by Joseph Yun Li-sun

North Korea takes to the streets to celebrate the birthday of the deceased father of the nation and grandfather of the current dictator. Seoul warns: "They are ready to launch the missile," while Kerry opens to the direct dialogue with the regime.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - As the world continues to watch the military activities of North Korea with bated breath, the leader and joint chiefs of staff of the Pyongyang regime this morning celebrated the anniversary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il- sung. The "day of the sun", which celebrates its 101st birthday of the "father of the nation", is an event of national importance and one of the few national holidays in the country.

Tens of thousands of people have arrived in the capital this morning to pay tribute and bow down before the two golden statues that stand in front of the National Parliament: the first is of Kim Il-sung, the "eternal president" of North Korea, while the second is his son of Kim Jong-il, the father of the current dictator.

It was just Kim Jong-un, the third son and heir of the "dear leader", to open the official celebrations with a tribute at his grandfather's mausoleum, the Palace of the Sun of Kumsusan. Accompanied by members of the military of the country, Kim Jong-un visited the palace where the embalmed corpses of his father and grandfather lie: of significance was the presence of Jang Song-taek, the uncle of powerful dictator, who seemed to have fallen out of favor in recent months.

However, the holidays have not removed the specter of war. Despite Pyongyang's nationalist and militarist rhetoric, there is still no trace of the missile test that could become - according to the the regime - an attack on the "puppets" of South Korea, the American bases in the Pacific or Japan. Although Seoul intelligence argues that "everything is ready" for a missile launch, for the past two days there has been no trace of movements.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has opened the door to dialogue with North Korea, but stressed that at this time the decision whether or not to enter into negotiations depends on the regime of Kim Jong-un: "The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations for denuclearization, but the ball is in Pyongyang's court, "said the head of American diplomacy.

Kerry is in Tokyo, the third and final leg of an Asian tour that also took him to Seoul and Beijing. In China Kerry stressed the commitment for peace in Korea, "The United States, South Korea, China and Japan are united: there can be no confusion on this point." Pyongyang, he said, "represents a danger not only for the region but also for its own people."

 

• korea
• USA
• japan
• china
• missiles
• nuclear
• program
• threat