North Korean soldiers pledge loyalty to current and previous leaders

2012-12-19 160

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)

STORY: North Korea's Army, Navy and Air Force on Monday pledged their loyalty to the country's former and current leader, marking first anniversary of late Kim Jong-il's death.

The reclusive country's state-run television KRT on Tuesday released footage of thousands of North Korean soldiers holding a memorial service in front of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

"Our supreme commander Kim Jong-un said, 'As the army of the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, the People's Army should continue performing the honorable duty and mission excellently,'" said Choe Ryong-hae, member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and Director of the North Korean Army General Political Bureau, in his speech.

In the palace, embalmed bodies of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung and former leader Kim Jong-il lie in state permanently in the same mausoleum.

On December 17, 2011, North Korean state media announced Kim's death.

A state funeral and a commemorative event marked 10 days of mourning and his son, Kim Jong-un, was hailed as the "great successor".

Free Traffic Exchange