N. Korea to hold arts festival marking late leader's birth anniversary

A performance marking the 80th birth anniversary of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il takes place in Pyongyang in this file photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency, in this Feb. 14, 2022 file photo. Yonhap

North Korea said Wednesday it will hold an eight-day cultural event next month on the occasion of the 82nd birth anniversary of the country's late leader Kim Jong-il.

The people's arts festival will be held Feb. 11-18 in Pyongyang to mark the anniversary, which falls on Feb. 16, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea celebrates the birthdays of its two late leaders — current leader Kim Jong-un's grandfather and father, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il — as two of its most important holidays.

North Korea has yet to officially confirm or designate the birthday of Kim Jong-un, presumed to be born on Jan. 8, 1984, as a national holiday.

Kim Jong-il saw his birthday designated as a national holiday in 1982, when he was 40, eight years after he was designated as the successor to his father and the country's founder Kim Il-sung. (Yonhap)