Rare Photos Out Of North Korea Show Kim Jong Il Birthday Celebrations
North Korea celebrated Thursday one of its most important holidays: the birthday anniversary of their late leader, Kim Jong Il, who would have been 75 years old. The day is otherwise known in the country as the "Day of the Shining Star."
In the notoriously hermetic country, it's considered the second most important holiday of the year, trailing just behind April's birthday anniversary of Kim Il Sung, otherwise known as the "eternal president," according to the Associated Press.
The typical celebrations got under way Thursday, piles of flowers adorning the statues of the late leader, jovial dancing and reverential remembrances abound. But it remains a troublesome time for the country under the stewardship of Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's son, amid provocative missile tests and the alleged assassination this week of Kim's half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, the elThe citizens of North Korea, isolated from most of the outside world, were reportedly unaware of the killing allegedly carried out by their country.
Photos of celebrations distributed by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed military marches, folks eating treats and gatherings around statues.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the birth anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il (the Day of the Shining Star), to pay tribute to him, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on Feb. 16, 2017. Photo: KCNA/Handout via Reuters
Kim died in 2011, famously leading to mass, public, near-hysterical mourning in North Korea. Kim Jong Un then took power. Kim Jong Il led North Korea for 17 years in a dictatorial fashion, his unreliable leadership causing countless food crises as the country withdrew further from the world.
His life was also the subject of wild rumors and manufactured tales of glory. Just a few morsels to that end: he claimed to have made at least 11 holes-in-one in his only round of golf; rumor has it he killed his brother at just five years old; he was called many names, including Dear Leader, Supreme Leader, Our Father, The General and Generalissimo; he had a fear of flying; he wore lifts in his shoes to appear taller; and he wrote some 1,500 books in three years spent at college.
Embedded below are more photos and videos of North Korea's celebrations of the birthday anniversary of their former leader.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the birth anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il (the Day of the Shining Star), to pay tribute to him, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on Feb. 16, 2017. Photo: KCNA/Handout via Reuters
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