hankyoreh

By Gil Yun-hyun, staff reporter

The 101st birthday of Kim Il-sung, which many had expected to be a turning point in the crisis on the Korean peninsula that begin with North Korea’s third nuclear test, passed without incident. Despite concern over the possibility of a missile launch, none went ahead, and a military parade was not held, unlike last year.

Accompanied by senior members of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party, the National Defense Commission, and the DPRK People’s Army, Kim Jong-un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun at midnight on the morning of Apr. 15, according to a report by the North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim and his entourage went to the palace to pay their respects to Kim Il-sung, his grandfather and founder of North Korea, and Kim Jong-il, his father and former leader of the country, both of whose bodies lie in state there.

It had been about two weeks since Kim Jong-un had last made a public appearance, when he attended the Supreme People’s Assembly on Apr. 1. Kim had spent most of March inspecting front-line military units and had not been seen in public for some time. A variety of theories had been offered about his absence.

However, no remarks by Kim appeared in the Apr. 15 report by the KCNA. This meant that no clues were available for those trying to guess how North Korea views the proposals for talks made by South Korea and the US.

“On Apr. 14, North Korean flags and festival decorations were strung along the streets of Pyongyang,” said Xinhua News Agency, China’s official press agency, in a report on events in Pyongyang. “The citizens, dressed in their finest wear and traditional attire, went to Mangyeongdae [the birthplace of Kim Il-sung], where they adorned the bronze statue of Kim Il-sung with floral wreathes.”

“Neighboring countries were nervously expecting that the North would launch a missile on or around Apr. 15, but in downtown Pyongyang, there are no traces of such a mood,” reported Japanese wire service Kyodo News.

On Apr. 12 last year, just before the birthday of Kim Il-sung, North Korea launched the Unha-3 space rocket despite opposition of the international community. On Apr. 15, the 100th birthday, it conducted the largest military parade in its history, and showed 880 weapons from 34 categories. During that parade, North Korea even unveiled the KN-08, its new ballistic missile.

Though the military parade was not held on Apr. 15, it could be held on Apr. 25, as it was in previous years. Apr. 25 is the day that commemorates the establishment of the (North) Korean People’s Army.

“The South Korean army believes that the North can carry out a provocation at any time,” said Kim Min-seok, spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of National Defense. “We continue to vigilantly watch for movements by the North Korean military, including preparations for a missile launch.”

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