Last year, Kim Jong Un received a surreal, breathy birthday serenade.
Dennis Rodman belted out “Happy Birthday” — not far from Marilyn Monroe’s rendition — as the Pyongyang crowd clapped in unison during a basketball game.
This year’s birthday affairs are less likely to be bizarre — Rodman is not in town.
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And his regime has also been marked by the purge of Kim’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was executed after being branded a traitor in December 2013.
“Unfortunately, there were some hopes because he was educated in Switzerland and that he’s young, people hoped that there might be some change. None of that has happened. It might be worse, because he’s less experienced than his father and grandfather, and very rash and impatient as we’ve seen with the cyberattacks,” Lee said, referring to a Sony hacking scandal in which the FBI blamed North Korea.
KJ Kwon reported from Seoul, South Korea, and Madison Park reported and wrote from Hong Kong.
