[Anchor]
Today, as North Korea marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Chairman Kim Il-sung, the atmosphere of mourning is escalating. However, there is also a process of idolization of Kim Jong-un through what is known as “erasing the past” taking place.
It is anticipated that whether the visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Il-sung’s remains are kept, will be used as a gauge to evaluate the extent of idolization of Kim Jong-un.
Reporter Jo Suhyun brings this report.
[Reporter]
As the 30th anniversary of Chairman Kim Il-sung approaches, North Korea has recently highlighted praise and mourning.
[Chosun Central TV: Always being among the people, leading them within the working class, drawing the noble image of the founding leader…]
The Rodong Sinmun emphasized that Chairman Kim Il-sung should be forever revered as the progenitor of socialist North Korea. It underscored that following the will of Chairman Kim Jong-un is the path to realizing the wishes of Kim Il-sung, interpreting it as an attempt to strengthen internal cohesion.
On the other hand, North Korea’s country tourism bureau, ‘Chosun Tourism,’ released the phrase ‘Eternal Sun of Juche’ on its website, reinstating the title ‘Sun,’ which had been restrained until now, to Kim Il-sung.
However, there are observations that the recent acceleration of Kim Jong-un’s individual idolization efforts could affect the level of the 30th-anniversary commemoration of Kim Il-sung.
[Kim Yong-hyun / Professor of North Korean Studies, Dongguk University: For the mourning for grandfather and father, as the scale of events like the Sun Festival or Kumsusan Festival is continually reduced, it is gradually being changed to Kim Jong-un. So, the personal worship of Kim Jong-un is starting to emerge.]
Therefore, attention is focused on whether Chairman Kim will visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where his grandfather’s remains are enshrined.
Through this 30th anniversary event, it is expected that a sense of how far the idolization of Kim Jong-un has progressed can be assessed.
This is YTN Jo Suhyun reporting.
Video editing: Lee Young-hoon
Graphics: Lee Won-hee
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