North Korea's Kim makes rare visit to father's tomb, pledging his devotion to 'sacred struggle'

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has paid his respect at a family mausoleum to mark the birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong Il, state media said Monday, pledging to continue the “sacred struggle” for prosperity and security.

Kim Jong Il’s birthday, which falls on Feb. 16, is widely celebrated as a major holiday in North Korea, called the Day of the Shining Star.

But it was the first time in four years that the young Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in the capital, Pyongyang, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, for the anniversary.

Accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, his sister and a senior ruling Workers’ Party official, among other aides, Kim Jong Un paid homage “in the humblest reverence,” KCNA said.

“He expressed his solemn will to devote himself to the sacred struggle for the eternal prosperity of the country, the security of the people and the promotion of their well-being,” it said.

The Kim dynasty has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War II and has sought to strengthen its leaders’ grip on power by building cults of personality around them, though Kim Jong Un has shown signs of increasingly trying to stand more on his own feet without relying on his predecessors.

• Add to Google

North Koreans mark Lunar New Year at the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il

00:38

In another dispatch, the state-run news agency KCNA said Kim attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Sunday for the final phase of his pet project to build 50,000 new homes in Pyongyang.

The ambitious initiative was launched in 2021 as part of Kim’s five-year plan to strengthen the economy, and designed to distribute at least 10,000 new apartments in Pyongyang each year, though some analysts have questioned its feasibility amid international sanctions and economic troubles.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Photos and a video released by KCNA showed Kim at a ceremony receiving thunderous applause from thousands of people, many of them wearing protective helmets, against a backdrop showing images of modern apartments and high-rises.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Koo Byoung-sam, a spokesperson for South Korea’s unification ministry handling inter-Korean affairs, said North Korea appears to be focusing on producing tangible outcomes by mobilizing manpower and material where they can relatively easily make progress, such as housing construction.

During the ceremony, Kim lauded construction workers and officials for achieving nearly 400% progress last year compared with 2020, and pledged another plan to continue expanding the city.

The project would “usher in a new era of prosperity of Pyongyang in which the ideal streets of the people to be proud of in the world are built every year,” KCNA said.