Oblivious to international tensions over a possible North Korean missile launch, Pyongyang residents spilled into the streets Monday to celebrate a major national holiday, the birthday of their first leader, Kim Il Sung.
Meanwhile, a report from Tokyo quoted US Secretary of State John Kerry as telling an audience in Tokyo that the US is ready to talk to North Korea, but said Pyongyang had to take “meaningful steps” to
honour its international commitments. “The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearisation, but the burden is on Pyongyang,” he said. “North Korea must take meaningful steps to show it will honour commitments it has already made.”
In Pyongyang, girls in red and pink jackets skipped along streets festooned with banners and flags, as residents began observing a three-day holiday. There was no sense of panic in the North Korean capital, where very few locals have access to international broadcasts and foreign newspapers.