N/Korea Rejoice over Amid shaft Threat

The North Korea is celebrating the 101st annual  birth of its founding father amid said its leaders may use the occasion to show its military capability.

About Ten thousand people have gathered in the capital Pyongyang to celebrate the  launch of new statues of Kim Il Sung and the son who has succeeded him, Kim Jong Il.

But there are concerns North Korea may launch a medium-range ballistic missile as the Communist state has a habit of linking high-profile military tests with key dates in its calendar.

North Koreans bow to statues of their former leaders
The centenary of Kim's birth last year was preceded by a long-range rocket test that ended in failure.

Earlier on Monday, Kim's grandson and current dynastic leader Kim Jong Un visited the Pyongyang mausoleum to pay "high tribute in humblest reverence" where his grandfather's body lies embalmed, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

He also visited the embalmed body of his father, who died in December 2011.

And despite North Korea's warnings that the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula is so high it cannot guarantee the safety of foreign residents, it hosted athletes from around the world for its biggest international marathon yet ahead of the celebrations.