North Korean television claimed that the skies above Mount Paektu suddenly turned bright at night this week, in what appears to have been part of efforts to build up the state mythology of the “holy” mountain where Kim Jong Il was allegedly born.

On the occasion of Mother’s Day, state media was plastered with tributes to the country’s heroic mothers and their role in raising the next generation advancing the country’s “socialist revolution” under the leader’s guidance.

Meanwhile, North Korean media took aim at familiar targets by spotlighting protests in South