Kim Jong Un celebrates the 10th anniversary of his father’s death

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un today marked the 10th anniversary of the death of his father and predecessor and attended an event with high-ranking officials at the mausoleum where his body is located as memorial services and flags fluttered across the country.

Kim Jong Il, the second in the Kim dynasty, ruled North Korea for 17 years until his death on December 17, 2011. At that time, state media did not broadcast the news until two days later.

Today, state television broadcast images of people observing several minutes of silence and bowing in front of portraits and statues of Kim Jong Il.

His son, leader Kim Jong Un, appeared with hundreds of officials at a ceremony outside Sun Kumsusan Palace in Pyongyang, where the bodies of Kim Jong Il and his father, North Korea founder Kim Jong Il, are buried.

Dressed in a black leather coat, Kim Jong Un stood gravely under a large red banner with the image of his father, but did not appear to speak.

Newspapers – closely controlled by the North Korean government – published articles praising Kim Jong Il’s “revolutionary leadership”, urging people to remain loyal to their son.

“With the respected leader Kim Jong Un, we must strengthen our faith in the party and the revolution,” said Rodong Sinmun, the ruling party’s official newspaper.

Under Kim Jong Il, North Korea suffered from famine in the 1990s, and his son, who came to power, promised that the people would never have to tighten their belts again.

Ten years later, however, Kim Jong Un faces widespread financial woes caused by international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear weapons and missile programs, natural disasters, and the closure of its own border. Pyongyang to tackle the coronavirus pandemic which minimized trade.

Source: AMPE