[imText1]North Korea has been promoting the success of Wednesday’s long-range rocket launch across the state media for the last two days, with the main story in today’s edition of Rodong Shinmun, the publication of the Chosun Workers’ Party, being that Kim Jong Eun visited the launch command and control facility one hour before the launch itself and gave the order to go ahead.
In keeping with this theme, domestic lectures have also focused on explaining how Kim Jong Eun was the decisive factor in the launch success this time.
A North Hamkyung Province source told Daily NK today, “They started public lectures yesterday for enterprise and factory workers and other citizens so as to explain about the successful launch. They told us that it was a great result achieved under the ‘direct command’ of Kim Jong Eun, who was fulfilling the last wishes of Kim Jong Il.’”
The source noted that while there were also lectures about the launch on the 12th, the day of the launch itself, these mentioned only the hard work of the scientists and technicians who made the launch possible, rather than claiming that Kim Jong Eun had taken a direct hand in events.
“On launch day they said that it was a result of the high level loyalty of the scientists,” the source recalled, “but then suddenly the next day it was all about how ‘Kim Jong Eun went to the command center and issued the order to launch, and this was why it was a success.’”
“They emphasized that it was his decision to visit the command center and review the technical arrangements that was key to the success this time around,” he added.
