Kim marks 61st birthday with ‘brink of war’ warning

NORTH KOREA marked leader Kim Jong Il’s birthday yesterday by urging the military to be on alert and imploring its people to “burn with hatred” against the United States.

The anti-US diatribe in the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun appeared at the height of government-orchestrated celebrations for Kim’s 61st birthday. The newspaper said the US was pushing its nuclear dispute with North Korea “to the brink of war”.

“All servicemen of the Korea People’s Army should always be on the alert,” the Rodong Sinmun editorial said. “All party members and workers must burn with hatred and hostility in their hearts toward US imperialists.”