Saturday is a big day in North Korea: The 105th anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung. It’s thought that North Korea will conduct a nuclear or missile test to mark the occasion. But South Koreans aren’t that worried.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula are running high, with North Korea vowing to take pre-emptive military strikes against South Korea and U.S. forces around the Pacific Ocean, while the South is promising to respond to any aggression with bullets first, and politics later.
Kim Il-sung was a revered figure in North Korea through his death and even today. His son, on the other hand, Kim Jong-il was less loved, despite the enormous outpouring of grief seen recently. Many defectors say the country seems to be trying to link the young successor with his popular grandfather.
After a week of aggressive threats from North Korea, Pyongyang continues to warn of an imminent missile test, possibly on Monday, the birthday of Kim Il-sung, the late founder of North Korea. Today, Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Seoul, in an effort to defuse international tension. This week, the BBC’s Dan Damon has been hosting his program […]