North Korea's Kim Jong-Il gives shoes
Last Updated: 11:21pm GMT 16/02/2008/n
North Korea celebrated the 66th birthday yesterday of its leader, Kim Jong-Il, with rallies, flower shows and an appeal to its impoverished people to unite behind the diminutive strongman.
Streets were festooned with banners and citizens enjoyed special rations of sweets and shoes during the two-day holiday.
Some showed their reverence by organising exhibitions of "kimjongilia", a hybrid begonia named after the reclusive leader.
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The celebrations came as negotiations over the north's nuclear plans reached deadlock, with Washington accusing Pyongyang of failing to list all its nuclear programmes under a recent disarmament agreement.
North Korea's Kim Jong-Il gives shoes - Telegraph