N.K. Leader Sends Birthday Message to Medvedev

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has sent a congratulatory birthday message to Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said yesterday.

Radio Pyongyang also said Kim sent wreaths to the graves of his grandparents and great-grand parents, but unlike in previous years, he did not make a public appearance over the Chuseok holidays.

North Korean media had reported Kim’s daily activities every year at Chuseok. His visit to a military cattle farm made headlines around last year’s Chuseok, which fell on Sept. 25.

In a message titled “Our republic is a country of the people where the juche (self-reliance) ideology has been successfully adopted,” Radio Pyongyang said, “No matter how fierce the wind is and even if the world changes one thousand times, we will protect our socialist motherland to the end and make it thrive.”

kyle@donga.com