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South China Morning Post
18-02-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
‘Solemn will': North Korea's Kim reclaims ancestors' legacy with tomb visit
Published: 8:00am, 18 Feb 2025 North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare visit to his ancestors' mausoleum on Sunday, marking the first time in four years he has paid tribute to the tomb on his father's birthday. Analysts suggest the gesture may have been an attempt to reinforce his regime's legitimacy amid growing international calls for it to denuclearise. On Sunday, Kim, accompanied by top military officials and his influential sister, Kim Yo-jong , visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to honour their late father Kim Jong-il, and grandfather Kim Il-sung. The visit coincided with the Day of the Shining Star, a national holiday in North Korea on February 16, Kim Jong-il's birthday. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the younger Kim expressed a 'solemn will' to dedicate himself to the 'sacred struggle' for the nation's eternal prosperity, the safety of its people and the promotion of their well-being. He vowed to remain faithful to the revolutionary ideals of both his father and grandfather, whose embalmed bodies are housed at the mausoleum. It marked the first time since 2021 that he had visited the mausoleum on his father's birthday.
The Independent
17-02-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Kim Jong Un makes rare visit to father's tomb
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid his respect at a family mausoleum to mark the birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong Il, state media KCNA said on Monday. Kim Jong Il's birthday, which falls on Feb. 16, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea, called the Day of the Shining Star. But it was the first time in four years that the young Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of Sun in the capital Pyongyang, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, for the anniversary. Accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, his sister and a senior ruling Workers' Party official, among other aides, Kim Jong Un paid homage 'in the humblest reverence,' KCNA said. 'He expressed his solemn will to devote himself to the sacred struggle for the eternal prosperity of the country, the security of the people and the promotion of their well-being,' it said. The Kim dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War Two and has sought to strengthen their grip on power by building cults of personality around them, though Kim Jong Un has shown signs of increasingly trying to stand more on his own feet without relying on his predecessors. In another dispatch, KCNA said Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for the final phase of his pet project to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang. The ambitious initiative was launched in 2021 as part of Kim's five-year plan to boost the economy, and designed to distribute at least 10,000 new apartments in Pyongyang each year, though some analysts have questioned its feasibility amid international sanctions and economic woes. During the ceremony, Kim lauded construction workers and officials for achieving nearly 400% progress last year compared to 2020, and pledged another plan to continue expanding the city. The project would 'usher in a new era of prosperity of Pyongyang in which the ideal streets of the people to be proud of in the world are built every year,' KCNA said.
Euronews
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Kim Jong-un celebrates final phase of construction project with enormous explosion
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un detonated a massive explosion at a groundbreaking ceremony in the country's capital on Sunday as part of the final phase of an initiative to build thousands of new apartments. In footage released by state media on Monday, the 41-year-old spoke to a large crowd, many of whom were wearing protective helmets. By activating a switch, Kim triggered a large blast in the Hwasong district, a suburb of Pyongyang where many high-rise buildings have been built in recent years. Sunday's event comes as part of a five-year drive to construct 50,000 apartments in the capital. "With the 10,000-household construction project of this year, the construction of 50,000 houses in Pyongyang City, which has been vigorously implemented since the Party Congress, has finally entered the final stage of completion," Kim said in his address. The ceremony took place on the anniversary of his father's birthday, an occasion known in North Korea as the Day of the Shining Star. Kim also visited his family's mausoleum on Sunday for the first time in four years. It houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather.
Sky News
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un triggers huge explosion in capital for construction project
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has detonated explosives creating a massive blast during a groundbreaking ceremony at a construction site in the capital, state-run media has reported. Footage showed Mr Kim making a speech in Pyongyang on Sunday, surrounded by enthusiastically cheering crowds, before twisting a switch to ignite explosions. The blast threw enormous clouds of dust and smoke into the air. The project in the Hwasong suburb aims to build 10,000 flats, part of a five-year plan to construct 50,000 new apartments. He addressed hundreds of people, reportedly construction workers, who were standing in coordinated sections. They had been assembled with matching hard hats to create colourful sections in the crowds. "The Hwasong area will soon become more famous not only as a cradle of the happy and civilised life of the people but as a land of history, which tells new miraculous tales of indomitable socialist Korea," Mr Kim said in a speech translated by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The Hwasong district has already seen a number of new apartment blocks over the past few years. Sky News is not able to independently verify the reports as international media is rarely allowed access to North Korea. On Sunday Mr Kim also visited his family's mausoleum on what would have been his father's birthday. Kim Jong Il's birthday, which falls on 16 February, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea, called the Day of the Shining Star. But it was the first time in four years that the young Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of Sun in the capital Pyongyang, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, for the anniversary. He pledged to continue the "sacred struggle" for prosperity and security, state media KCNA said on Monday.
NBC News
17-02-2025
- Business
- NBC News
North Korea's Kim makes rare visit to father's tomb, pledging his devotion to ‘sacred struggle'
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid his respect at a family mausoleum to mark the birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong Il, state media said Monday, pledging to continue the 'sacred struggle' for prosperity and security. Kim Jong Il's birthday, which falls on Feb. 16, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea, called the Day of the Shining Star. But it was the first time in four years that the young Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in the capital, Pyongyang, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, for the anniversary. Accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, his sister and a senior ruling Workers' Party official, among other aides, Kim Jong Un paid homage 'in the humblest reverence,' KCNA said. 'He expressed his solemn will to devote himself to the sacred struggle for the eternal prosperity of the country, the security of the people and the promotion of their well-being,' it said. The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War II and has sought to strengthen its leaders' grip on power by building cults of personality around them, though Kim Jong Un has shown signs of increasingly trying to stand more on his own feet without relying on his predecessors. In another dispatch, the state-run news agency KCNA said Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for the final phase of his pet project to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang. The ambitious initiative was launched in 2021 as part of Kim's five-year plan to st rengthen t he economy, and designed to distribute at least 10,000 new apartments in Pyongyang each year, though some analysts have questioned its feasibility amid international sanctions and economic troubles. Photos and a video released by KCNA showed Kim at a ceremony receiving thunderous applause from thousands of people, many of them wearing protective helmets, against a backdrop showing images of modern apartments and high-rises. Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson for South Korea's unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, said North Korea appears to be focusing on producing tangible outcomes by mobilizing manpower and material where they can relatively easily make progress, such as housing construction. During the ceremony, Kim lauded construction workers and officials for achieving nearly 400% progress last year compared with 2020, and pledged another plan to continue expanding the city. The project would 'usher in a new era of prosperity of Pyongyang in which the ideal streets of the people to be proud of in the world are built every year,' KCNA said.
