January 8th is the 41st birthday of Kim Jong-un, born in 1984. After ascending to power at the age of 27 due to the sudden death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011, he solidified the foundation of his regime through nuclear development and a reign of terror, convening regular party congresses every five years that had not been held for 36 years since 1980. (7th meeting in May 2016, 8th meeting in December 2020) and is ruling North Korea.
In South Korea, one can become a presidential candidate starting at the age of 40, but Kim Jong-un has already entered the ranks of rulers in his 14th year in power (enables him to serve three consecutive terms as president). In particular, with the 9th Party Congress, when the 4th party system will be launched in January next year, just around the corner, Kim Jong-un’s independent path and idolization are accelerating, attracting attention.
A noteworthy move
Since taking power, Kim Jong-un has emphasized bench-marking Kim Il-sung and carrying out the instructions of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in order to compensate for his lack of charisma and induce loyalty. However, he has recently shown a gradual departure from this trend.
Representative measures related to erasing traces of predecessors and idolizing readers are ① advocating the so-called ‘hostile two-state theory’ that denies nation and unification ② the ‘Juche’ era established by Kim Jong-il (starting from September 1997, Kim Jong-il has designated 1912, when Kim Il-sung was born, as Juche 1) ) Abolition of use ③ Kim Il-sung’s birthday was downgraded from ‘Day of the Sun’ to ‘4.15’ ④ Diversion of the title ‘Sun’ used for Kim Il-sung to Kim Jong-un ⑤ Cancellation or reduction of commemorative events commemorating the idolization of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il ⑥ Distribution of portraits and badges of Kim Jong-un ⑦ New Year’s visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun and celebrations centered on the royal family, including Kim Joo-ae and Kim Yo-jong Event progress can be mentioned.
Therefore, many experts have predicted that “North Korea is likely to designate Kim Jong-un’s birthday as a national holiday starting in 2025.” In countries such as North Korea that adopted the suryeong system, emperor system, and king system, the birthday of the supreme leader has a special meaning, and in fact, the main axis of idolization during the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il eras was birthdays (‘Day of Gwangmyeongseong, Day of the Sun’). But by January 8th, that hadn’t really happened. What is the reason?
Reasons for not designating Kim Jong-un’s birthday as a national holiday
First of all, we can consider Kim Jong-un’s speed control. Kim Jong-un is 41 years old this year. He is still a young leader. So you may think there is no need to rush. In the case of his father Kim Jong-il, his birthday on February 7, 1992, when he turned 50, was designated as the ‘nation’s greatest holiday.’
Therefore, rather than designating it as an official anniversary (holding a large-scale idolization event) for the time being, it seems reasonable to create an atmosphere of loyalty through measures such as private loyalty events, ideological education, and provision of benevolence. In particular, the painful family history of coming from a Korean-Japanese (‘Jjaepo’)-North Korean defector family (‘Aunt Yong-sook Yong-sook exiled to the U.S.’) may be having an impact.
Next, the North Korean authorities’ main point of idolization could also be one reason. Kim Jong-un is now highlighting the image of a ‘friendly parent’ by using Kim Joo-ae ▲ imprinting the image of a ‘leader who loves the people’ by implementing the 20×10 policy for flood recovery and local development ▲ ‘future’ through going all-in on nuclear and missile development and sending troops to the Russo-U.S. war This is because they are focusing on instilling the image of a leader who works hard to ensure the safety of the generation and build a strong nation.
Kim Jong-un held a grand New Year’s celebration banquet with party, government, and military executives (including family) at midnight on the New Year, and on the 6th, he and Kim Joo-ae test-fired a hypersonic intermediate-range missile (IRBM) with a range of 1,500 km targeting the United States and Japan. The video instruction of can also be seen along this same line of extension.
Conclusion
However, North Korea will not postpone the issue of ‘designating Kim Jong-un’s birthday as a national holiday’ indefinitely. This is because everyone around him now knows very well Kim Jong-un’s inner desire to rise to the ranks of his predecessors, or rather to surpass them.
Perhaps that time will be earlier than Kim Jong-il (50 years old), and the closest time can be assumed to be January next year. This is because the five-year economic and defense development plan will end at the end of this year, and the 9th Party Congress, where Kim Jong-un’s fourth term system will be launched, will be convened in January next year. This is because when conceiving the concept of proclaiming ‘2026 as the first year of a strong nation that won the war against imperialists with Kim Jong-un’s independent path and great leadership,’ birthday idolization is also quite helpful.
Therefore, we must be wary of underestimating Kim Jong-un. Although he is a young leader, he has a thoroughly planned time table, rules with an iron fist through permanent martial law, makes decisions such as sending troops to the Russian-U.S. war, and controls the pace of idolizing himself. And after the US presidential election, he is attempting a second battle with Trump, whom the whole world fears.
Let me make it clear that the author’s conclusion on Kim Jong-un’s birthday is in no way intended to praise the dictator. This is to emphasize that security and national interest ‘must face reality’ regardless of ‘whether an action is right or wrong.’ Going one step further, looking at the current state of conflict in our society, which is extremely confused after the ‘12.3 martial law’, I have the bitter opinion that ‘if we overlook Kim Jong-un’s will and ability, the free Republic of Korea may soon be harmed by a young, cold-blooded man.’ It is to convey.
Yu Fei Mu-hwan-National Opinion Integration-Main Action Committee-Jeoksu Cheonseok (滴水穿石)!
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Source: www.dailynk.com
