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North Korea
North Korean television has aired a documentary to honor what is reported to be the birthday of its new leader, Kim Jong-Un.
The footage shows Kim Jong-Un in his new role as supreme military commander – inspecting troops, saluting and sitting in a tank.
The documentary also confirms that Kim Jong-Un was being groomed for the role from 2009, showing footage of him from that time watching a rocket launch with his father, Kim Jong-Il.
Kim Jong-un’s age is not known but he is believed to be in his late 20s.
The death of Kim Jong-Il on 17 December left the threat of a dangerous vacuum in a society raised to venerate one supreme leader.
Less than a month on, North Korea’s unique media machine is already working to fill it.
The footage shows Kim Jong-Un in his new role as supreme military commander - inspecting troops, saluting and sitting in a tank
The documentary shows Kim Jong-Un manoeuvring a tank, watching jet fighter and firing exercises and posing for photographs with soldiers.
The film also shows Kim Jong-Un with his father shaking hands with officials at a satellite control centre after scientists launched a rocket in April 2009.
“I had decided to wage a real war if the enemies shot down the rocket,” Kim Jong-Un is quoted as saying.
The documentary also shows him visiting factories, talking to officials and inspecting their work – all the things his father used to do.
Websites linked to the North Korean government have already begun describing the new leader as having the wisdom of great men, extraordinary competence and military brilliance.
Kim Jong-Un was named “supreme leader of the party, state and army” following the death of Kim Jon-Il.
The young leader has already pledged to continue with Kim Jong-Il’s “military first” policies.
Footages from Kim Jong-Il’s funerals showed an 8ft member of the North Korean armed forces towering beside his fellow soldiers in the driving snow.
Observers of how the country’s media covered Kim Jong Il’s funeral believe what we are in fact really seeing is a spot of Photoshopping.
The seemingly doctored photograph of the soldier, who appears to be well over 8ft tall, shows him in the back row of one block of mourners.
The image was captured as the funeral procession passed near the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in the capital Pyongyang.
Footages from Kim Jong-Il’s funerals showed an 8ft member of the North Korean armed forces towering beside his fellow soldiers in the driving snow
Official news agency KCNA took the photo, and the giant soldier appears to be shown from several different angles. This has led some to say that the photo has not be manipulated.
Others believe it could be 7ft 8in tall North Korean basketball star Ri Myung Hun, dubbed Michael Ri for his prowess on the court.
The discovery of the giant follows evidence from this week showing how the scores of wailing mourners were not the only well-choreographed aspect at the memorial service.
Two comparison photos showed how a camera crew filming the sombre ceremony were apparently erased from history after being digitally removed from the picture.
Live footage from the North Korean capital is rarely seen outside of the insular communist dictatorship.
The tightly stage-managed two-day funeral seemed to be a message from the country’s ruling family that they remain in tight control despite the death of their figurehead.
There has been no explanation for the apparent omission from within North Korea since the funeral.
However, a note released by Reuters describing the previous doctored images said: “This combination picture of two handout images from KCNA shows a limousine with a portrait of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il leading his funeral procession in Pyongyang December 28, 2011.
“In the top picture released by Kyodo, a group of men is seen on the left side of the picture. In the bottom picture which was sent directly to Reuters by KCNA, the group is missing.
“Reuters now believes the bottom picture was altered by KCNA.”
North Korea has hailed Kim Jong-Un as “supreme leader of the party, state and army” after his father’s funeral.
Kim Jong-Un took centre stage at a memorial service in Pyongyang’s main square a day after his father’s funeral.
Kim Yong-Nam, formally the number two leader, told a million-strong crowd their sorrow would be turned into strength “1,000 times greater under the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-Un”.
State TV showed Kim Jong-Un surrounded by top government and army officials.
The memorial event appeared to be the Kim dynasty’s unofficial handover of power.
A three-minute silence was also held, after which trains and ships throughout the country sounded their horns.
North Korea has hailed Kim Jong-Un as "supreme leader of the party, state and army" after his father’s funeral
Kim Jong-Il died of a heart attack on 17 December, aged 69, state media said. He had ruled North Korea since the death of his father Kim Il-Sung in 1994.
