Kim's son 'supreme commander'
Source: Agencies |
December 25, 2011, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
North Korea vowed yesterday to uphold Kim Jong Il's son as "supreme commander" as the campaign to install the young man as the next leader of the socialist nation sped up one week after his father's death.
As the grieving continued for Kim Jong Il, state media also emphasized successor Kim Jong Un's bloodline and legacy in carrying out the Kim family claim to lead and protect the North Korean people.
Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and was unveiled last year as his father's choice as successor, will be the third generation Kim to rule the country since its inception in 1948.
The call to rally behind Kim Jong Un, dubbed the "Great Successor" the day his father's death from a heart attack was announced, comes amid grief across North Korea. The country is to remain in an official state of mourning until after Kim's funeral on Wednesday and a memorial on Thursday.
One last journey
Footage from Associated Press Television News in the capital, Pyongyang, showed a throng of North Koreans climbing stairs and placing flowers below a portrait of Kim Jong Il. They placed wreaths neatly in a row as solemn music filled the air, and young uniformed soldiers, their heads shaved, bowed to the portrait with their eyes closed.
A sobbing Jong Myong Hui, a Pyongyang citizen taking a break from shoveling snow, told APTN that she came out voluntarily to "clear the way for Kim Jong Il's last journey."
For days, life in Pyongyang had come to a standstill, with shops and restaurants closed. Downtown Koryo Hotel, one of several in Pyongyang catering to foreigners, was nearly empty.
But there are signs the country is moving on.
"Streets, buses and the metro are all crowded with people going to their work. They are not giving way simply to sorrow," the Korean Central News Agency said of Pyongyang. "They are getting over the demise of their leader, promoted by a strong will to closely rally around respected Comrade Kim Jong Un."
The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial yesterday that the country would uphold Kim Jong Un as "supreme commander" with vows made in "blood and tears" before Kim Jong Il's body.
North Korea was founded in 1948 by Kim Il Sung, the country's first and only president. He retains the title of "eternal president" long after his death in 1994.
As the grieving continued for Kim Jong Il, state media also emphasized successor Kim Jong Un's bloodline and legacy in carrying out the Kim family claim to lead and protect the North Korean people.
Kim Jong Un, who is in his late 20s and was unveiled last year as his father's choice as successor, will be the third generation Kim to rule the country since its inception in 1948.
The call to rally behind Kim Jong Un, dubbed the "Great Successor" the day his father's death from a heart attack was announced, comes amid grief across North Korea. The country is to remain in an official state of mourning until after Kim's funeral on Wednesday and a memorial on Thursday.
One last journey
Footage from Associated Press Television News in the capital, Pyongyang, showed a throng of North Koreans climbing stairs and placing flowers below a portrait of Kim Jong Il. They placed wreaths neatly in a row as solemn music filled the air, and young uniformed soldiers, their heads shaved, bowed to the portrait with their eyes closed.
A sobbing Jong Myong Hui, a Pyongyang citizen taking a break from shoveling snow, told APTN that she came out voluntarily to "clear the way for Kim Jong Il's last journey."
For days, life in Pyongyang had come to a standstill, with shops and restaurants closed. Downtown Koryo Hotel, one of several in Pyongyang catering to foreigners, was nearly empty.
But there are signs the country is moving on.
"Streets, buses and the metro are all crowded with people going to their work. They are not giving way simply to sorrow," the Korean Central News Agency said of Pyongyang. "They are getting over the demise of their leader, promoted by a strong will to closely rally around respected Comrade Kim Jong Un."
The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said in an editorial yesterday that the country would uphold Kim Jong Un as "supreme commander" with vows made in "blood and tears" before Kim Jong Il's body.
North Korea was founded in 1948 by Kim Il Sung, the country's first and only president. He retains the title of "eternal president" long after his death in 1994.
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