North Korea urged its people to rally behind new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as tens of thousands gathered yesterday in a central square to observe the end of a 100-day mourning period following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.
The commemoration comes as North Korea prepares to launch a satellite into space on a long-range rocket next month — plans that the US warns could jeopardize a recent deal that would ship US food aid to the North in exchange for a moratorium on missile and nuclear tests.
North Korea said it would fire a rocket carrying an observation satellite around the April 15 celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-un’s grandfather.
Yesterday, state media showed tens of thousands of people gathered in Pyongyang to pay their respects to Kim Jong-il, the longtime leader who died of a heart attack on Dec. 17. Top officials made speeches praising the late leader and pledging loyalty to his successor.
“We have to unite, unite and unite again behind dear comrade Kim Jong-un,” North Korean Premier Choe Yong-rim said from a balcony, where Kim Jong-un and other officials stood.
North Korean People’s Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong-chun said in a separate speech that his troops would become “guns” and “bombs” to protect Kim Jong-un with their lives.
Top officials and state media have made similar pledges of -loyalty to Kim Jong-un, who has assumed a slew of prominent titles such as supreme commander of the 1.2 million-member military since his father’s death. Kim Jong-un is expected to further consolidate his power by taking up other top state jobs.
North Korea said on Saturday that the country’s parliament would hold its annual session on April 13. The session will be closely watched by outsiders for clues to changes in the North’s power structure.
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party is also due to hold a separate conference in the middle of next month.
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