PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Koreans marched by the thousands Monday to their capital’s landmarks to mourn Kim Jong Il, many crying uncontrollably and flailing their arms in grief over news of their “dear leader’s” death.
North Korean state media proclaimed his twenty-something son Kim Jong Un a “great successor.”
On the streets of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, people wailed in grief, some kneeling on the ground or bowing repeatedly. Children and adults laid flowers at key memorials.
South Korea’s military went on high alert in the face of the North’s 1.2 million-strong armed forces following news of Kim’s death, after 17 years in power, on Saturday while carrying out official duties on a train trip.
North Korea conducted at least one short-range missile test Monday, a South Korean official said. But South Korea’s military sees the firing as part of a scheduled routine drill, instead of a provocation, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a policy that bans commenting on intelligence matters.
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