We can’t sleep: North Koreans’ love letter to leader abroad
NORTH KOREANS are pining for their leader and enduring sleepless nights during his week-long trip to Vietnam, if the country’s state-controlled media is to be believed.
Pictures from Hanoi showing Kim’s red-carpet treatment and excited crowds lining the streets of the Vietnamese capital are playing out well in a state that already portrays its leader and his ancestors as a living deities.
North Korea’s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun devoted its front and second pages yesterday to pictures of Kim surrounded by welcoming throngs, acting statesman-like with his chief aides and greeting the cheering chil- dren of North Korean embassy staff.
Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, televised interviews with residents have conveniently revealed a longing for their “great leader” to return and a renewed desire to serve him.
“We can’t survive even for a moment without our respected marshal,” said Kim Song Suk, a public service worker on a crowded tram.
Pak Sol Hyui, a young woman at the Wonsan shoe-making factory, said she dreamed of the “bright image of the respected marshal” while labouring at her sewing machine. She added: “How can I make the respected marshal happier when he returns? This is the thought that filled my head all day.”
According to NK News, some citizens have decided to abstain from alcohol for the duration of Kim’s trip, in order to demonstrate their loyalty.
Reuters reported that Kim’s long trip to Vietnam for a second summit with Donald Trump, the US president, is causing sleepless nights back home.
“Three nights have passed since the news of the dear marshal’s overseas visit … Sleepless thinking of the Dear Marshal since Sunday” a commentary in the Rodong said yesterday.
Sycophantic media reports of Kim’s exploits are nothing new in a country gripped by his cult of personality. However, this week’s coverage has been unusually extensive and current.