Kim Jong Un’s Birthday Ignored: What Does North Korea’s Silence Mean?

North Korean state media remained silent on Wednesday, widely believed to be the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. This contrasts with recent efforts to cultivate his cult of personality while distancing him from his predecessors.

North Korean outlets such as the Rodong Sinmun, Korean Central Television, and Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) did not mention Kim’s birthday. The state media did feature a front-page article about Kim’s attendance at the factory opening in Jaeryong County.

North Korea does not officially celebrate Kim’s birthday, unlike the national holidays for Kim Il Sung’s birthday (April 15, “Day of the Sun”) and Kim Jong Il’s birthday (February 16, “Day of the Shining Star”). North Korean authorities have never officially announced Kim’s date of birth. The only public acknowledgment came in January 2014, when the KCNA reported that former NBA player Dennis Rodman had visited North Korea to celebrate Kim’s birthday.

North Korea has been intensifying efforts to promote Kim’s cult of personality since last year. These efforts include distributing badges featuring only Kim’s portrait, reducing references to the Day of the Sun, and scaling back the use of the Juche calendar, which marks 1912 (the year of Kim Il Sung’s birth) as Juche Year 1. Reports indicate that traditional loyalty pledge ceremonies, previously held on New Year’s Day or the birthdays of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, were instead conducted on Kim Jong Un’s birthday last year. This led to speculation that his birthday might be officially recognized this year, but that has not happened. Some analysts suggest that Kim’s mother’s background, as she was born in Japan and later repatriated to North Korea, may be a factor in the lack of celebration.

In other news, the United Nations Security Council convened on Wednesday to discuss North Korea’s recent intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) launch. Several member states requested the meeting, including South Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Slovenia, and Denmark. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired one IRBM toward the East Sea around noon on Sunday.