“Respected Comrade Kim Jong-Un is our party, military and country’s supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong-Il’s ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage,” Kim Yong-Nam told the massive crowd gathered in Kim Il-Sung square.
“The fact that he completely resolved the succession matter is Great Comrade Kim Jong-Il’s most noble achievement.”
A top military official, Kim Jong-Gak, also addressed the crowd.
“Our people’s military will serve comrade Kim Jong-Un at the head of our revolutionary troops and will continue to maintain and complete the Songun accomplishments of great leader Kim Jong-Il,” he said.
Songun refers to the “military-first” policy – channeling funds into the military.
On Wednesday, thousands stood weeping and wailing in the snow as Kim Jong-Il’s funeral cortege passed, images from state television showed.
The ceremonies echoed the displays of pomp and military might that marked the death of Kim Il-sung, in 1994.
Kim Jong-Un – Kim Jong-Il’s third son – cried as he walked alongside the hearse. Tens of thousands of soldiers lined up to bow their heads in homage in the city’s main square.
Kim Jong-Un – who is thought to be in his late 20s and who has little political experience – was accompanied by his uncle, Chang Song-Taek.
Chang Song-Taek is expected to be a key player as the younger Kim Jong-Un consolidates power.
Kim Jong-Il – known in North Korea as the “Dear Leader” – was in the process of formalizing Kim Jong-Un as his successor when he died.
However, the transition was not complete, leaving regional neighbors fearful of a power struggle in the nuclear-armed pariah state.
Kim Jong-Il’s two older sons, Kim Jong-Nam and Kim Jong-Chol, were not seen at the funeral.
No foreign delegations have attended any of the events. However, UN offices around the world lowered their flags to half-mast.
A spokesman at the UN headquarters in New York said that the move had been requested by Pyongyang’s UN mission but was part of normal protocol for the funeral of any head of state.
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North Korea has started the two-day funeral services for late leader Kim Jong-Il with a huge procession in the capital, Pyongyang.
Television footages showed tens of thousands of soldiers with their heads bowed as a giant portrait of Kim Jong-Il was carried slowly through the streets.
Kim Jong-Il’ successor and third son, Kim Jong-Un, walked beside the hearse, images from state television showed.
Kim Jong-Il died of a heart attack on 17 December, aged 69, state media said.
He has been lying in state for the past 10 days.
No schedule was released ahead of the commemorations and no foreign delegations are attending.
Observers said the ceremonies echoed the displays of pomp and military might that marked the death of Kim Jong-Il’s father, Kim Il-Sung, in 1994.
Kim Jong-Un – who is thought to be in his late 20’s and who has little political experience – was shown weeping beside the hearse as it drove through the snowy capital.
He was accompanied by his uncle, Chang Song-Taek, who is expected to be a key player as the younger Kim consolidates power.
Ri Yong-Ho, the army chief, also accompanied the hearse as it drove past ranks of troops.
North Korea has started the two-day funeral services for late leader Kim Jong-Il with a huge procession in the capital, Pyongyang
The three-hour funeral procession was led by a limousine bearing a huge portrait of a smiling Kim Jong-Il. The coffin was draped in a red flag and surrounded by white flowers.
As it passed by, crowds of mourners wailed and flailed their arms as soldiers struggled to keep them from spilling into the road.
One soldier interviewed by North Korean state television said: “The snow is endlessly falling like tears. How could the sky not cry when we’ve lost our general who was a great man from the sky? As we’re separated from the general by death, people, mountains and sky are all shedding tears of blood. Dear Supreme Commander!”
The procession was broadcast live on state television. When it ended outside Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Memorial Palace, state TV began broadcasting documentaries about Kim Jong-Il’s life.
Kim Jong-Il’s body had previously lain in state in a glass coffin at the palace.
Observers are keenly watching the line-up over the two-day funeral to see which officials are in prominent positions.
Kim Jong-Il – known in North Korea as the “Dear Leader” – was in the process of formalizing Kim Jong-Un as his successor when he died. However, the transition was not complete, leaving regional neighbors fearful of a power struggle in the nuclear-armed pariah state.
North Korea’s reluctance to open up the funeral ceremony to foreign delegations may signal that those hierarchies have not yet been fully agreed.
