- Title: North Korea: Kim Il-Sung Lying In State
- Date: 12th July 1994
- Summary: North Korea's late leader Kim Il-sung lay in state on July 12 as the nation's decision makers were reported to be meeting to ensure the succession of his son Kim Jong- il. Defence Minister O Jin-u, Prime Minister Kang Song-san and other senior figures were at Kim Jong-il's side during the ceremony, a sign that the political and military elite was firmly behind the succession. But the man who was taking up the reins of power in the communist world's first dynastic succession did not speak a word to the envoys who bowed to the bier. One of the diplomats said ambassadors were summoned to the presidential palace and waited for four hours before being allowed in to view the coffin and shake the hands of the most important leaders present.
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- Location: KOREA-NORTH PYONGYANG
- Reuters ID: LDL001208A4CJ
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text:North Korea's late leader Kim Il-sung lay in state on Tuesday (July 12) as the nation's decision makers were reported to be meeting to ensure the succession of his son Kim Jong-il to the reclusive nation's top posts.
A tearful Kim Jong-il was shown on State Television (DPRK-TV) on Monday (July 11) receiving ambassadors invited to the Presidential Palace in central Pyongyang to pay their last respects to his father's body as it lay in state in a crystal sarcophagus.
Kim Jong-il has long been his father's designated successor, but little is known of his personality.
Kim Jong-il was dressed in a dark-grey high-necked tunic with a black armband. He was not wearing traditional Korean mourning robes.
The broadcast showed Defence Minister O Jin-u, Prime Minister Kang Song-san and other senior figures at Kim Jong-il's side during the ceremony, a sign the North Korean political and military elite was firmly behind the younger Kim's succession.
But the man who is taking up the reins of power in the communist world's first dynastic succession did not speak a word to the envoys who bowed to the bier.
One of the diplomats, contacted by telephone, said ambassadors, military attaches and a few others were summoned to the presidential palace and waited for four hours before being allowed in to view the coffin and shake the hands of the most important leaders present.
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