North Korea on Apr. 15, the birthday of Chairperson Kim Il Sung, propagated that it is carrying forward Kim's "people are heaven" spirit.
The Labor Party's organ Rodong Sinmun said in an editorial that day that "the 'people are heaven' political philosophy is shining across the ages under the leadership of Chairperson Kim Jong-un."
In the editorial titled "The people-are-heaven idea of the great leader Comrade Kim Il Sung is the eternal political philosophy of our party and state," it urged, "We must deeply engrave in our hearts the leader's (Kim Il Sung's) immortal revolutionary achievements and, with single-hearted loyalty, uphold the ideas and leadership of the respected general secretary Comrade (Kim Jong-un), who is weaving a sacred history of devotion to the people."
'People are heaven' is a four-character idiom meaning that the state or a leader treats the people as heaven. On the basis of this, Chairperson Kim advanced North Korea's policy that the people are the most powerful existence.
Rodong Sinmun emphasized, "Let us march forward with redoubled courage and soaring confidence to bring closer the day when the ideal of the Workers' Party of Korea, which sets the improvement of the people's welfare as the highest principle of its activities, is perfectly realized."
North Korea appears to be seeking to reinforce mourning for former leaders and solidarity with the Kim Jong-un regime through this year's events marking the chairperson's birthday. On the eve of the chairperson's birthday, the Socialist Women's Union (Women's Union) and the Union of Agricultural Workers (Agricultural Workers' Union) each held gatherings.
The Women's Union said, "The history of the leader's love and trust continues unchanged today under the guidance of the respected Kim Jong-un."
The Agricultural Workers' Union also stressed its "resolve to fully carry out the responsibility and role as the master in charge of the nation's rice bin" in today's solemn struggle.