In the week since Kim Jong-Il died, state media has called Kim Jong-Un the “Great Successor” and referred to him as the leader of the military and the party.
Commemorations are expected to continue on Thursday, with a three-minute silence at noon local time (03:00 GMT), followed by trains and ships sounding horns. The national memorial service will then begin.
The inter-Korean Kaesong industrial park has been closed for two days for the mourning following a North Korean request, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports.
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Kim Jong-Un is the heir poised to become the next leader of rogue state North Korea, but a probe into the school days of the youngest son of Dictator Kim Jong-Il proves he is little more than an academic failure who squandered his education playing computer games and basketball.
The baby-faced Kim Jong-Un, 28, first stepped out of his father’s shadow in September last year to appear in public in the capital Pyongyang as thousands of goose-stepping troops marched by to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party.
Kim Jong-Un looked the part, dressed up in the uniform of a four-star general, and trained in the operation of the torture camps and punishment gulags which fill his blighted land.
The world will have to see whether his prolonged exposure to the west and its values during his school days in Switzerland have imbued him with any democratic values that might bring his decrepit and starving country back into the international fold after years of isolation.
But the signs are not good. Despite having lot of money spent on his education at a top private school in Switzerland, he didn’t leave with even the equivalent of a single GCSE.
When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year. He moved him to a nearby state school to save money but he was quickly put in the lower tier in class.
Wearing Nike trainers, a Chicago Bulls sweatshirt and jeans, Kim Jong-Un was introduced to Class 6A by the headmistress of Liebefeld-Steinholzi School near Berne. She lied: “Boys and girls, this is Un Pak. He comes from North Korea and he is the son of a diplomat.”
Kim Jong-Un took the empty seat next to Portuguese diplomat’s son Joao Micaelo and the pair became friends. Joao Micaelo, who now works as a chef, said: “We weren’t the dimmest kids in class but neither were we the cleverest. We were always in the second tier.
“Un tried hard to express himself but he was not very good at German and became flustered when asked to give the answers to a problem. The teachers would see him struggling ashamedly and then move on. They left him in peace.
“He left without getting any exam results at all. He was much more interested in football and basketball than lessons.”
When Kim Jong-Un was just 15, his father took him out of the costly International School Of Berne, where fees now cost around $25,000 a year
A big fan of star Michael Jordan, Kim Jong-Un – who was once caught with a bondage pornographic magazine in his school bag – proved to be a good player on the basketball court.
Kim Jong-Un did shine at maths but nothing else in class, and schoolmates remember that he needed a lot of extra tuition.
One colleague who was with Kim Jong-Un at the International School said: “It must have been 1993 when he came to the school. His English was bad at first. He had a strong accent and he was given extra lessons.
“He also learned German and was OK in the basics of both – but just OK. His English got better but not his German.
“He was good in maths. That sounds like he was a nerd – but he wasn’t. He wasn’t so hot in other subjects. I suppose in hindsight we could have nicknamed him Dim Jong-un. One day he just disappeared.”
According to school sources, Kim Jong-Il got fed up paying for an education that he thought was going nowhere. But there may have been another reason – his son’s taboo love affair with American culture.
The North Korean Embassy in Berne sent back reports on his son’s friendships and influences to his father and intelligence chiefs back in North Korea.
JoaoMicaelo said: “We spent nearly every afternoon with each other. He often invited me back to eat. He had a private chef who cooked whatever he wanted.
“Much of it wasn’t to my taste. Lots of chicken in strange sweet-and-sour sauces. He didn’t live at the embassy but in a flat in a nice residential area near the school.”
Kim Jong-Un in fact lived in a large flat at No 10 Kirchstrasse, a sedate suburban street with two pizza cafes, a bank and a Co-Op supermarket.
Joao Micaelo added: “He was surrounded by the best gadgets that the rest of us kids couldn’t afford – TVs, video recorder, a Sony PlayStation. He had a cook, a driver, a private teacher.
“But, curiously, I never saw his room. We were mostly in the communal living room. We watched a lot of kung-fu films – especially Jackie Chan movies. He loved them. He had everything which we never saw coming close to our own cinema.
“After school we met at the basketball court and threw a few baskets, with both of us pretending to be Michael Jordan. We were all envious of his genuine NBA basketball, which must have cost more than $150.
