North Korea celebrates Kim Jong II's 68th birthday

Seoul - North Korea on Tuesday celebrated the 68th birthday of its Dear Leader, Kim Jong II, stressing its willingness to end its confrontation with the United States. Leaders of the ruling Korean Workers' Party, the military and the government reaffirmed their unwavering loyalty to Kim Jong II in a meeting on Monday, praising him as "the most outstanding political elder and the peerlessly brilliant commander of the present era," North Korean state media said.

The regime's number two, de-facto head of state Kim Yong Nam, in a statement underscored the "need to put an end to the hostile relations" with the United States, through dialogue and negotiation.

Kim Yong Nam also reiterated Pyongyang's foreign policy goal of improving relations with South Korea. Reunification should be achieved on the basis of agreements reached at the two inter-Korean summits from 2000 and 2007, he said.

State media have been reporting on the festivities for Kim Jong II's birthday for days. The Dear Leader's birthday is one of the most important holidays in the impoverished Stalinist state, which focuses on a personality cult of its leader.

Over the last two years speculation has increased over the 68-year-old's health, and the succession of power. According to South Korean media, Kim suffered a stroke in summer 2008. It is believed that his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, is being built up as his successor.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/309501,north-korea-celebrates-kim-jong-ils-68th-birthday.html.