• North Korea calls Kim Jong Un 'supreme leader'

    KRT via Reuters TV

    North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un looks on, as he is flanked by President of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea Kim Yong-nam (R) and Chief of General Staff of the Korea People's Army Ri Yong-ho (L), during the memorial for late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, in this still image taken from video Dec. 29, 2011. North Korea's military staged a huge funeral procession on Wednesday in the snowy streets of the capital Pyongyang for its deceased "dear leader," Kim Jong-il, readying a transition to his son, Kim Jong-un.

    AP reports: PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korea declared Kim Jong Il's son and successor "supreme leader" of the ruling party, military and the people during a memorial Thursday for his father in the government's first public endorsement of his leadership.

    Kim Jong Un — head bowed and somber in a dark overcoat — stood watching from a balcony at the Grand People's Study House overlooking Kim Il Sung Square, flanked by the top party and military officials. Also on the balcony was Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, who is expected to play a guardian role for her young nephew

    KRT via Reuters TV

    An overhead view of North Koreans gathering during the memorial for late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang, in this still image taken from video Dec. 29, 2011. North Korea's military staged a huge funeral procession on Wednesday in the snowy streets of the capital Pyongyang for its deceased "dear leader," Kim Jong-il, readying a transition to his son, Kim Jong-un.

    Mark Ralston / AFP - Getty Images

    North Korean flags fly at half-mast on fishing boats after the funeral of the late leader Kim Jong-Il, at the Chinese North Korean border area near Dandong on Dec. 29, 2011.

    Prakash Singh / AFP - Getty Images

    People watch the memorial service for late North Korea leader Kim Jong-Il on television at a train station in Seoul on Dec. 29, 2011. North Korea staged a massive memorial service for late leader Kim Jong-Il attended by tens of thousands, and declared his untested young son and successor the supreme party and military chief.

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  • North Korean heir leads funeral of Kim Jong Il

    North Korean TV via AFP - Getty Images

    Aa car carrying Kim Jong Il's body during the funeral procession in Pyongyang on Dec. 28, 2011.

    KRT via Reuters TV

    A uniformed man tries to control crowds attending the funeral procession for Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang.

    NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services report:

    North Korean TV via AFP - Getty Images

    Kim Jong Un saluting during his father Kim Jong Il's funeral at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang.

    Wailing and clutching at their hearts, tens of thousands of North Koreans lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday as the hearse carrying late leader Kim Jong Il's wound its way through the capital for a final farewell.

    Son and successor Kim Jong Un led the procession, which is part of a two-day state funeral. Top military and party officials, including uncle Jang Song Thaek, were also part of the lead group. Continue reading.

    North Korea TV via AFP - Getty Images

    Military personnel bowing their heads during Kim Jong Il's funeral at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang.

    North Korea TV via AFP - Getty Images

    North Korean soldiers mourning during the funeral ceremony for Kim Jong Il.

    KCTV / AFP - Getty Images

    This TV grab taken from Korean Central Television (KCTV) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C-front) and other top military and civilian officials walking beside the car carrying the coffin of his late father Kim Jong-il on its roof in Pyongyang on Dec. 28, 2011. North Korea began the funeral of late leader Kim Jong-Il, Russian media reported from a snowy Pyongyang, as the grieving communist state bolstered his son's status as "great successor".

    KCTV / AFP - Getty Images

    This TV grab taken from Korean Central Television (KCTV) shows North Korean new leader Kim Jong-Un (C) and other top military and civilian officials walking beside the car carrying the coffin of his late father Kim Jong-il on its roof in Pyongyang on Dec. 28, 2011.

    NCTV / AFP - Getty Images

    This tv grab taken from North Korean TV on December 28, 2011 shows North Koreans mourning during the funeral ceremony for the late leader Kim Jong-Il in Pyongyang.

    NCTV / AFP - Getty Images

    This tv grab taken from North Korean TV on Dec. 28, 2011 shows a portrait of the late leader Kim Jong-Il on a car arriving at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang. North Korean state television began broadcasting the funeral of late leader Kim Jong-Il December 28, with footage of tens of thousands of troops bowing their heads in the snow outside a memorial palace.

    Slideshow: Funeral and reaction to the death of Kim Jong Il

    KCNA via EPA

    News of the North Korean leader's death sparks tears from his followers and concerns around the world as power is handed over to his successor.

    Launch slideshow

     

  • Kim Jong Il's body is put on display

    Korean Central TV of the North via Reuters

    The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang in this still picture taken from video footage of still images aired by KRT (Korean Central TV of the North) on Dec. 20, 2011.

    The Associated Press reports from PYONGYANG, North Korea:

    The body of North Korea's long-time ruler Kim Jong Il was laid out in a memorial palace Tuesday as weeping mourners filled public plazas and state media fed a budding personality cult around his third son, hailing him as "born of heaven."

    Indicating the leadership transition in the world's only communist dynasty is on track, Kim Jong Un — Kim's youngest known son and successor — visited the body with top military and Workers' Party officials and held what state media called a "solemn ceremony" in the capital, Pyongyang, as the country mourned.

    The Korean people were in "deep sorrow at the loss of the benevolent father of our nation," Ri Ho Il, a lecturer at the Korean Revolutionary History Museum, told The Associated Press in Pyongyang.

    "He defended our people's happiness, carrying on his forced march both night and day," Ri said.

    Korean Central TV of the North via Reuters

    Medals belonging to Kim Jong Il are displayed as he lies in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace.

    Still images aired on state TV showed that the glass coffin holding Kim's body was surrounded by his namesake flowers — red "kimjongilia" blossoms. He was covered with a red blanket, his head placed on a white pillow.

    The coffin was in a room of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of his father — national founder Kim Il Sung — has been on display in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994.

    The state funeral is to be held at the palace on Dec. 28. Read the full story.

    Korean Central TV of the North via Reuters

    Kim Jong Un pays his respects to his father lying in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace.

    As the body of North Korea's long-time ruler Kim Jong Il lies on display in a glass coffin, the world is trying to figure out what direction the secretive nation will take now. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.

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  • A practice leap on North Korea's Day of the Sun

    David Guttenfelder / AP

    A young dancer leaps by as girls put on panda bear costumes as they prepare to perform at a gathering at a park to celebrate the 99th anniversary of the late leader Kim Il Sung's birthday in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 15. April 15 is called "The Day of the Sun" in honor of the former guerrilla fighter who founded North Korea in 1948.

    By David R Arnott, NBC News

    We see a lot of pictures of North Korean dance spectaculars, but AP photographer David Guttenfelder captured something a little less formal today at a celebration marking the 99th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birth.

    David Guttenfelder / AP

    A boy beats the drums with a band at a gathering to celebrate the 99th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birthday in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 15.

    David Guttenfelder / AP

    A film maker records a performance at a park during the celebration of the 99th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birthday in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 15.

    David Guttenfelder / AP

    A woman in a traditional Korean dress watches people leaving at the end of a performance for the celebration of the 99th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's birthday in Pyongyang, North Korea on April 15.

    See more images of North Korea on PhotoBlog.

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