Kim Jong-un celebrates 80th of late father near Mount Paektu

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Kim Jong-un celebrates 80th of late father near Mount Paektu

Published: 16 Feb. 2022, 19:02 Updated: 16 Feb. 2022, 19:10

North Korean officials pay tribute Tuesday to late leader Kim Jong-il in front of his statue in Samjiyon, Ryanggang Province, in this photo released by state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended a celebratory gathering near Mount Paektu to mark the 80th birthday anniversary of his late father Kim Jong-il, according to the regime's state media Wednesday.

The meeting, held in the northwestern city of Samjiyon in Ryanggang Province on Tuesday, paid tribute to the former North Korean leader, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

“A floral basket under the name of Kim Jong-un was laid in front of the statue of the Chairman,” KCNA reported, using the title reserved for Kim Jong-il even after his death.

The symbolic gathering is the first to be held by the North not in Pyongyang, but in Samjiyon, home to a major urban development site that has been touted by state media in recent months.

Samjiyon is a “revolutionary sanctuary” closely associated with Mount Paektu, a dormant volcano on the Sino-North Korean border, famous for its caldera lake and significance as the birthplace of Dangun, the mythological founder of the first Korean kingdom.

According to the North’s official propaganda, Mount Paektu was also where Kim Il Sung conducted guerrilla operations against the Japanese during their 1910-45 colonial occupation of Korea. It is also said to be the site of Kim Jong-il’s birth on Feb 16, 1942, although records show he was actually born in the Russian Far East.

Samjiyon has received special attention from Kim Jong-un and the North Korean regime, which has been redeveloping it as a “model city” since 2018.

Kim has vigorously touted the development of Samjiyon, which he called a “gift of loyalty to the 80th birth anniversary of Chairman Kim Jong-il,” according to state media reports last week.

Footage from Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television (KCTV) shows North Korea's leader attending a large-scale meeting at Samjiyon in Ryanggang Province, marking the 80th birthday anniversary of his late father Kim Jong-il. [YONHAP]

The gathering at the city marks a departure from Kim Jong-un’s usual custom of paying tribute to his father at Kumsusan Palace of Sun, which served as the Pyongyang residence of his grandfather Kim Il Sung and is now the mausoleum where the embalmed remains of both Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state.

Also in attendance at the Samjiyon gathering were senior officials from the ruling Workers’ Party, including Kim Yo-jong, Kim’s sister and head of the party propaganda department, as well as Ri Il-hwan, a member of the party’s Politburo.

The KCNA said Ri delivered an address, but made no mention of a message by leader Kim at the gathering.

Missing from Tuesday’s gathering was Pak Jong-chon, a member of the Politburo Presidium who was also absent from a major session of the North’s rubber-stamp legislature, the Supreme People’s Assembly, held on Feb. 6 and 7.

His last public appearance in state media reports was at an art performance marking the Lunar New Year on Feb. 1.

North Korea has held various events to mark the anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s birth, with South Korean military authorities saying that they detected signs of possible military parade preparations earlier this week.

Particular attention will be paid to whether the North will display the missiles it tested last month, which include hypersonic and cruise missiles.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]