In a new 2023 calendar, the North Korean government published photos of gifts the country’s supreme leaders have received from foreign leaders and pro-North Korean groups overseas. The new calendar did not include images of gifts received from Chinese president Xi Jinping, however.
The calendar, published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House and recently obtained by Daily NK, published photos of gifts received by Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il or Kim Jong Un for every month of the year.
The calendar includes short explanations of each of the gifts pictured. For January, there is a photo of the long sword, commemorative gold medal and teacup set Kim Jong Un received from Russian president Vladimir Putin during the North Korean leader’s visit to Russia in April 2019.
Below the photos is a caption that reads, “Given to dear Comrade Kim Jong Un by Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation.” The caption is in both Korean and Chinese.
The Foreign Languages Publishing House publishes its calendars in Korean with accompanying English or Chinese translations for distribution to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or overseas legations.
The calendar Daily NK obtained included Chinese translations, suggesting that it was printed for distribution to the North Korean embassy in Beijing, North Korean consulates in China, or other North Korean agencies in that country.
For February, the calendar published another photo of a gift Kim received from Putin — a silver vase, received in 2007.
In March, there is a photo of a ceramic eagle late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung received in 1988 from the East German minister of state security, while April has a photo of a ceramic cup and ceramic kettle Kim Il Sung received from Miloš Jakeš, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
May has a pearl-adorned ceramic vase late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il received from a Nigerian lawmaker.
The initial months of the calendar appears focused on gifts received from heads of state or other high-ranking leaders of countries that have maintained friendly ties with North Korea since the Kim Il Sung era.
The calendar raises questions, however, about why it did not include any photos of gifts Kim Jong Un received from China’s supreme leader.
When Kim visited China with his wife Ri Sol Ju in 2018, he reportedly received from Xi a three meter-high cloisonné vase, high-end tableware set, porcelain tea set and bottles of high-end Moutai liquor.
When Xi visited North Korea in June of 2019, he gave Kim a bust of the North Korean leader.
A year later in 2020, Korean Central Television introduced the bust, which is on display at the International Friendship Exhibition, explaining that “the most famous sculptor in China” was specially tasked with creating the bust.
Diplomatic reasons may explain the omission of photos of Xi’s gifts in the calendar.
A diplomatic source in North Korea told Daily NK that “our relations with China are more important than relations with any other country.”
The source suggested that the publishers did not include Xi’s gifts for fear of breaching diplomatic etiquette given that “the calendar embodies the admiration of the people of the world for North Korea’s three past and present leaders in 2023, when the birthdays of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un mark symbolically important fifth or tenth-year anniversaries in North Korea’s revolutionary history.”
The calendar also included photos of gifts the Kim family received from pro-North Korean groups and individuals from China, Singapore, Italy and elsewhere.
The inclusion of photos of gifts received by Kim Jong Un is extraordinary in the history of North Korea’s calendars, suggesting that Kim intends to acquire a similar level of political status as his forebears.
Also noteworthy is how the calendar quietly highlights not only the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, but also of Kim Jong Un.
The months of April, February and January — when the birthdays of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un fall, respectively — include photos of gifts the three leaders received. This suggests that the government will intensify efforts to deify the youngest Kim.
Please direct any comments or questions about this article to dailynkenglish@uni-media.net.
