North Koreans ‘united behind Kim’
Print Edition
North Korea vowed to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un during carefully staged events to mark the second anniversary of his father’s death yesterday, in an attempt to show it has returned to business as usual after the execution of his once-powerful uncle.
Kim sat silently as a stadium full of military and party officials paid homage to his father Kim Jong Il at the day’s main event. He was flanked by Kim Yong Nam, the ceremonial head of state, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, representing the military.
Absent was Jang Song Thaek, executed last week after being accused of corruption and trying to overthrow the government.
With Jang out of the picture — he is already being deleted from state media archives — North Korea’s official message yesterday was a call for “single-minded unity” behind Kim’s leadership.
As top officials sat with Kim on a wide stage at the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium, with a huge portrait of Kim Jong Il behind them, heads bowed as the traditional North Korean funeral dirge played. At several points during the speeches, all rose to applaud the “immortal and glorious exploits” of the late leader. Kim Jong Un, wearing a gray Mao suit, did not speak at the ceremony.
“Once more, our people’s army is firmly determined to guarantee the victory of our great general’s revolutionary cause,” Choe said, adding that the military would “hold high the flag of the party” and follow “the ever-victorious leadership of our supreme commander.”
Three minutes of silence were observed at the start of the ceremony.
Jang’s wife Kim Kyong Hui, who is Kim Jong Un’s aunt, did not appear at the memorial. But she was noted by state media over the weekend in connection with another funeral of a top official, a sign she has survived Jang’s removal.
On the eve of the anniversary, tens of thousands of people had crowded Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, where two giant bronze statues of national founder Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il stand.
A mass rally of the military was also held outside the mausoleum where the two Kims lie in state to swear allegiance to Kim Jong Un and the ruling Workers’ Party.
As yesterday’s ceremony began, Pyongyang’s streets were empty.
Regular citizens are often expected to attend memorial gatherings at their workplaces, some watching a live broadcast on state TV.
Many turned out in groups at portraits and monuments around the city to lay flowers before going back to work.
But there were no major displays of public grief like the tears and wailing that had filled the days after Kim Jong Il’s death in 2011.
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