North Korea has marked the 101st anniversary of the birthday of its late founder, Kim il-Sung -- an occasion many believed the Stalinist state would use to carry out a missile test and increase regional tensions.
ເກົາຫຼີເໜືອ ສະຫລອງ ວັນຄ້າຍວັນເກີດຜູ້ນໍາ
![North Korean party officials visit Mankyongdae, the birthplace of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, on the 101st anniversary of his birth, April 15, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/f5666abf-658b-4691-a66e-f217dcd72e26_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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North Korean party officials visit Mankyongdae, the birthplace of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, on the 101st anniversary of his birth, April 15, 2013.
![A North Korean soldier guards the entrance to Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum, where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, April 15, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/458394c8-897c-4706-a62f-1a2affb54a8b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A North Korean soldier guards the entrance to Pyongyang's Kumsusan mausoleum, where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, April 15, 2013.
![A man, center, supervises a dancing group during a mass folk dance in front of the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, April 15, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/f70bcdca-4d68-4802-9d6b-a455f3538d5f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A man, center, supervises a dancing group during a mass folk dance in front of the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, April 15, 2013.
![A North Korean child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, April 15, 2013.](https://gdb.voanews.com/b86da62d-ffd4-48bc-aad1-ad8eaef2472d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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A North Korean child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, April 15, 2013.