N Korea marks Kim's birthday

State media has dubbed Kim North Korea's 'heaven-made commander' [EPA] North Korea has been celebrating the 67th birthday of Kim Jong-il, the country's leader, with state media lauding him as a "heaven-made commander" and citizens turning out to dance in the streets of the freezing capital. The official Korean Central News Agency said streets and villages across the country were festooned with flowers and other decorations. The celebration comes amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula over reports that Pyongyang is preparing to test-fire a long-range missile. Earlier in the day the agency said the missile launch would proceed as planned, but portrayed it as part of a space programme. In the run-up to Kim's birthday celebrations, state media reported a festive mood across the country, with arts performances, sports competitions, a film festival and other commemorative events planned. Footage from APTN North Korea showed uniformed soldiers and visitors touring an exhibition of Kimjongilia, a red flower cultivated in Kim's honour, taking photographs before hundreds of flowers flanked by a small replica of a missile. Leaflet campaign But just across the border there was a different kind of celebration, with defectors and activists releasing balloons containing tens of thousands of leaflets, ignoring a warning from the South Korean government that the action could provoke Pyongyang. On Monday activists for the first time stuck North Korean cash into some of the vinyl leaflets in an effort to entice North Koreans to pick up the propaganda. Activists in the South released baloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets [Reuters] Suzanne Scholte, chairwoman of US-based North Korea Freedom Coalition, said the leaflet campaign is a way to provide North Koreans with "true information about their circumstances". "It is more important than ever that North Koreans realise that the greatest threat to their wellbeing and security is their own dear leader," she said while leafleting at the border town of Imjingak. "It has been reported that the North Korean authority is not handing out the dear leader's birthday treats this year," said Park Sang-Hak, a leading activist and defector from North Korea. "We're sending this money today so that our fellow North Korean people can buy food."