North Korea’s Kim Jong Un visits family tomb to pay tribute to grandfather

People lay flowers before a statue of Kim Il Sung at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang on April 15, 2021. PHOTO: AFP

SEOUL (REUTERS, AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un paid his respects at the mausoleum for his grandfather Kim Il Sung on Thursday (April 15) to mark the birthday of the founder of the state, official media KCNA reported.

Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, also watched a performance of song and dance at the Kumsusan Palace of Sun, where his father and grandfather lie in state, in celebration of the national holiday, KCNA reported on Friday.

"When the performance was over, the audience again broke into stormy cheers for the General Secretary," it reported.

Kim's no-show at last year's anniversary fanned speculation about his health. A flurry of unconfirmed reports about his condition and his whereabouts followed, including reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after a surgery.

Kim was accompanied to the palace this year by senior North Korean officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, KCNA reported.

Earlier this month, North Korea said it would not take part in the Tokyo Olympics due to coronavirus concerns, dashing South Korean hopes that the Games could be a catalyst to revive peace talks. North Korea says it has not had any coronavirus cases.

Kim Il Sung was born 109 years ago and April 15 is the most important date in the nuclear-armed state's annual political calendar, where it is known as the Day of the Sun.

But the country is more isolated than ever after it imposed a strict border lockdown to protect itself from the coronavirus pandemic that first emerged in neighbouring China.

It still insists that it has not had any cases of the disease - a claim that analysts doubt - but has paid a heavy economic price.

Groups of Pyongyang residents went to Mansu hill, where giant bronze statues of founder Kim and his son and successor Kim Jong Il gaze out over the capital, to lay flowers at their base.

"Comrades Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il will always be with us", read a floral frieze.

Citizens, many of the women in traditional dress, were assembled in key locations for performances to mark the occasion. In the streets, everyone wore masks, although the dancers for the shows had their faces uncovered.

It represented an increase in festivities compared with last year's subdued events.

"North Korea has brought the commemorations back to almost normal compared to last year when most activities were cancelled due to Covid," Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP.

Nonetheless several usual elements were missing, notably the Pyongyang Marathon, the country's biggest annual tourism money-spinner, which was again cancelled due to the pandemic.

Students and young participants dance during an evening gala and fireworks event marking the birth anniversary of late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2021. PHOTO: AFP

Earlier this week he posed for pictures with delegates to a ruling party conference.

At a five-yearly party congress in January he repeatedly apologised for mistakes in economic management, saying the last five years had been the "worst" time.

North Koreans are taught from birth to revere Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and all adults wear badges depicting one or both men.

Kim Il Sung died in 1994 but remains the country's Eternal President, and his preserved body lies in state in a red-lit chamber at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the outskirts of the capital.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.