Kim Jong-il commemorated in North Korea

North Korea is commemorating its leader Kim Jong-il, two years after his death in 2011.

Images from Pyongyang showed ranks of thousands of officials at a ceremony to commemorate Kim Jong-il.

His son, Kim Jong-un, inherited the leadership after his death in 2011.

Last week he presided over the execution of Jang Sung-taek, his uncle and a powerful figure seen by outside observers as his mentor.

Jang Sung-taek was accused of multiple crimes, state media said, including forming a power base and attempting to overthrow the state.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General Ban Kim-moon described his execution as “very dramatic and surprising”.

He urged regional nations “while they must be vigilantly and carefully watching the development of situation, not to take any premature actions”.

Residents laid flowers at monuments to both Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung, North Korea’s first leader.

Kim Jong-il, who ruled North Korea for almost two decades, died on December 17, 2011.

On Tuesday, his third son and chosen successor, Kim Jong-un, attended a ceremony to remember his father.

Kim Jong-un sat on the podium flanked by North Korea’s ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, and the head of the army.

“All our people and soldiers have struggled and achieved victory for the past two years by holding our great leader [Kim Jong-il] in high esteem,” Kim Yong-nam said in his speech.

On Monday thousands of North Korean soldiers lined up in front of the state mausoleum to pledge their allegiance to Kim Jong-un.