SEOUL, North Korea said Wednesday it will hold an eight-day cultural event next month on the occasion of the 82nd birth anniversary of the country’s late leader Kim Jong-il.
The people’s arts festival will be held Feb. 11-18 in Pyongyang to mark the anniversary, which falls on Feb. 16, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea celebrates the birthdays of its two late leaders — current leader Kim Jong-un’s grandfather and father, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il — as two of its most important holidays.
North Korea has yet to officially confirm or designate the birthday of Kim Jong-un, presumed to be born on Jan. 8, 1984, as a national holiday.
Kim Jong-il saw his birthday designated as a national holiday in 1982, when he was 40, eight years after he was designated as the successor to his father and the country’s founder Kim Il-sung.
Source: Yonhap News Agency