North Korean authorities recently showed military officers a documentary featuring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s mother, Ko Young Hee, and his wife, Ri Sol Ju – the first time both women have been featured in the same film for the military, Daily NK has learned.
Past films for the military have profiled both women separately, and the fact that they were featured together in the same film suggests it was created specifically for the 60th anniversary of the Day of Songun, Aug. 25. The Day of Songun celebrates the beginning of Kim Jong Il’s “military-first leadership” in 1960.
A Daily NK military source told Daily NK yesterday that the film, which was around 90 minutes long, was entitled “The Great Mother of Songun Korea.” The source, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said that the General Political Bureau – the military’s internal politburo – ordered the film shown to military officers affiliated with the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces, the General Political Bureau, the General Staff Department, among other military agencies.
The film includes a scene where Ko accompanies Kim Jong Il on a visit to Osandok, the hometown of Kim’s mother, Kim Jong Suk, in March of 1998. The film’s narrator praises Kang Pan Sok (Kim Il Sung’s mother) and Kim Jong Suk and says that “their traditions” have been passed on to Ko.
The film also had a scene where Ko reads aloud remarks during a celebration of her 50th birthday in 2002. Military officers watching the film found it interesting that the movie suggested that Ko was born in 1953, the source said.
Officers watching the movie also focused on Ko’s descriptions of Kim Jong Il. Ko reportedly stated in the film that Kim “looked very flustered” after “losing the Great Suryongnim [Kim Il Sung]” and that he had “trouble sleeping” due to “overlapping natural disasters,” the great concern expressed by officials due to the worsening economic situation, and reports about the appearance of “vagabonds.”
At the mid-point of the film, pictures were shown with Ko reading, doing artwork and planting trees with her son, Kim Jong Un. The source said that the film also had video of an adult Kim engaged in on-the-spot inspections with Kim Jong Il and appearing together to watch a military parade.
The film aimed to highlight the fact that Ko was Kim Jong Un’s mother and that she was both a “revolutionary comrade” and wife of Kim Jong Il who went through troubled times together with the North Korean leader. The source suggested that the film was trying to highlight Kim’s connection with the Mt. Baekdu bloodline to further justify his rule.
The film stands out because, in contrast to similar, past documentaries (the first of which was broadcast on Apr. 24, 2012, or Military Foundation Day), Ri Sol Ju was also featured. The movie included a 15 minute-long video of Ri Sol Ju conducting “activities” at the end, along with the narrator saying that “Today, the respected Lady Ri Sol Ju is resolutely continuing the legacy of the great task of the Juche Revolution.”
The film appeared to be trying to portray Ri Sol Ju as the “New Mother of Korea” during the Kim Jong Un era – a successor to the Ko Young Hee of the Kim Jong Il era.
Military officials watching the film reportedly found it interesting that the film featured Ko, given that she has not been highlighted by the regime as of late. Indeed, North Korean authorities have long refrained from specifically mentioning her because she is Japanese-Korean.
In fact, the new film did not mention Ko’s real name or her past. She was simply described as “The Mother of Korea” or the “Mother of Pyongyang.”
“North Korean authorities designated any mention of Ko Young Hee’s real name or her history as a top secret from 2012 [when Kim Jong Un came to power],” the source said, adding that a secret directive is in place among high-ranking officials to punish anyone who leaks any information about her past.
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