Kim Jong Un Makes Hundreds Stand Outside In Freezing Temperatures To Celebrate Late Father’s Birthday

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had reportedly carried out an outdoor "National Meeting" on Tuesday by making hundreds of people stand outside in freezing temperatures.

The meeting was held to celebrate the 80th birthday of his late father and former leader Kim Jong Il. Hundreds of attendees braved a maximum temperature of 5 F (-15 C) in the northern city of Samjiyon to hear a speech by the North Korean leader, media reports said. Some of those attending the meeting, which lasted for 30 minutes, did not even have gloves or ear coverings at this time.

During the meeting Kim Jong Un praised his father, calling him a “stepping stone” leader who left a “revolutionary legacy” for his son to carry forward, NK News reported.

According to party-run Rodong Sinmun, top official Ri Il Hwan praised the late Kim for building up the military to challenge “U.S. Imperialists.” Ri also said Kim’s strict ideological policies to maintain the ruling party’s power and fight off “the peak of anti-socialist madness in the 1990s” helped people in overcoming the great suffering in what was known as the “great famine” outside North Korea.

North Korea claims Kim Jong Il was born at a secret site near Samjiyon in 1942. But, Soviet Union records suggest he was actually born in eastern Russia in 1941, and that his father did not travel to North Korea until after the USSR took over North Korea, following Japan’s defeat in World War II, according to Business Insider.

According to reports, Kim Jong Un ordered the near-total reconstruction of Samjiyon into a “utopian mountain town” in recent years to glorify the myth of his father’s “sacred” birth. He also visited Samjiyon in November last year amid news of the near-completion of the project.

While many might think Kim Jong Un and other senior officials were also enduring the extreme freezing temperatures, some North Korea watchers suspected the leader and other officials on stage may have been using heaters to keep warm.

State media announced an “evening gala of youth and students,” featuring a fireworks show was scheduled for Wednesday in Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Square.

Kim Jong Un has been making public appearances this year after taking eight breaks from such activities since January last year. His absence during a national celebration in mid-April fueled rumors that he may be in a coma or may have died following a botched heart surgery.