North Korea turns 62 years old today

The mysterious and highly anticipated Worker’s Party gathering in Pyongyang is set to kick off any day now (possibly delayed due to flooding and travel restrictions), probably to coincide with this national holiday. After World War II, when Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula ended, Soviet and American forces could not come to agreement about how Korea should be governed. The United Nations wanted to hold elections to determine a government for Korea. On September 9th, believing he could win free elections in the North for leadership of the entire peninsula, Kim Il-Sung (with Soviet backing) forbid the United Nations to enter past the 38th parallel. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the antithesis to the newly founded Republic of Korea in the south, was founded with premier Kim Il-Sung at the helm. Kim Il-Sung was eventually tagged as leader and technically remains that way today, 17 years after his death.