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This image taken from North Korea’s central television shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un taking off his glasses to wipe away tears as he addresses crowds gathered on Saturday for the 75th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang. . (Yonhap via The Korea Herald / Asia News Network)
SEOUL – In a noteworthy moment of North Korea’s massive military parade on Saturday, where the country exhibited a new ICBM, national leader Kim Jong-un was moved and wept as he recalled the adversity that North Korea’s people had experienced. country.
Kim took to the podium to address the nation as the military parade, which marked the 75th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party, in a speech that emphasized “thanking” the people and “apologizing” to them for the hardships of COVID. . -19 pandemic, as well as typhoons and recent floods. During the speech, which lasted about 25 minutes, Kim used the word “thank you” about 12 times.
“I thought about what I would say first at this point when we will be looking back at every page of our 75-year history of our party full of glory, but my sincere and sincere word to our people is only one, thank you,” said Kim the crowd at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, according to the Korean Central News Agency. “I thank them for their good health without any of them being a victim of the malignant virus.”
As Kim spoke about the challenges the country was experiencing due to the pandemic, Kim was not wearing a mask, nor was anyone else in the crowd, suggesting the confidence of the North in its fight against COVID-19.
He thanked his people for trusting and supporting him through many ups and downs, while apologizing for not being able to live up to their high expectations. Expressing gratitude, Kim vowed to “serve and fight” for the people, and the television images showing many in the crowd also cry.
Kim choked as he thanked the military for their efforts to respond to natural disasters and their work to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, saying that he felt “pain in my heart” because not everyone could be in the parade due to its anti-epidemic. . work projects and flood relief.
“They are patriots who deserve to be present here, but they volunteered, after completing their tasks in rehabilitation projects, to other disaster areas rather than returning to Pyongyang where their beloved homes are,” he said.
Kim also expressed his willingness to “join hands” with South Korea after the current pandemic subsides.
“Kim tries to show that he is a leader of a normal country, through expressions like thank you and sorry to show that he is honest and sincere with his people,” said Yang Moon-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies. .
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Kim’s speeches are becoming more politically sophisticated.
“He took responsibility and expressed his sympathy for the struggles of his people,” Easley said. “He even offered his condolences and encouragement to South Korea for the coronavirus pandemic. But this is still a regime that systematically violates human rights. And instead of taking Kim’s words as a hopeful sign of commitment, the South Korean government should be concerned about the advanced conventional weapons on display at the parade that have Seoul within range. “
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