North Korea celebrates leader's birthday

<br>SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong Il's 60th birthday Saturday by mobilizing thousands of children to dance in tribute to the man running one of the world's most

Saturday, February 16th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea celebrated leader Kim Jong Il's 60th birthday Saturday by mobilizing thousands of children to dance in tribute to the man running one of the world's most tightly controlled countries.

South Korean television carried images of the festive mood in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. Soldiers and citizens filled plazas, dancing, singing and waving placards bearing slogans of loyalty.

Days of celebrations in Pyongyang culminated Saturday when 10,000 school children filled an indoor stadium in a mass gymnastics display.

The children followed formations to create slogans such as, ``Let us hold Kim Jong Il in high esteem with faith and sense of obligations.''

Kim rules his 22 million people with a personality cult that he inherited from his late father, President Kim Il Sung.

``Though small in its territory and population, the (North) has firmly maintained its independent stand and demonstrated its high dignity on the international arena,'' said Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party.

``The credit for this goes to Kim Jong Il, whose personality is great and authority unquestioned.''

Military units, factories and township authorities across the country hosted events on the ``greatness of Kim Jong Il,'' said KCNA, North Korea's official news agency.

The event came before a trip to South Korea next week by President Bush, who described totalitarian North Korea as being in an ``axis of evil'' with Iran and Iraq.

Bush told South Korea's state-run KBS television Friday that North Korea should reduce its military arsenal and devote more resources to improving the lives of its people.

``People starve to death in North Korea. That is very sad. It shouldn't happen in the 21st century,'' Bush said.