The embalmed body of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, dressed in a khaki jump-suit, has been put on display on the anniversary of his death.
Kim lies in state a few floors below his father, national founder Kim Il Sung, in the Kumsusan mausoleum, the cavernous former presidential palace in Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il was presented lying beneath a red blanket, a spotlight shining on his face.
Wails echoed through the hall as a group of women sobbed into the sashes of their traditional dresses as they bowed before his body.
The hall bearing the glass coffin was opened to select visitors for the first time since his death.
North Korea also unveiled Kim's yacht and armoured train, where he is said to have died. Among the personal belongings featured in the mausoleum are the parka, sunglasses and pointy platform shoes he famously wore in the last decades of his life.
North Koreans paid homage to Kim and basked in the success of last week's launch of a long-range rocket that sent a satellite named after him to space.
The launch, condemned in many other capitals as a violation of bans against developing its missile technology, was portrayed not only as a gift to Kim Jong Il but also as proof that his son, Kim Jong Un, has the strength and vision to lead.
The elder Kim died last December 17 from a heart attack. His death was followed by scenes of North Koreans wailing in the streets of Pyongyang, and of the 20-something son leading ranks of uniformed officials through funeral and mourning rites.
North Koreans across the country stood still at midday to honour the former ruler, as Kim Jong Un attended a ceremony to reopen the mausoleum where his father and his grandfather lie in state.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article