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NKorean military express readiness to back Kim Jong-Il’s junior son

Kim Jong-Un was accompanied by the entire military elite – members of the Central Military Committee of the Korean Workers Party

PYONGYANG, December 25 (Itar-Tass) — Kim Jong-Un, the junior son of Kim Jong-Il who passed away on Saturday, December 17, again visited the Kumsusan memorial complex in Pyongyang, containing the coffin with the body of his father.

According to the KCNA news agency, he honoured the memory of his father this time as the supreme commander of the revolutionary armed forces.

Kim Jong-Un was accompanied by the entire military elite – members of the Central Military Committee of the Korean Workers Party, the State Defence Committee, top commanding officers of the army, the Air Force, the navy, the Workers and Peasants Red Guards and representatives of the supreme command.

Pointing to “immortal services” of Kim Jong-Il as the supreme commander-in-chief, North Korean vice-marshals and generals confirmed their determination to preserve loyalty to his junior son who will head the North Korean armed forces.

The new appointment of Kim Jong-Un who had the rank of general of the army and was deputy chairman of the Central Military Committee, was made public after the leading North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun printed an article on Saturday, where it called on him to shoulder the command of armed forces.

The newspaper stressed that this appeal reflects “the determination of people to follow highly esteemed Kim Jong-Un till their death-hour, who is all the same as Kim Jong-Il for Koreans”.

Mass morning events continue in all areas of North Korea in connection with the unexpected death of Kim Jong-Il on December 17 in a train during a regular inspection trip around the country. The local press points to great care, displayed by Kim Jong-Un for Koreans who say farewell to Kim Jong-Il not only at the Kumsusan complex, but also before portraits of the North Korean leader, put up at key areas of Pyongyang.

On his orders, medical aid points are set up there, and hot drinks are handed out. Some Pyongyang residents deeply mourn the death of their leader who passed away because of “mental and physical overstrain” and need urgent medical aid.

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