The regime requires the Koreans abroad "not to be seen in public" and to go to the embassy to bow to the funeral altar of the late "Beloved Leader". A statue erected of the former dictator as high as that of the father of the country, Kim Il-sung. A source: "The people cry because they lack food and homes, not for the death of the old man."

Seoul (AsiaNews) - Hundreds of thousands of people have paid tribute this morning to the memory of Kim Jong-il, the "Beloved Leader" of North Korea who died a year ago. After nine bows (the customary "kowtows" with which one pays tribute to a deceased person), the crowd gathered in the central square in Pyongyang wept openly and showed its desperation for the "death of the great hero of the revolution." However, as pointed out by several sources, "those present, and all North Koreans, cried also because of the failures of the regime."

The mourning lasted 3 days. The government in Pyongyang has also imposed on the North Koreans abroad "not to be seen in public" and to go instead to their country's embassies "to cry with all the great Korean people." In Dandong, China, the various merchants who come from Pyongyang have disappeared from the streets; in all the embassies there has been erected a memorial altar for the late dictator.

Instead, in the capital, a statue was erected of the "Beloved Leader" as high as that of his father, Kim Il-sung: a way to emphasize the "equal contribution" that the two have made to the "development" of the country. Making the comparison was the President of Parliament, Kim Young-nam, who spoke in the place of the new dictator Jong-un, "too emotional" to pronounce his speech.

Kim said "the whole life of Kim Jong-il has proven to be exceptional. His superhuman energy and his enormous revolutionary spirit have held high the red flag over our glorious nation, and his patriotic commitment have defended it against the enormous threats that surround it." The reference is to the nuclear missile program that Pyongyang continues to carry on despite the enormous cost in economic, human, social and diplomatic terms.

The launch of the Unha-3, the "weather" missile that has successfully reached the Earth's atmosphere, was celebrated as a success of the Kim family: every day since its launch last week, "spontaneous" demonstrations have been held to celebrate it. With the money spent to build and run it, the regime could have bought 5.8 million tonnes of maize, enough to feed 20 million people for 19 months.

A source pointed out: "In addition to the death of Jong-il, North Korea also commemorates a year since the new dictator has taken over. He had re-launched, after his father's funeral, the slogan of his grandfather, "will we feed the people with rice and meat soup". Well, in the past 12 months things have gotten worse for everyone: even the military has little to eat, while the government's ranks have been purged almost every month. That is why the North Koreans mourn, not for the death of the old Kim." (JYL) 

 

• north
• korea
• economy
• society
• funeral
• celebration
• kim
• jong-il
• mourning
• missile
• unha-3