Flowers bloom for Dear Leader

Business Asia, March 3, 2000

In the unpredictable world of North Korea, one of the few certainties is that every February 16, thanks is given for the birth of reclusive leader Kim Jong II.

It is a day when the North regularly reports how flowers bloom, veterans cry and children sing in praise.

Kim turned 58 and on the eve of the event a Who's Who from the Stalinist state's political and entertainment circles crowded a 6000-seat theatre in Pyongyang to express "highest glory and warmest congratulations", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Fireworks and a sports gala were held and stamps depicting Kim's fabled birthplace released to mark the day.

Russia's acting President Vladimir Putin wished Kim "great success in his work and prosperity in his country", KCNA said.

Flowers were sent from allies including the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, KCNA reported.

A film festival in Pyongyang is also dedicated to the day, featuring films about Kim with titles such as "Bosom of Brilliant Life" and "Our Home Is the Bosom of the Party".

It said some 200 poems and songs were also written to mark the birthday of the man referred to as "Dear Leader", with titles such as "Song Praising the Sun", "Let's Work and Work" and "Torch Brightly Lit on the 40km Long Road Being Built by Youth".

"Normally, if a country is in dire economic straits, people begin to have grievances against their leaders, but it's the opposite for Kim," said Lim Soon-Hee, a research fellow at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification.

North Korea's economy is expected to have grown slightly in 1999, its first expansion in almost a decade, but economists attribute that to international aid.

Researchers who watch North Korea closely say Kim has full control of the country though he is perceived as less charismatic than his father, Kim II-Sung, who ruled until his death in 1994.

"Because Kim is portrayed as an omnipotent figure, it's unthinkable for North Koreans to turn their backs," said Lim.

Pyongyang's official news agency referred to Kim's "tested leadership", which has recently seen North Korea make progress in improving ties with two old foes, Japan and the United States.

Tokyo hopes to open talks early this year on normalising ties with North Korea, and the United States recently invited the North to send a high-level delegation to Washington. Pyongyang has accepted the invitation, US officials say.

Ties with arch-rival South Korea are also looking up, with trade between the two countries hitting a record high in 1999.

But, one researcher said, "North Korea's recent chattiness with the outside world is not a sign it is opening up."

"The underlying motive in all of this is an economic one," added Paik Tae Youl, a research fellow at the Institute for Korean Unification Studies at Seoul's Yonsei University.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended with a ceasefire but no peace agreement.