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Pageantry to celebrate birthday of deceased dictator

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Mon, 16 Feb 2015, 8:47PM
Deceased dictator Kim Jong-Il (AAP)
Deceased dictator Kim Jong-Il (AAP)

Pageantry to celebrate birthday of deceased dictator

Author
AAP,
Publish Date
Mon, 16 Feb 2015, 8:47PM

North Korea has celebrated the birthday of late ruler Kim Jong-Il with mass fireworks, high-ranking military promotions and a rally by senior officials to pledge loyalty to current leader Kim Jong-Un.

To mark the February 16 date, Kim Jong-Un promoted dozens of top military officers on Sunday and paid a midnight visit to the mausoleum housing his father's embalmed body, the North's state-run KCNA news agency said.

Accompanied by a large group of senior party and military, Kim bowed deeply and in "the humblest reverence" as he paid homage at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun. The capital Pyongyang also staged massive fireworks Sunday night to celebrate what is known as the "Day of the Shining Star".

The anniversaries of the births and deaths of Kim Jong-Il and his father, the country's founding leader Kim Il-Sung, are major holidays on the annual North Korean calendar.

In a statement to coincide with Monday's anniversary, US-based Human Rights Watch said Kim Jong-Il, who would have been 73, should be remembered for presiding over one of the world's "most brutal and repressive" governments.

During his 17-year rule, "Kim presided over the country's worst famine and oversaw systematic crimes against humanity against his own people", the rights monitor said. Kim died in December 2011 and was succeeded by Kim Jong-Un.

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