Crowds of North Koreans visited statues of former leaders across the country on Wednesday to lay flowers on the anniversary of founder Kim Il Sung’s death, state television reported, in the largest show of citizen gatherings since Kim Jong Un’s grave warnings over COVID-19 last week.
Tens to hundreds of people approached the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, all nine provincial capitals, and four special cities, footage aired on Korean Central Television (KCTV) throughout Wednesday showed.
All visitors were seen wearing masks in the footage, and while social distancing has been evident at gatherings inside the DPRK in recent months, it did not appear such regulations were in place for the flower-laying ceremonies this week.
Families, including children, also visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Wednesday after DPRK leader Kim Jong Un’s publicized visit earlier in the day | Image: KCTV
The total masking of crowds is significant – During previous similar visits to Kim statues aired on April 15 for Kim Il Sung’s birthday, not everyone was wearing a mask, although most in the crowd were.
The wearing of face masks in public was again stressed in state media this week to be “mandatory.”
However, social distancing has not been a primary focus of state media reports on domestic COVID-19 measures, which have instead largely emphasized the need to improve surveillance of the land and sea borders, quarantine imported items, maintain personal hygiene, and sanitize surfaces.
And while the gatherings at the statues are chiefly a mandatory exercise for North Korean adults, uniform-wearing university students and schoolchildren sporting the Youth League’s familiar red bandana were also seen in Wednesday’s footage, following reports that schools closed nationwide at the start of this month due to virus transmission fears.
Wednesday’s well-attended ceremonies come as leader Kim Jong Un warned the country in a Politburo meeting on July 2 that failing to follow COVID-19 prevention measures could lead to “an unimaginable and unrecoverable fatal crisis” for the country.
Some of the few foreign diplomats and workers remaining in Pyongyang were also shown bringing flowers to the Kim statues | Image: KCTV
Kim demanded current anti-epidemic procedures be thoroughly “reexamined,” and criticized “violation of the rules” and lax attitudes “getting prevalent among officials … as this work takes on a protracted character.”
State media repeated again this week that “there has still yet to be a single person in our country to be infected” with the virus, despite numerous reports suggesting otherwise.
Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un and all of his top officials were also shown visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Wednesday morning — all without masks.
The following are screenshots taken from July 8 KCTV broadcasts of Kim statue platforms across the country, providing insight into the size of crowds at each location and city life under unprecedented anti-epidemic policies.
Pyongyang
Kaesong
Nampho
Rason
Sariwon, North Hwanghae
Haeju, South Hwanghae
Chongjin, North Hamgyong
Hamhung, South Hamgyong
Sinuiju, North Phyongan
Phyongsong, South Phyongan
Hyesan, Ryanggang
Wonsan, Kangwon
Kanggye, Jagang
Edited by Min Chao Choy
Crowds of North Koreans visited statues of former leaders across the country on Wednesday to lay flowers on the anniversary of founder Kim Il Sung's death, state television reported, in the largest show of citizen gatherings since Kim Jong Un's grave warnings over COVID-19 last week.
Tens to hundreds of people approached the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, all nine provincial capitals, and four special cities, footage aired on Korean Central Television (KCTV) throughout Wednesday showed.
