North Korea’s Birthday Bash: Celebration of Kim Il Sung’s Birthday Takes an Unusual Turn

With cultural events, North Korea celebrates Kim Il Sung’s 112th birthday and alters celebration terminology
In April, plans for a military reconnaissance satellite launch aim to enhance defense capabilities
Media term change from “Day of the Sun” to “April Festival” hints at celebration framing shift

North Korea is lifting spirits with photo exhibitions and art festivals in anticipation of Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15.

On the 9th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that a photo exhibition titled Parents of the People successfully opened at the Okryu Exhibition Hall to celebrate the 112th birthday of the great leader Kim Il Sung. The exhibition features numerous photos and video media showcasing the distinguished characteristics of three generations, including Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il, and his grandson Kim Jong Un.

North Korean experts have analyzed this action as an attempt to foster the festival atmosphere and highlight the legitimacy of the three generations of succession.

High-ranking officials, including Ju Chang Il, chief of the Workers’ Party, Choi Hee Tae, chairman of the People’s Committee of Pyongyang, and Hong Chol Jin, secretary of the Party Committee of Pyongyang, attended the opening ceremony.

Commemorating Kim Il Sung’s birthday, also the 59th National Student Art Festival opened at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace. The festival featured performances by over 1,200 students and children nationwide.

North Korea is also preparing for the Friendship Art Festival, an international art event, around Kim Il Sung’s birthday.

According to the Rodong Sinmun on the 5th, this year’s festival will feature participation from over 20 art groups from Russia, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Shanghai Circus from China, and various art groups from Mongolia. The festival will be diverse in terms of total arts, ranging from solo to group performances. The participants will play songs about Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

According to North Korean experts, this festival has been held biennially in April of even-numbered years. The Rodong Sinmun announced that this year, in celebration of Kim Il Sung’s 112th birthday, participating teams will submit performance videos online, edit them, and broadcast them throughout North Korea on Korean Central TV from the 11th to the 25th.

North Korea celebrated Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15, known as the Day of the Sun, but the terminology changed recently, catching the attention of North Korean experts.

A government official from the Ministry of Unification, during a meeting with reporters, noted that “recent North Korean media have been using changed terms for Kim Il Sung’s birthday, such as April Festival or Spring Festival in April, instead of Day of the Sun,” adding that “this unusual situation requires analysis as it is an exceptional situation, expressing differently from the traditional terminology.”

Meanwhile, despite the festive atmosphere, North Korea is expected to launch a military reconnaissance satellite in April, according to predictions by both the South Korean Ministry of National Defense and foreign institutions.

On the 8th, Minister Shin Won Sik watched the live relay of the launch of the second Korean military reconnaissance satellite from the United States at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul. He met with reporters and said, “We have been watching whether North Korea could launch (a reconnaissance satellite) in March, but they seem to be making some additional technical enhancements. If the technical enhancements proceed as expected, it will be mid-April.”

“Since April 15 (Kim Il Sung’s birthday) is one of the most special days in North Korea, it is assumed that they will try to launch around that time. If it is delayed a few more days, it would be reasonable to keep an eye on it until the end of April.” An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff also predicted, “North Korea is actively preparing for the launch by compensating for the shortcomings of the launch last year (2023).”

“Considering that we launched the second reconnaissance satellite on the 8th, North Korea is also expected to launch at least by mid-April.” Since the beginning of this year, there have been numerous sightings of equipment and personnel movements at the Seohae Satellite Launch Site in Dongchang-ri, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, and it is analyzed that the preparation for the reconnaissance satellite launch is nearing completion.

North Korea successfully entered the orbit with its first military reconnaissance satellite, Malligyong-1, on November 21 last year. Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of the North Korean Workers’ Party, was widely reported in the Korean Central News Agency as saying at the Workers’ Party Plenary Meeting held on December 30 last year, “We have declared the task of launching three additional reconnaissance satellites in 2024.”

Park Kyung Soo, the deputy director of the National Aerospace Development Administration of North Korea, held a press conference on the 31st of last month, saying, “Based on the successful launch of the reconnaissance satellite Malligyong-1 last year, great progress has been made in strengthening North Korea’s national defense capabilities, and we anticipate to launch several reconnaissance satellites this year with even more advanced technology than before.”

In February, Minister Shin Won Sik evaluated that even though Malligyong-1 is successfully orbiting, it is not fully performing its main role as a reconnaissance satellite, such as transmitting ground target shooting.