North Korea called on party members and citizens to boost loyalty to leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday, the 114th birth anniversary of state founder Kim Il-sung. The Workers' Party of Korea's newspaper Rodong Sinmun highlighted the two leaders' shared people-centered policies. Social groups held events pledging allegiance to the current leader.
The Workers' Party of Korea's newspaper Rodong Sinmun called on party members and citizens for unwavering loyalty to Kim Jong-un in an article on Wednesday, marking the 114th birth anniversary of founder Kim Il-sung, the current leader's grandfather.
The newspaper said Kim Il-sung's policy of serving the people as "the sky" lives on under Kim Jong-un's leadership, calling the people-centered approach a "perpetual political philosophy" of the ruling party and the state. It urged greater resolve toward realizing the party's top priority of improving people's welfare.
"With unwavering loyalty, (we) should uphold the ideology and leadership of respected general secretary (Kim Jong-un), who carries forward the sacred history of supreme leader (Kim Il-sung)'s people-centered policy," the newspaper said.
North Korea observes the founder's birthday, known as the "Day of the Sun," as one of its most important national holidays, although it has refrained from using certain honorific terms in recent years to shift the focus of loyalty to the current leader.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the Socialist Women's Union of Korea, the Union of Agricultural Workers of Korea and other groups held events marking the anniversary, pledging allegiance to Kim Jong-un. Youths and students were to hold an outdoor rally at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Wednesday evening, according to state media.