No birthday celebration for Kim this year
Print Edition
EXACTLY one year ago, flamboyant NBA hall of fame star Dennis Rodman stepped up to a microphone in the center ring of a North Korean basketball court and sang “Happy Birthday” to leader Kim Jong Un, the world’s youngest head of state.
Kim is believed to have turned 32 yesterday, but this year there have been no reports of celebrations or even any public mention of the event so far in the nation. His age is apparently a state secret.
China however offered birthday wishes. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a daily briefing yesterday that China had “expressed congratulations” to North Korea on the occasion.
In the United States, which expanded sanctions against North Korea late last month after blaming Pyongyang for a hacking attack on Sony Corp, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she had no message for Kim for his birthday.
Kim’s birth date has long been a secret in North Korea, where information about his personal life is limited and part of a highly-managed state narrative. Rodman’s song was the first time the date was confirmed at an event where Kim was present.
His gruff, low-pitched rendition of Happy Birthday was shown incessantly on state TV after the event, and became a joke among North Koreans who sing the song in the same style, according to Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours, who has made over 140 trips to North Korea.
The April 15 birthday of founding president Kim Il Sung, the young Kim’s grandfather, is the biggest holiday of the year.
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