Lamps are supposed to shine on the statue from 10pm until 4am each day. There is apparently just one statue of his son, Kim Jong-il.
Similar, less grandiose, structures are located in over 70 major cities elsewhere in North Korea. Behind the statue is the Korean Revolution Museum.Įrected in April 1972 to celebrate Kim Il-sung's 60th birthday, it was originally coated in gold but this was later removed apparently at the insistence of China, North Korea's chief benefactor. Arranged around the base of these structures - which in this picture are casting huge shadows - are some 200 almost life-size bronze statues of various military and civilian figures striking heroic poses. One is the North Korean flag, the other is that of the Workers Party of Korea. When North Koreans visit the statue they bow before it and leave flowers as a mark of respect.įlanking the statue, which is visible atop its white square plinth, are two giant stone replica flags. It stands on Mansu Hill in the capital and is a major tourist destination. This is a monument to North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, a massive 20-metre-high bronze statue. On that visit he describes how he had his picture taken in front of a couple of huge images of Kim Jong-il and his father, but was eventually chased away "by one of the men in charge of the training".Ī North Korean family poses in front of Kim Il-sung's statue "The view is incredible," says Curtis Melvin who was also able to watch preparations for the traditional October parade during a 2005 visit. The tower is lined up directly with the statue of Kim Il-sung on Mansu Hill on the opposite side of the river.
It is named after his father's own particular brand of political philosophy whose key tenets are self-reliance, isolationism, Korean traditionalism and Marxism-Leninism. Kim Jong-il is officially credited with designing the tower though the exact extent of his involvement is disputed. It's close to the river where people fish and people will go there to spend the afternoon." Lots of people go there on Saturday and Sunday. bbcnewstoday internationalnews worldnews BBS WORLD NEWS North Korea strongly condemned Nancy Pelosis visit to the DMZNorth Korea has strongly condem. "There's a light at the top of the tower which goes out at 10pm, when everyone goes to bed because they get up early and of course they need to save electricity. Just in front of the tower is a 30-metre-high classic communist statue featuring a peasant carrying a sickle, a worker with a hammer in his hand, and a third character, a "working intellectual" who is carrying a writing brush. It's 170 metres high and is one of the key landmarks in the capital. This is the Juche Tower, in central Pyongyang. The UN World Food Programme estimates that almost nine million people are in need of food aid. North Korea continues to suffer widespread food shortages due to economic problems, limited arable land and lack of agricultural machinery and energy shortages. He says North Korea got into ostrich farming during the famine in the 1990s when between 500,000 and two million North Koreans are thought to have died from starvation. I never saw anything in the way of ostrich meat when I was there," she says, adding: "The government never boasted about it and so I suspect it hasn't done that well."Ĭurtis Melvin says he tracked down the location after seeing a picture of the farm in an official North Korean publication. "North Korea bought into propaganda that you could make money out of ostriches. "Everybody knows about the ostrich farm," says Hazel Smith. It's on the official tourist trail but it's not clear if this is a one-off or part of a network of such farms. This is an aerial view of an ostrich farm near Pyongyang. If confirmed, the test would make North Korea the ninth country known to have nuclear weapons.Ostrich farming was introduced after North Korea's famine in the 1990s The UN Security Council imposed an embargo on the import and export of missile-related materials in July after North Korea test-fired several missiles. Pyongyang pulled out of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003 and has refused for a year to attend talks aimed at ending its nuclear ambitions. The development comes three days after the UN Security Council agreed on a formal statement urging North Korea to cancel any planned nuclear test and return to disarmament talks. The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers have held a telephone conference call with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the issue, South Korea's foreign ministry said. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Japan had detected seismic waves, but could not confirm whether they were from a nuclear test.
Russia's defence ministry said it was "100% certain" that an underground nuclear explosion had taken place, ITAR-Tass news agency reported. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that the test took place in Gilju in Hamgyong province at 1036 (0136 GMT).