“We spoke about girls and about our grand plans. At weekends there were parties and a lot of under-age drinking. But I never once saw a drop of alcohol pass his lips and he wasn’t interested in girls.
“He only spoke about his life in the <<homeland>> rarely. But I knew he had a certain homesickness. On his stereo he only played North Korean songs. Western music didn’t do it for him.
“Most of all he listened to the North Korean national anthem, which we must have heard 1,000 times together. I only knew him in his alibi mode until one Sunday afternoon, shortly before he left for North Korea in 2000.
“He pulled out a photo of him alongside his father and said <<I am not the ambassador’s son. I am the son of the North Korean President.>>”
One member of staff at the school, identifying himself only as Joerg, said: “We had these after-school discussion groups. I remember I was outside the school having a smoke when this black, armoured Mercedes with smoked glass pulled up.
“Out stepped <<Un Pak>>. He was surrounded by these dwarf ninjas. They scanned the street and then led him up the path.
“That night we talked about the responsibilities of democracy – you know, the right to vote, the right to a common voice, the importance of speaking out.
“He never joined in. He looked down at his shoes all the time and fidgeted, never seemed easy. He was dipping into a bag from Loeb – that’s the fanciest delicatessen in Berne, the kind of place where you can spend 100 euros on a couple of salads.
“And at that moment I thought of George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm where, truly, some are more equal than others.”
Dead body of North Korean “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il has been laid in state in a glass coffin as weeping mourners filled public squares across the country.
State television showed still images of the Kim Jong-Il body in the open coffin, surrounded by wreaths and covered with a red blanket.
Kim Jong-Un – his third son and successor – paid his respects to his father along with top military and Workers’ Party officials during a “solemn ceremony”.
North Korea declared an 11-day period of official mourning, with flags flown at half-mast at all military units, factories, businesses, farms and public buildings.
The streets of the capital Pyongyang were quiet, but crowds of people gathered at landmarks to mourn Kim Jong-Il who died suddenly on Saturday from a massive heart attack at the age of 69.
Kim Jong-Il ruled North Korea for 17 years in a brutal and repressive dictatorship.
Under his regime’s economic mismanagement, a terrible famine in the 1990s caused the death of millions from starvation and hardship.
The tyrant imprisoned thousands of political “opponents” and there is no access to freedom of the press, the internet or health care in the country.
North Korean state television showed still images of the Kim Jong-Il body in the open coffin, surrounded by wreaths and covered with a red blanket
The dictator’s body was lying in state in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of his father – national founder Kim Il-Sung – has been on display in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994.
A state funeral will be held there on December 28.
Ri Ho-Il, a lecturer at the Korean Revolutionary History Museum, said: “Our General is our people’s benevolent father. He defended our people’s happiness, carrying on his forced march night and day.”
Since Kim Jong-Il’s death, state media have stepped up their lavish praise of his son Kim Jong-Un in an effort to strengthen a cult of personality around him similar to that of his father.
Although there have been no signs of unrest or discord in Pyongyang’s somber streets, the possibility of a power struggle in a country seeking nuclear weapons and known for its secrecy has heightened tensions in the region.
North Korean officials said they will not invite foreign delegations and will allow no entertainment during the mourning period.
The Korean Central News Agency described Kim Jong-Un as a “great person born of heaven”, a propaganda term only his father and grandfather Kim Il-Sung had enjoyed.
The Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, described Kim Jon-Un as “the spiritual pillar and the lighthouse of hope” for the people.
It described him as “born of Mount Paektu” – one of Korea’s most cherished sites and Kim Jong-Il’s official birthplace.
Yesterday, North Korea’s military pledged to “uphold the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-Un” and called him a “great successor”.
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Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, has died at the age of 69, state-run television has announced.
Kim Jong-il, who has led the communist nation since the death of his father, Kim Il-sung in 1994, died on a train while visiting an area outside the capital, the announcement said.
North Korean leader suffered a stroke in 2008 and was absent from public view for months.
Kim Jong-il’s designated successor is his third son, Kim Jong-un, who is thought to be in his late 20s.
North Korea’s state-run news agency, KCNA, urged people to unite behind the younger Kim.
