North Korea pauses to say 'happy birthday' to Kim Jong-il
North Korea celebrates 68th birthday of supreme leader Kim Jong-il
Tuesday, 16, Feb 2010 05:03
By Matthew Champion.
Lavish synchronised swimming and ice-skating displays, flower festivals and gifts of sweets to children have marked the 68th birthday of Kim Jong-il in North Korea.
Kim Jong-il did not attend any of the events, however, thought in part due to his deteriorating health following a reported stroke in 2008.
In South Korea meanwhile scores of defectors released balloons carrying 20,000 flyers close to the Korean demilitarised zone urging North Koreans to listen to anti-Pyongyang broadcasts.
The world's most secretive state celebrated the official birthday of its supreme leader with a marked decrease in its traditional bellicose language towards the west.
Kim Jong-il second-in-command Kim Yong-nam said the country's leader had "underscored the need to put an end to hostile relations with the US through dialogue and negotiations".
The reclusive leader's 67th year was marked by a sharp escalation of tensions with the outside world, with even Pyongyang's closest ally China agreeing to sanctions after an underground nuclear test last May.
Despite the sanctions, a series of long-range missile tests followed, as well as the petulant jailing of two US journalists after they were found guilty of trespassing on North Korean soil.
But the release of Euna Lee and Laura Ling following a direct intervention by former US president Bill Clinton suggested there was still some life left in the north's bilateral relationships.
All the tumultuous events of the last year were seen as Kim Jong-il's attempts to consolidate the succession of his third and youngest son Kim Jong-un, now widely regarded as his father's chosen heir.
The state's mouthpiece the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) nevertheless dubbed Kim Jong-il the "most outstanding political elder and peerlessly brilliant commander of the present era".
Although North Korea today marked the 68th birthday of its 'dear leader', his actual date and place of birth are shrouded in mystery.
According to the country's official history he was born on February 16th 1942 on Mount Paektu under a double rainbow and bright star.
But analysts believe he was actually born in Siberia a year earlier while his father Kim Il-sung was in exile.