Amid fury and rhetoric, Pyongyang celebrates founder’s birthday

PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Koreans celebrated the birthday of their first leader Monday by dancing in plazas and snacking on peanuts, with little hint of the fiery language that has kept the international community fearful that a missile launch may be imminent. Pyongyang fired off a rocket ahead of the last anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth — the centennial — but this time the day was simply the start of a two- day holiday for Pyongyang residents who spilled into the streets. Girls in red and pink jackets skipped along streets festooned with celebratory banners and flags, and boys on in- line skates took a break to slurp up bowls of shaved ice. There was no sense of panic in the North Korean capital, where few locals have access to international broadcasts and foreign newspapers speculating about an imminent missile launch and detailing the international diplomacy underway to try to rein Pyongyang in. Elsewhere, however, the focus remained on the threat of a launch as U. S. Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up a tour to co- ordinate Washington’s response with Beijing, North Korea’s most important ally, as well as with Seoul and Tokyo. Kerry warned North Korea not to conduct a missile test, saying it would be provocation that “will raise people’s temperatures” and further isolate the country and its impoverished people. He said Sunday the U. S. was “prepared to reach out,” but Pyongyang must first bring down tensions and honour previous agreements. Foreign governments have been trying to assess how seriously to take North Korea’s recent war rhetoric if the U. S. and South Korea do not stop holding joint military manoeuvres. Officials in South Korea, the United States and Japan say intelligence indicates that North Korea, fresh off an underground nuclear test in February, appears ready to launch a mediumrange missile. North Korea has already been slapped with strengthened UN sanctions for violating Security Council resolutions barring the regime from nuclear and missile activity.