'12th Anniversary of Kim Jong-il's Death'... Kim Jong-un Visits Kumsusan Palace

Accompanied Key Figures in Paying Respects After First Absence Last Year

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the 12th anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on the 17th that Chairman Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun the previous day, stating, "A flower basket offered by Comrade Kim Jong-un to the statues of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il-sung and the Great General Comrade Kim Jong-il was solemnly placed."

North Korea's Kim Jong-un pays tribute at the Kumsusan Palace on the 12th anniversary of Kim Jong-il's death
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The agency reported that Premier Kim Tok-hun, Party Secretary Jo Yong-won, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly Choe Ryong-hae, along with other party and government officials, accompanied Chairman Kim during the tribute. Photos released by North Korea on that day show that Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Minister of Defense Kang Sun-nam, Director of the General Political Bureau of the People's Army Jong Kyong-thaek, and Party Secretaries O Su-yong, Ri Il-hwan, and Pak Tae-song participated. The presence of Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, and Pak Jong-chon, head of the Party's Military Guidance Department, was also captured.

KCNA stated, "Comrade Kim Jong-un respectfully offered eternal blessings to the Great General (Kim Jong-il), who laid the firm foundation of dignity and prosperity that allows our Party and state to achieve eternal victory and progress," adding, "All participants solemnly pledged to wholeheartedly uphold the ideology and leadership of Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un and to multiply by a hundred their indomitable fighting spirit and bold practical efforts at the forefront of the sacred struggle for the comprehensive rejuvenation and transformative development of our socialist state, thereby ensuring the new victory of the Juche revolutionary cause."

Kim Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission, passed away on December 17, 2011. Since then, Chairman Kim has paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun annually around the anniversary of his father's death, although it appears he did not do so last year for the first time. North Korean state media have reported on his visits to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun during this period since 2012, but there was no report of his direct attendance last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.