North Korea is celebrating the 101st anniversary of the birth of its founding father amid fears its leaders may use the occasion to demonstrate its military capability.
Tens of thousands of people have gathered in the capital Pyongyang to celebrate the unveiling of new statues of Kim Il Sung and the son who 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.
Soldiers at statues Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il After racing through Pyongyang, athletes from 16 nations including hundreds of North Korean runners were cheered into Kim Il Sung Stadium by tens of thousands of spectators.
North Korea's official media said the 26th Mangyongdae Prize Marathon was larger than previous years and that enthusiasm was "high among local marathoners and their coaches as never before".
After the race, competitors then filled a performance hall for a gala concert featuring ethnic Korean performers brought in from China, Russia and Japan as part of the birthday events.
"The feeling is like, I came last year already, the situation is the same," said Taiwan runner Chang Chia-che, who finished 15th.
The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.
Athletes from 16 nations were cheered into Kim Il Sung Stadium Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.
Secretary of State John Kerry, in Japan on the last leg of an Asian tour dominated by the crisis, said the US will talk with North Korea if it takes "meaningful steps" towards peace.
"The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearisation, but the burden is on Pyongyang," he said.
"North Korea must take meaningful steps to show it will honour commitments it has already made."
While in Asia, Sen Kerry has talked tough on the North's "unacceptable" rhetoric, but also sought to lower the temperature by supporting dialogue with Pyongyang.
Sen Kerry tours the Zojoji Buddhist Temple in Tokyo In Seoul, he gave Washington's blessing to peace overtures made by South Korea's new president, Park Geun-Hye, who in recent days has signalled the need to open a dialogue and "listen to what North Korea thinks".
But the North rejected the overtures as "empty talk" and a "crafty trick" to conceal Seoul's aggressive intentions.
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