الرئيسية
North Korean television showed the body of late leader Kim Jong-Il lying
in state in a glass coffin Tuesday as his son and successor Kim Jong-Un
and other senior officials paid their respects.The still
photos showed a sombre dark-clad Jong-Un and others, some in military
uniform, circling a flower-bedecked bier supporting the casket.
The
body of Kim senior was dressed in his trademark khaki tunic, with most
of the corpse covered by a red sheet, at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial
Palace.
North Korea has hailed Jong-Un as a "great successor" at
the helm of the isolated country after the death of the leader who built
an atomic arsenal and presided over a devastating famine.
On
state television Monday, a tearful announcer delivered the news of Kim's
demise at 69 from a heart attack, and the station aired footage of
hysterical North Koreans, young and old alike, pounding the ground in
displays of abject grief.
Pyongyang urged military personnel and
citizens to rally behind Kim's youngest son Jong-Un, who is in his late
20s. Last year, he was made a four-star general and given top ruling
party posts despite having had no public profile.
It is the
nuclear-armed pariah nation's second dynastic succession, and analysts
said there would probably be little turbulence -- at least for now -- in
the North, whose unpredictable behaviour has long destabilised the
region.
"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," said the black-clad television announcer.
The official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted officials and citizens pledging
their allegiance to the Swiss-educated new leader.
It described
him as "a prominent thinker-theoretician and peerlessly illustrious
commander" thanks to whom "the DPRK is more strikingly displaying its
dignity and might as an invincible military power."
A KCNA report
in the early hours of Tuesday described grief-stricken North Koreans
holding late-night vigils at various statues and monuments to Kim.
South
Korea put its military on emergency alert after the death was announced
but urged its people to stay calm, and swiftly closed ranks with its
close ally the United States.
Seoul summoned a meeting of the National Security Council and President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency cabinet meeting.
in state in a glass coffin Tuesday as his son and successor Kim Jong-Un
and other senior officials paid their respects.The still
photos showed a sombre dark-clad Jong-Un and others, some in military
uniform, circling a flower-bedecked bier supporting the casket.
The
body of Kim senior was dressed in his trademark khaki tunic, with most
of the corpse covered by a red sheet, at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial
Palace.
North Korea has hailed Jong-Un as a "great successor" at
the helm of the isolated country after the death of the leader who built
an atomic arsenal and presided over a devastating famine.
On
state television Monday, a tearful announcer delivered the news of Kim's
demise at 69 from a heart attack, and the station aired footage of
hysterical North Koreans, young and old alike, pounding the ground in
displays of abject grief.
Pyongyang urged military personnel and
citizens to rally behind Kim's youngest son Jong-Un, who is in his late
20s. Last year, he was made a four-star general and given top ruling
party posts despite having had no public profile.
It is the
nuclear-armed pariah nation's second dynastic succession, and analysts
said there would probably be little turbulence -- at least for now -- in
the North, whose unpredictable behaviour has long destabilised the
region.
"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," said the black-clad television announcer.
The official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted officials and citizens pledging
their allegiance to the Swiss-educated new leader.
It described
him as "a prominent thinker-theoretician and peerlessly illustrious
commander" thanks to whom "the DPRK is more strikingly displaying its
dignity and might as an invincible military power."
A KCNA report
in the early hours of Tuesday described grief-stricken North Koreans
holding late-night vigils at various statues and monuments to Kim.
South
Korea put its military on emergency alert after the death was announced
but urged its people to stay calm, and swiftly closed ranks with its
close ally the United States.
Seoul summoned a meeting of the National Security Council and President Lee Myung-Bak called an emergency cabinet meeting.