“All party members, military men and the public should faithfully follow the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un and protect and further strengthen the unified front of the party, military and the public,” the news agency said.
State media also referred to Kim Jong-un as the “great successor to the revolutionary cause” in what appeared to be the first such reference.
Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, has died at the age of 69
A funeral for Kim Jong-il will be held in Pyongyang on 28 December and Kim Jong-un will head the funeral committee, KCNA reports. A period of national mourning has been declared from 17 to 29 December.
International media reports say Kim Jong-il’s death will cause huge shock waves across North Korea, an impoverished, nuclear-armed nation with few allies.
The announcement of Kim Jong-il’s death came in an emotional statement read out on national television.
The announcer, wearing black, said he had died of physical and mental over-work. A later report from KCNA said Kim Jong-il had had a heart attack.
China – North Korea’s closest ally and biggest trading partner – said it was “distressed” to hear the news of his death.
“We express our grief about this and extend our condolences to the people of North Korea,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.
South Korea’s military has been put on alert following the announcement and its National Security Council is convening for an emergency meeting, Yonhap news agency reports. The Japanese government has also convened a special security meeting.
The White House said it was “closely monitoring” reports of the death. The US remained “committed to stability on the Korean peninsula, and to the freedom and security of our allies”, it said in a statement.
South Korea’s President Lee Myung-Bak spoke to US President Barack Obama by telephone.
“The two leaders agreed to closely co-operate and monitor the situation together,” a South Korean presidential spokesman said.
Asian stock markets fell after the news was announced.
Kim Jong-il inherited the leadership of North Korea – which remains technically at war with South Korea – from his father Kim Il-sung.
Shortly after he came to power, a severe famine caused by ill-judged economic reforms and poor harvests left an estimated two million people dead.
Kim Jong-il’s regime has been harshly criticized for human rights abuses and is internationally isolated because of its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Under Kim Jong-il’s leadership funds have been channeled to the military and in 2006 North Korea conducted its first nuclear test. It followed that up with a second one three years later. Multinational talks aimed at disarming North Korea have been deadlocked for months.
Kim Jong-il unveiled his son as his likely successor a year ago. Many had expected to see this process further consolidated in 2012.
Professor Lee Jung-hoon, specializing in international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul, told the BBC that with the transition of power from father to son incomplete, Kim Jong-il’s death could herald “very unstable times” in North Korea.
“We have to be very worried because whenever there is domestic instability North Korea likes to find an external situation to divert the attention away from that – including indulging in provocation.”
Christopher Hill, former US representative to the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programme, said all parties needed to “keep cool heads”.
As for Kim Jong-il’s son and successor, very little is known about him – including his exact age. He was educated in Switzerland and is the son of Kim Jong-il’s reportedly favorite wife, the late Ko Yong-hui.
Kim Jong-un has an older brother, Kim Jong-chol, and a older half-brother, Kim Jong-nam – both of whom appear to have been passed over for the succession.
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North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il has been spending nearly $200,000 a year on his dogs while his nation starves, it has been revealed.
The allegations were made in a report presented to the country’s parliament leaked by a South Korean Member of Parliament.
Nearly six million North Koreans – a quarter of the country’s population – live in extreme poverty due to food shortages in the country.
A third of children younger than five years old are reported to suffer from malnutrition in North Korea.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il lives a lavish lifestyle while his people live in poverty
MP Yoon Sang Hyun said the Kim Jong-Il‘s regime had purchased around 600 bottles of fine French wine that were consumed at parties for senior party and military officials last year.
Yoon Sang Hyun said the dictator had also imported several dozen Russian horses, and bought ten US jet skis for his son and heir Kim Jong Eun.
Most of the luxury goods had been purchased through China – the North’s sole major ally, and Russia, Yoon Sang Hyun said.
If found to be true, the Kim Jong-Il’s actions will have breached United Nations Security Council sanctions banning the export of luxury items to the communist state.
The sanctions were imposed after the North’s missile and nuclear tests.
MP Yoon Sang Hyun, a member of the ruling conservative Grand National Party in South Korea said: “The luxury life for Kim Jong-il’s family goes on regardless of the worsening suffering of North Koreans amid the third-generation succession.”
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