North Korea is devoting itself to preparing celebrations for the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth on April 15th to a considerably greater extent than for that of Kim Jong Il, which falls this Thursday.
An official from the Ministry of Unification commented today, “North Korea is in the midst of preparing for Kim Jong Il’s birthday, but it seems like it won’t exceed the existing level at all. It appears that they are putting more weight on Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15th.”
“For North Korea to pay out a lot for both the two events would be difficult,” the official added by way of possible explanation for the North Korean approach. “North Korea at this point looks to be focusing on preparing bigger events for Kim Il Sung’s birthday than for Kim Jong Il.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification also noted in a briefing earlier today that the government is in the middle of working to establish precisely what North Korea is preparing for February 16th.
“Naturally, North Korea will celebrate it meaningfully,” the spokesperson conceded, before reaffirming, “but, primarily it appears to be at the level of last year.”
