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N. Korea marks end of mourning for late leader Kim Jong-Il
AFP
December 18, 2014, 6:01 am
Seoul (AFP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Wednesday led tens of thousands of military and party officials in a ceremony to mark the end of three years of mourning for former supremo Kim Jong-Il.
Clad in a black winter coat and a black fur hat, the young leader stood stony-faced as he listened to speeches idolising his late father, who ruled the secretive communist nation for 17 years before his death in 2011.
South Korean media and analysts said the anniversary marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader.
"We will achieve a prosperous and reunified Korea in obedience to the wishes of our great leader Kim Jong-Il," North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-Nam said, urging the participants to protect the young supremo with their lives.
State television showed Kim Jong-Un walking with a slight limp around the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which houses the embalmed bodies of the country's founder Kim Il-Sung and his son Kim Jong-Il.
"We yearn to see the gracious Father General," the Korean Central TV commentator said, praising the late leader for developing nuclear weapons.
"In the Marshall (Kim Jong-Un), however, we see the General live eternally," she added, in reference to Kim Jong-Un.
At noon, trains, ships and vehicles across the country sounded their horns and sirens let wail, followed by a three minute silence.
State television showed endless lines of mourners queued up to lay bouquets of flowers at the foot of a 22-metre (72-foot) statue on Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, the epicentre of the personality cult surrounding the Kim dynasty.
"Despite the freezing December weather this morning, our heart for him grows warmer and our loyalty becomes stronger," said a commentator on state broadcaster Korean Central TV.
- 'Diplomatic isolation deepened' -
Analysts in Seoul said Kim Jong-Un has so far been successful in tightening his grip on power, most clearly by executing his uncle and one-time mentor and No. 2, Jang Song-Thaek, a year ago.
"The third anniversary is significant for the young leader as it means the real start of his era," Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies said.
While living standards have risen moderately since Kim Jong-Un took power, the hermit state is now more isolated than ever, he said.
"Diplomatic isolation deepened amid ongoing confrontation over its nuclear programmes and human rights conditions," he told AFP.
The Kim dynasty has ruled the isolated country for more than six decades with an iron fist and a pervasive personally cult.
Under Kim Jong-Un's leadership, North Korea has placed a satellite in orbit and last year conducted its third -- and most powerful -- nuclear test.
The UN Security Council is due to meet next week to discuss North Korea's rights record amid calls for Pyongyang to be referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.
A UN inquiry in February charged that North Korea has committed human rights abuses "without parallel in the contemporary world," including imprisoning 120,000 people in prison camps and cases of torture, summary executions and rape.
The North this week accused the United States of seeking to topple its regime through allegations of human rights abuses, and threatened to hit back with its "toughest-ever counteraction".
Hong Hyun-Ik, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said there were fears North Korea may conduct a nuclear test next year after carrying out an underground explosion in 2013.
"The United States and South Korea are unlikely to offer incentives and North Korea feels cornered into conducting a fourth nuclear test," Hong said.
North Korea snubs China on 3rd anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death
Staff Reporter
2014-12-17
The event to mark the 2nd anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death in Pyongyang, Dec. 17, 2013. (File Photo/Xinhua)
News that China was not invited to the third anniversary of the death of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the father of the current leader Kim Jong-un, has sent the Chinese rumor mill into overdrive, according to Duowei News, a media outlet run by overseas Chinese.
On the day before the Dec. 17 commemoration, in response to questions from the media during a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang praised the late North Korean leader and said the Chinese government "will respect the arrangement by the DPRK with regard to relevant commemorative activities."
Analysts have suggested that in the context of the chilling relationship between North Korea and China, Chinese ambivalence towards North Korea is out of geostrategic considerations.
Qin Gang did not comment on North Korea's current political or economic status when asked, only stating that the two countries are "close neighbors sharing traditional friendship," adding, "We sincerely hope that the DPRK can maintain development and stability, and people there lead a happy life. The Chinese side is ready to push forward the traditional relationship of friendly cooperation together with the DPRK." His comments have been widely interpreted to be official acknowledgement of the cooling in relations, specifically the reference to respecting DPRK relations.
On Dec. 13, Japan's Asahi Shimbun cited diplomatic officials from both countries stating that China was yet to receive an invitation for the event and that Beijing had no plans to send a delegation. Last year the Chinese diplomat Liu Hongcai attended the commemoration at the invitation of Pyongyang. The Global Times, a tabloid run by the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily, asked an official at the North Korean embassy in Beijing for confirmation that China would not be attending the event, but he declined to comment.
Researchers at Gyeongsang National University produced a report on Nov. 30 stating that Kim Jong-un's three-year mourning period will end in 2015, at which point North Korea will likely unveil a new economic and political vision, marking the official launch of the "Kim Jong-un era." The report also said that North Korea may change the power structure of the country, as under the current system established by Kim Jong-il a lot of power is given to the National Defence Commission.
US-based magazine the National Interest published an article on their website on Dec. 12 stating that in recent months North Korea has made efforts on the diplomatic front to make contact with the US, Japan and South Korea. The report also stated that the country's relations with Russia are also warming up. China has not been included among this roster of countries however, likely because Kim feels that China has tried to use North Korea's awkward international position for its own benefit. Pyongyang is likely trying to diversify its diplomatic options to avoid excessive Chinese influence over its affairs.
China has participated in imposing sanctions on North Korea in partnership with the international community, so Qin's comments can be seen as a hint to Kim Jong-un, suggesting that North Korea can decide the future of Sino-DPRK ties and that if North Korea decides to go its own way without consideration for China, China will follow suit, Duowei said.
Li Xiangdong, dean of the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "China has not agreed to protect North Korea unconditionally," adding that ties with North Korea shouldn't be seen terms of the traditional "blood alliance."
Wang Jiangyu, assistant professor at National Singapore University's School of Law, said China should take an active role in encouraging the new administration under Kim Jong-un to improve the lives of the North Korean people, whether motivated by Beijing's own interests or out of concern for human rights. If China can convince North Korea to introduce market reforms and to open up to the world, this would give the people of the country more freedom and would be in line with China's interests.
