North urges loyalty to leader Kim ahead of 80th anniversary of Korean liberation

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum on July 26 to mark the 72nd anniversary of the Korean War armistice, the Korean Central News Agency reported on July 27. [YONHAP]

 
North Korea on Sunday invoked state founder Kim Il Sung as a “historic hero” of Korea’s liberation and urged loyalty to his grandson, current leader Kim Jong-un, ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.
 
The North’s state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper invoked the state founder’s role in the liberation struggle, praising him as “a legendary hero in fighting Japanese rule” and a “historic patriot.”
 
The article subsequently shifted its focus to the current leader, emphasizing that Kim Jong-un inherited the spirit of independence fighters, including Kim Il Sung, while also claiming that the country will remain invincible under his leadership.
 
The newspaper also recalled the current leader’s horseback march to snow-covered Mount Paektu in December 2019, comparing it to the state founder’s independence struggle, which is said to have been based on the mountain.
 
In a separate article, the newspaper also called for loyalty to Kim Jong-un, describing him as a “presence like the sky, whom the people should uphold with their whole heart and single-minded devotion.”
 
The articles were published ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15. The subsequent 1950-53 Korean War left the peninsula divided into South and North Korea.

Yonhap