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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

North Korea focuses on holiday celebration

People visit giant statues of the late North Korean leaders, Kim Il Sung, left, and his son Kim Jong Il, in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Monday. (Associated Press)
Associated Press

PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Koreans danced in plazas and snacked on peanuts as part of holiday festivities while the Supreme Command led by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offered more of the fiery language that has made the international community wary of an imminent missile launch or other provocation.

Early today, state media said the Supreme Command of the Korean People’s Army issued an ultimatum to South Korea demanding an apology for “hostile acts” and threatening retaliation at any time. Such warnings are routine but do not often come from North Korea’s top leadership.

In Seoul, the Defense Ministry said it received no such ultimatum, noting that there is no line of communication between the Koreas.

Meanwhile, North Koreans were taking a second day off to mark the birthday of late President Kim Il Sung, the nation’s founder. Monday’s celebrations capital featured colorful dance parties, soccer matches and the traditional laying of flowers at his statue. Families were enjoying the day off, children scooting around on inline skates and slurping up shaved ice treats.

Kim Jong Un on Monday presided over basketball and volleyball competitions between military academies billed as “anti-American games” by the state media. Later, he and other top officials watched an orchestral performance at a new theater in downtown Pyongyang.

The birthday passed without any major provocations as feared. Last year, Pyongyang fired a rocket in the days leading up to Kim Il Sung’s birthday.

There was no sense of panic in the North Korean capital, where few locals have access to international broadcasts and foreign newspapers speculating about an imminent missile launch and detailing the international diplomacy underway to try to rein in Pyongyang.

Elsewhere in the region, however, the focus remained on the threat of a launch as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a tour to coordinate Washington’s response with Beijing, North Korea’s most important ally, as well as with Seoul and Tokyo.

In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin told a parliamentary committee Monday that North Korea still appeared poised to launch a missile from its east coast, though he declined to disclose the source of his information.

Kerry warned North Korea not to conduct a missile test, saying it would be provocation that “will raise people’s temperatures” and further isolate the country and its impoverished people.