North Korea marks founder's birthday with fireworks, large

2024-05-20 16:18:03      点击：054

In this photo taken on Thursday, people visit the Light Festival to celebrate the 110th birth anniversary of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. AFP-Yonhap

North Korea held celebrations for the 110th birth anniversary of its founder Kim Il-sung, Friday evening, with fireworks and a dance performance at its capital, footage from state media showed.

Throngs of masked North Koreans appeared to hold large-scale dance celebrations at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang as colorful fireworks were set off in the background, according to the broadcast claimed to be live from the North's state-run Korean Central Television.

The Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported earlier that the country would hold a youth ball at the square at 7 p.m. and a musical performance afterward in commemoration of the "Day of the Sun" holiday.

Fireworks were scheduled to be set off over the banks of the Taedong River centered on the Tower of the Juche Idea in the capital, it added, with other similar events being staged across the nation.

As the North usually marks every fifth and 10th political anniversary with major celebrations, Kim Jong-un, the North's leader and grandson of the founder, was expected to attend the event in a move to rally internal unity.

He appeared previously at military parades in 2012 and 2017 marking the 100th and 105th birth anniversaries of his grandfather.

South Korea's military and intelligence authorities had not predicted a military parade for this year's anniversary, but a government source said the North was likely to hold a mass rally in the evening.

Earlier in the day, Cha Duck-chul, the acting spokesperson for Seoul's unification ministry, told reporters in a regular briefing that the government is watching closely for moves related to preparations for a military parade.

"(The North) has yet to mention matters related to the opening of a military parade," he said, adding that the ministry is also considering the possibility of such a parade taking place in time for the founding anniversary of the North Korean People's Revolutionary Army on April 25.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has revved up a festive mood for Kim Il-sung's birthday, kicking off a light festival Thursday.

North Koreans visit a light festival in celebration of 110th birth anniversary of the nation's founder Kim Il-sung at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, Thursday. AP-Yonhap

Various light sculptures of national symbols, including the country's highest peak Mount Paektu, were installed at Kim Il Sung Square for the festival that will run until Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

The North also held a music concert and a celebratory ball in the capital the previous day for the landmark anniversary, and issued commemorative stamps of its leader, it said. (Yonhap)