On this day, Seoul’s daytime mercury level was at minus six degrees Celsius, but adding in the wind chill factor, it stood at minus 15. Estimates from Seoul’s meteorological center put Pyongyang’s temperatures at minus seven but the wind chill value would have pushed that down to 15 to 20 degrees below freezing. It’s hard to imagine how cold people at the event would have been.
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The ceremony began with Kim Jong Eun and senior officials entering and closed with their departure, so even the highest of ranks would have been out in the excruciating cold for at least an hour.
Throughout the event, it was profoundly evident that 86-year-old Kim Yong Nam, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, was struggling with the frigid temperature as he stood next to Kim Jong Eun. Kim Yong Nam would not have been alone in his discomfort. Kim Ki Nam, a secretary of the Chosun Workers’ Party, is 85; Choe Thae Bok, Chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly, is 84; and many other senior officials in their 70s and 80s would have suffered in wind chill values at minus 15 degrees. From what was displayed on screen, Kim Jong Eun seemed to be the most resilient to the cold
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Why did Kim insist on holding the event outdoors?
Why did Kim Jong Eun insist on holding the event outdoors despite the harsh weather? On this day, KCTV provided unprecedented special commemorative coverage from the wee morning hours, and the country also held a nationwide silent tribute at noon--the first held since 2012. It seems that Kim was determined to hold a large-scale event to mark the day. As some say, it could be his way of wrapping up his father’s era and laying the groundwork to open up a full-fledged era of his own.
As the author sees it, this event could be a result of his newly found confidence after purging his uncle Jang Song Taek. Regardless of how low the mercury plunges and whether tens of thousands have to suffer in the cold, it could have been a display of his absolute power, able to determine anything with one simple utterance. Most people who attended the ceremony are likely suffering from a cold, and the question is: what are they thinking now?
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