North Korea creates Kim Jong-il award

[best2002]

North Korea has revealed that it would set up an international award to honor its late leader Kim Jong-il. The award will be given to politicians, scholars and public leaders who have made a significant contribution in their country's struggle for independence. The awards ceremony will be held on February 16th, marking the Kim Jong-il's birthday. The date is a public holiday in North Korea, known as the Day of the Shining Star. Kim Jong-il led the communist nation since the death of his father in 1994, and inherited the leadership of the country from him.

Shortly after he came to power, a severe famine caused by faulty economic reforms and poor harvests left an estimated two million people dead. His regime was harshly criticized for violations of human rights and was internationally isolated because if its pursuit of nuclear weapons. I'm guessing that this is all because they are looking for a breakthrough for the international sanctions caused by their violations by launching missile tests.

(http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=146328)

[HeiressofBickworth]

1. I'm going way out in left field here

but do you suppose the first winner of this "award" will be the successor, Kim Jong-Un? There seems to be a penchant for aggrandizing their leaders, perhaps in the hope for recognition by the international community. At any rate, I'm supposing that this is a bogus "award" and will result in nothing.

[David__77]

2. No, it wouldn't go to Kim Jong Un.

In fact, that would be considered gauche to give a domestic award to him at this point, strangely enough.

I imagine that the recipients of the Kim Jong il award will fit the profile of those who received the Kim il Sung prize over the years, like Cambodia's Sihanouk, but usually a host of lessor recipients like assorted peace activists, and political figures that are not necessarily left-wing, but have an associated with the Non-Aligned Movement.

North Korea has a small but active foreign policy among a sector of developing countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Zimbabwe, and the nominally socialist countries like Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, and China.