North Korea has banned its citizens from laughing, drinking and shopping from Friday onwards as part of the 11-day mourning on the 10th anniversary of former leader and Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong-il.
“During the mourning period, we must not drink alcohol, laugh or engage in leisure activities,” a North Korean from the northeastern border city of Sinew was quoted as saying by Radio Free Asia, The Telegraph reported on a condition of anonymity also told that if anyone’s family dies during the mourning period, they are not allowed to cry out loud and the body must be taken out after the mourning period is over.
“People cannot even celebrate their own birthdays if they fall within the mourning period,” the North Korean told Radio Free Asia.
In the past, many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological criminals. They were taken away and never seen again,” the second of the Kim family dynasty, ruled North Korea for 17 years until his death on December 17, 2011. According to Reuters, IL’s death was not reported until two days later by the state media to the Associated Press, a siren blared for three minutes at midday on Fridays, and North Koreans fell silent and bowed in respect for Kim Jong-il.
National flags were lowered to half-staff and a many people were seen climbing Pyongyang’s Men Hill to lay flowers and bow before giant statues of Kim Jong-il and Kim Sung, the founder of North Korea reported that Kim Jong-un was also seen along with hundreds of officials at a ceremony outside the SSA Palace of the Sun in the capital, Pyongyang, where the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather lie under glass.
Clad in a black leather coat, Kim Jong-un was seen standing under a large red banner with an image of his father, but was not shown speaking.
Three generations of the Kim family have ruled North Korea since Kim IL Sung established the country in 1948. When Kim IL Sung died in 1994, his eldest son,
Kim Long JU gradually faded from the political scene after Kim long IL took over his Workers’ Party department director post in 1973, a move seen by outsiders as a key step in the path to succeeding Kim IL Sung. Kim Long IL’s position as successor was made public at a party congress in 1980 nearly two decades of seclusion, Kim Long JU was made a vice president and regained his Politburo membership in 1993. The appointment came after Kim Long IL had secured his status as the next leader, and experts said Kim Long JU didn’t wield substantial power in key state affairs.
He later served as honorary vice-chairman of the standing committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly, the North’s rubber stamp parliament, and as a delegate to the Assembly. Before Wednesday’s report on his death, his last known public activity was in 2015, when state TV showed him bowing before the portraits of Kim IL Sung and Kim Long IL after casting a ballot during local elections.
You must be logged in to post a comment.