North Korea marks one year since Kim Jong-il’s death
North Korea marks one year since the death of Kim Jong-il in a huge ceremony, days after the country’s successful rocket launch.
New leader Kim Jong-un and his wife paid their respects at the memorial hall in Pyongyang which houses the late leader’s body.
Scientists who worked on last week’s long-range rocket launch also attended, state television said.
Kim Jong-il died on December 17, 2011; his death was announced two days later.
Leadership of the communist state – which remains unable to feed its people – passed to his third son Kim Jong-un.
Under his leadership North Korea has conducted two long-range rocket launches – actions condemned by the US and Pyongyang’s neighbors as banned tests of missile technology.
The launch in April failed, but last week’s attempt appears to have been a success, placing a satellite into orbit.
The US, Japan and South Korea are seeking a response in the UN Security Council, which banned North Korea from missile tests after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009.
North Korea marks one year since the death of Kim Jong-il in a huge ceremony, days after the country’s successful rocket launch
North Korea held a mass rally on Friday to mark the rocket’s success and another on Sunday to commemorate Kim Jong-il.
On Monday, the country’s top leaders gathered at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of both Kim Jong-il and his father, national founder Kim Il-sung, lie.
The ceremony, broadcast live on state television, showed a series of officials bowing before statues of the two late leaders.
On Sunday ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-nam praised Kim Jong-il’s role in the rocket launch at the giant rally in a Pyongyang sports stadium.
“The successful launch of our Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite is also another victory achieved by our military and people, by faithfully following the teachings of the great leader [Kim Jong-il],” he said.
The UN Security Council last week condemned the launch and said it would continue consultations on an appropriate response.
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