Is the friendly relationship between North Korea and Cuba on the wane? What the media reports on the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth reveal

On the 1st, North Korean media, including the Korean Central News Agency, introduced countries that sent messages on the birthday of the late Chairman Kim Il Sung.
"The remarks are seen as an expression of dissatisfaction with the establishment of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Cuba in February of this year," Yonhap News Agency reported.
On the 15th of last month, North Korea celebrated the birthday of Chairman Kim, who passed away in 1994. North Korea regards this day, which is the birthday of Chairman Kim, who is considered the "father of the nation," as its "most important national holiday."
This year too, the capital Pyongyang was filled with a celebratory mood, with fireworks set off from the night before and large-scale celebration events held by students.
Ahead of the anniversary, about 20 pro-North Korean groups from overseas visited North Korea.
Delegates from Mongolia, Thailand, Nepal, Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Brazil attended the meeting.
It was the first time that the country had allowed foreigners into the country. On the 1st of this month, two weeks after the anniversary of the birthday, North Korean media, including the Korean Central News Agency, introduced countries that had sent messages on the anniversary.
However, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, the article did not mention Cuba, a traditional friendly country of North Korea. Yonhap reported that Cuba established diplomatic relations with South Korea in February this year.
Cuba, a communist country, is known for its close ties with North Korea. It established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 1960.
When Chairman Castro, who had ruled Cuba for nearly 50 years, passed away in 2016, Kim Jung Eun, the general secretary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, sent a telegram of condolence.
The following month, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at the Cuban embassy in the United States, and the North Korean Foreign Ministry stated that the attack was motivated by despicable anti-Cuban intentions from the United States, and that the United States had tacitly approved a "terrorist attack" against Cuba.
He also criticized the government for being "anti-American" and once again demonstrated solidarity with Cuba. On January 1st of this year, Kim sent a congratulatory telegram to President Diaz-Canel on the 65th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, calling for a "socialist"
"I am confident that the friendly and cooperative relationship between our two countries, which was established through our joint struggle for a just victory, will continue to grow and develop," he said. Meanwhile, South Korea has not had any diplomatic relations with Cuba since the Cuban Revolution in 1995.
Cuba was the only Latin American country with which South Korea did not have diplomatic relations, but the South Korean government provided Cuba with $300,000 in humanitarian aid when heavy rains caused major damage in June last year.
In February of this year, the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it had agreed to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.
"This is an important turning point in strengthening diplomacy with South America," he said. He emphasized that South Korea will "expand its diplomatic horizons" as a "global central nation," as proposed by President Yoon Seok-yeol, and said, "We will expand economic cooperation between the two countries and
"We will build an institutional foundation to support the expansion of Korean companies," he explained. By establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, which has close ties with North Korea, South Korea has attempted to undermine North Korea's diplomatic foundation.
A backlash from North Korea was also expected. Meanwhile, according to Yonhap News, Cuba sent a congratulatory message on Kim's birthday via social media, and also sent a congratulatory telegram through diplomatic channels.
However, as mentioned above, North Korean media did not mention Cuba in their articles introducing countries that sent messages on the anniversary of Kim's birth.
"It is highly likely that this is a symbolic gesture," he said. This shows that North Korea is unhappy with Cuba's growing ties with South Korea, and it is unclear whether there will be any future relations between North Korea and its "brother country" Cuba.
It will be interesting to see whether this relationship will change.