For the Chairman, the day was an ordinary day of devotion to the country and people rather than his birthday.

On the morning of February 16, Juche 88 (1999), he left to inspect units of the Korean People's Army (KPA).

He visited a women's sub-unit in a mountain where he looked round various places to take warm care of their living conditions so that they do not feel any slight inconvenience before leaving the sub-unit. That afternoon he guided the skiing exercise of soldiers and their families at the field training ground of another sub-unit of the KPA.

When he returned to his lodging quarters at nightfall, he told officials that today, too, he spent a day with soldiers, adding that it was his pleasure to spend days for the soldiers and people and such days are his holiday. Then he discussed the ways to bring about a radical turn in potato farming and improve the people's diet while having a supper with potato food together with officials.

As a result, on his birthday of that year, he discussed the potato farming of the country and the people's diet even at the time for supper.

His birthday was always spent like this.

On February 16 of one year, Kim Jong Il had a consultative meeting with officials.

He said that the consultative meeting would discuss taking measures for further raising the people's standards of living, stressing that it is the supreme principle of the activities of the Workers' Party of Korea to steadily better the people's living standards, and made a historic speech "On Further Improving the Standard of Living of the People."

That day, he paid special attention to the issue of increasing the production of consumer goods by developing light industry, and took steps to produce more quality consumer goods to make the people's living more affluent and civilized.

As he devoted his all to the prosperity of the country and happiness of the people, he spent his birthday, giving new instructions on the preparations for the national meeting of industrial workers, indicating the orientation for improving the living standards of the Pyongyang citizens by properly running the livestock farms in the capital city, and discussing the farming issue.