KoreaAt 7:00 p.m., at Kim Il-sung Square in the capital Pyongyang, the government will organize a spectacular music and dance performance and fireworks in the Daedong riverside area.

North Korea often organizes large-scale activities to celebrate the birthday of late President Kim Il Sung in even years. This year is the 110th anniversary, so it is expected that the celebration will be jubilant.

According to AFP news agency, April 15 in North Korea is known as the Day of the Sun. This is the birthday of Kim Il Sung – the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong Un – one of the most important days of political holidays in Pyongyang.

Regarding the Day of the Sun, a series of welcoming events are organized for this event such as issuing commemorative stamps, holding a light festival, offering flowers…

As is customary, Pyongyang will mark April 15 with a military parade to unveil new weapons and even test nuclear weapons.

However, until April 15, the media did not mention any parade. KCTV only said there would be an “epic show” in the evening followed by fireworks.

Specialized page NK News based in Seoul, South Korea, said its sources in North Korea had heard helicopters and jets flying low over Pyongyang since early morning on April 15, hinting that there might be a review. soldiers. However, satellite images late on April 15 showed that there seemed to be no parade taking place.

Another expert said it seems likely that Pyongyang’s main parade will be held on April 25 – the day the North Korean army was founded.

“Since the two anniversaries are only 10 days apart, it seems a bit difficult to hold the parade on both occasions,” Yang Moo Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.

In the old days of anniversaries, it was only hours later that state television broadcast programs about military parades.

Seoul military officials said they had no information on whether there would be a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 but were “closely monitoring” the situation.

Kim Il Sung died in 1994 but is the “eternal president” of the country. His body is preserved in its original state at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the outskirts of Pyongyang.

North Koreans are taught to respect Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il.