N. Korea silent about birthday
Source: Agencies |
January 8, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
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WHAT do you get the future leader of North Korea for his birthday? Sports cars, racehorses and yachts if you're a party apparatchik hoping to please the Swiss-schooled "Young General."
But if North Korea is planning a big birthday bash for Kim Jong Un, it is keeping it well under wraps.
Unveiled to the world last year as leader Kim Jong Il's chosen successor to lead the nation, Kim Jong Un is believed to be turning 28 today.
However, North Korea has never confirmed his age or birth date - or even that he is Kim Jong Il's son.
North Korea watchers, however, say party leaders will still probably line up to offer lavish gifts to Kim Jong Un, popularly known as the "Young General."
Sports cars, racehorses and yachts would not be out of the question - even perhaps an iPad for a young man said to favor technology, said Park In-ho, managing editor at the Daily NK, a Seoul-based Internet news outlet that focuses on North Korean affairs.
North Korean military chief Yi Yong Ho ordered a raft of birthday gifts for the young Kim and a special army task force was assembled to determine what presents to buy and how to pay for them, the Daily NK reported this week, citing unidentified sources.
The Kims' birthdays are considered the most important holidays in North Korea, said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the private Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea.
But if North Korea is planning a big birthday bash for Kim Jong Un, it is keeping it well under wraps.
Unveiled to the world last year as leader Kim Jong Il's chosen successor to lead the nation, Kim Jong Un is believed to be turning 28 today.
However, North Korea has never confirmed his age or birth date - or even that he is Kim Jong Il's son.
North Korea watchers, however, say party leaders will still probably line up to offer lavish gifts to Kim Jong Un, popularly known as the "Young General."
Sports cars, racehorses and yachts would not be out of the question - even perhaps an iPad for a young man said to favor technology, said Park In-ho, managing editor at the Daily NK, a Seoul-based Internet news outlet that focuses on North Korean affairs.
North Korean military chief Yi Yong Ho ordered a raft of birthday gifts for the young Kim and a special army task force was assembled to determine what presents to buy and how to pay for them, the Daily NK reported this week, citing unidentified sources.
The Kims' birthdays are considered the most important holidays in North Korea, said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the private Sejong Institute think tank in South Korea.
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