Kim's body on show in N. Korea amid mass mourning

Dec 20, 2011 |

SEOUL

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North Korea put the body of its late leader Kim Jong-Il on display in a glass coffin on Tuesday and heaped praise on his son and successor, amid world wariness at the transition in the nuclear-armed nation.

US President Barack Obama pledged to defend regional allies such as South Korea and Japan after the reclusive communist state made the shock announcement on Monday of Kim's death at the age of 69.

South Korea's government sent its sympathies to the North Korean people despite frosty relations following two deadly border incidents last year.

And it said it would scrap a plan to display Christmas lights near the tense border because its neighbour is in mourning. North Korea has furiously objected to the plan as 'psychological warfare'.

In Pyongyang, state television showed a sombre dark-clad Kim Jong-Un, youngest son and successor to his father, viewing the corpse along with other high officials.

An honour guard armed with AK-47s watched over the late Kim, dressed in his trademark khaki tunic and partially covered by a red flag, at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial Palace.

The body of Kim Jong-Il's father, founding president Kim Il-Sung, is on display elsewhere in the palace.

State media have reported scenes of mass grief following Kim's death from a heart attack on Saturday, which the regime kept secret for two days until a tearful TV announcer disclosed it and urged people to rally round his youngest son.

The North's official news agency touted the inexperienced Jong-Un as the 'pillar of our people'.

"At the frontline of our revolution stands Comrade Kim Jong-Un, the great successor of the Juche (self-reliance) revolution and the outstanding leader of the party, military and people," it said.

"Comrade Kim Jong-Un is the unwavering spiritual and ideological pillar of our people."

The North has decreed 13 days of nationwide mourning for Kim Jong-Il, who presided over a devastating famine but still found funds to build missiles and nuclear weapons during his 17 years in power.

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