North Korea calls for unity on anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death

North Korea on Friday commemorated the 10th anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il’s death with calls for greater public loyalty toward his son and current leader Kim Jong Un, who is struggling to navigate the country out of deepening pandemic-related hardships.

In his 10 years at the helm of North Korea since his father’s death, Kim Jong Un, 37, has secured the same absolute power enjoyed by Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, the current leader’s grandfather and state founder.

Despite massive economic shocks caused by draconian anti-virus measures and long-dormant diplomacy with the United States, North Korea shows no signs of political instability and few outside experts question Kim’s grip on power.

But the long-term stability of Kim Jong Un’s rule could still be questioned if he fails to work out how to address the ongoing difficulties and improve public livelihoods, some observers say.

Cars, trains and ships blew their horns, national flags were lowered to half-mast and masses of people climbed Pyongyang’s Mansu Hill to lay flowers and bow before giant statues of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung.

In an apparent echo of official propaganda, Pyongyang citizen Won Jong Rim told The Associated Press that “our great general (Kim Jong Il) went through so much hardship, pushing his way along such an arduous path, to build a paradise here, achieving what the people want”.

On every previous death anniversary, Kim Jong Un paid respect at a mausoleum where the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather lie in state.

He was expected to do the same this year but North Korea’s state media did not immediately report on any public activities involving him.

State-run newspapers published articles venerating Kim Jong Il and calling for greater unity behind Kim Jong Un.

“We should make our every effort to bolster our single-minded unity … by standing united behind respected comrade Kim Jong Un,” the North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial.

North Korea’s trade with China, its biggest trading partner and an economic pipeline, shrank by about 80% last year before it plunged again by two-thirds in the first nine months of this year.

Last year, the North’s economy suffered its biggest contraction since 1997 while its grain production also dropped to its lowest level since Kim took office, according to South Korean government estimates.

Kim refuses to return to talks with Washington and Seoul as he calls for building a stronger, self-reliant economy and retains tough virus restrictions including two years of border shutdowns.

Analysts say Kim fears that his country’s broken public health care infrastructure could not afford a major virus outbreak though he maintains a questionable claim that North Korea is coronavirus-free.