Kim Jong Un appears to skip Kim Il Sung birthday tribute for 4th year, attends artillery firing competition instead

[The Financial News] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears not to have visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15, the Day of the Sun marking the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, to pay his respects.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 16th that senior party and government officials, including Premier of North Korea Pak Thae-song and Jo Yong-won, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun to mark the 114th anniversary of President Kim Il Sung’s birth. The embalmed bodies of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are enshrined in the palace’s Hall of Eternal Life. KCNA noted that Kim Jong Un sent a flower basket to the tribute ceremony, but made no mention of his personal attendance.
Since becoming the supreme leader in 2012, Kim Jong Un had regularly visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the Day of the Sun, accompanied by top officials, to pay his respects. However, he skipped the ceremony for the first time in 2020, when coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was spreading.
He resumed the visits in 2021 and 2022, this time accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju, but has not gone to the palace since 2023, making this the fourth consecutive year of absence.
In recent years, Kim Jong Un has noticeably reduced the frequency of his visits to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the birthdays and death anniversaries of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Analysts say he is trying to elevate his own independent status while toning down the intensity of idolization of his predecessors.
At the 9th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), even senior officials were seen wearing badges bearing Kim Jong Un’s portrait instead of the traditional Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il badges. Observers interpret this shift as a sign that North Korea is putting the personality cult around Kim Jong Un more squarely at the forefront.
Instead of attending the tribute, Kim Jong Un watched an artillery firing competition. KCNA reported that he observed an artillery firing competition held by artillery units under the Korean People's Army (KPA) Western Region Combined Unit, organized to mark President Kim Il Sung’s birthday the previous day.
No Kwang-chol, Minister of National Defence, Ri Yong-gil, Chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, Kim Sung-gi, Director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, and military and political commanders from the Western Region Combined Unit took part in overseeing the drill.
North Korea usually holds a variety of political events on the Day of the Sun, which it calls "the nation’s most important holiday." It is unusual, however, to mobilize the military to stage a training competition with the character of a commemorative event. Commentators say this move underscores Kim Jong Un’s line of placing heavy emphasis on the military.
Kim Jong Un said, "It is good for units at all levels of the army to frequently organize training competitions on major occasions, including national holidays like today," adding that training for "full combat readiness" is "the way to fulfill the General’s (Kim Il Sung’s) wish to build a powerful army."



rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter