N. Korea begins preparations for leader`s birthday celebrations

(ATTN: CLARIFIES quote in paras 3,4, 7-10, N. Korea's promotion of Kim's birthplace
at bottom)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has begun preparations for leader Kim
Jong-il's 67th birthday celebrations later this month, its state-run media said,
a major event during which Pyongyang usually refrains from provocations and tries
to boost internal unity.
Kim's birthday, Feb. 16, is the most important holiday in the communist state
along with April 15, the birthday of his father and North Korea's founder, Kim
Il-sung. Citizens receive free rice, fruit, daily necessities and liquor as gifts
from the leader.
This year's celebrations come amid reports that Kim Jong-il has recovered from a
reported stroke and resumed public activities.
North Korea has engaged in a bellicose campaign in recent weeks, but analysts
expect military actions are not likely on the leader's birthday as Pyongyang
would want to inspire a festive mood and reinforce their loyalty to Kim.
Regional tension rose sharply following intelligence assessments this week that
North Korea may be preparing to test-launch a Taepodong-2 missile that in theory
is capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast.
Intelligence officials said they spotted an object that appeared to be a missile
on North Korea's east coast, just days after Pyongyang declared it was scrapping
a non-aggression accord with the South.
Paik Hak-soon, a senior research fellow in the Sejong Institute, an independent
think tank, ruled out the possibility of provocation by Pyongyang on the leader's
birthday. Pyongyang wants to show everything is normal, with Kim now believed to
be healthy after the reported stroke, he said.
"There won't be anything special. North Korea won't try to engage in any unusual
behavior toward the outside world on the leader's birthday," he said.
Baek Seung-joo, an analyst with the state-run Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses, said North Korea has not yet made a political decision on whether to
actually test-launch the missile or just raise tensions.
"There has not yet been enough time for North Korea to make an assessment about
the U.S. Obama administration," he said.
In a sign that Kim's personality cult is intensifying ahead of his birthday, the
North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday that senior officials
and dignitaries held a seminar on the "immortal feats" of Kim.
"The DPRK has dashed forward like the wind towards the eminence of a great
prosperous powerful socialist nation, winning victories in the fierce
confrontation with the imperialist reactionaries," KCNA quoted the participants
as saying. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's
official name.
They praised Kim's "forced march for field guidance," referring to his increased
public inspection tours this year. He made 13 such visits in January, compared to
eight a year ago, likely intended to show the leader is healthy and focusing on
the country's economic reconstruction campaign.
Amid deep economic woes and waning outside aid, Pyongyang has set 2012 as the
target year in building a "great, powerful and prosperous nation." The year marks
the 100th anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth.
State media said on Wednesday that young students from around the nation have set
off on a march to Kim Jong-il's official birthplace at Mount Paekdu.
While Pyongyang promotes the mountain, located on North Korea's border with China
and considered sacred by the two Koreas, as his birthplace, Soviet records show
that Kim was in fact born in a village in the Soviet Union, where his father led
a Soviet brigade made up of Chinese and Korean exiles. The family returned to
Korea in 1945 following the end of Japan's occupation of the country.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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