On New Year’s Day, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter Ju Ae. This marked Kim’s first New Year visit to the mausoleum in three years and Ju Ae’s debut appearance at this revered site.
The Workers’ Party’s official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on its front page on January 2 that Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the previous day. This visit was Kim’s first since 2023, and it marked Ju Ae’s first public appearance at the palace since her introduction to North Korean media in 2022.
The newspaper noted that Kim paid his respects to the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, offering New Year’s greetings.
Page 2 of the publication covered a New Year’s performance titled, The Best Country, featuring young students, which took place on January 1. The audience included party and government officials, exemplary workers, Pyongyang residents, and overseas Koreans visiting North Korea. The paper described the event, saying that the melodious voices of the blessed new generation, nurtured under the care of the Mother Party, resonated throughout the venue.
The third page relayed citizens’ responses to Kim’s New Year address. The newspaper emphasized a surge of national unity, stating that there is a fervent desire across the country to uphold the leadership of the General Secretary, who holds the people in highest regard, and to accelerate the comprehensive development of the unique socialist system.
Page 4 featured testimonials from patients who visited the newly opened hospitals in Kangdong County and Kusong City. The paper boasted that the Kangdong County Hospital is equipped with over 1,500 medical devices of more than 200 types. It likened the inpatient rooms to hotel accommodations, claiming that citizens can now receive medical care comparable to that of central hospitals.
The fifth page highlighted the fighting spirit in key economic sectors nationwide as the country prepares for the party’s 9th Congress. It specifically mentioned that the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex is gaining momentum from the first day of the New Year, adding that workers are collaborating to boost steel production, exemplifying a strong spirit of collectivism.
On the sixth page, the newspaper reported on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent warning about Japan’s military actions. It quoted Lavrov as saying that the Japanese authorities are effectively pursuing a course of militarization, and criticized this move, stating that this clearly poses a detrimental impact on regional security.
