North Korea: The body of Kim Jong il embalmed and on display in Pyongyang mausoleum

Pyongyang - The body of the "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il will be embalmed and exposed to the veneration of the people in Kumsusan mausoleum in Pyongyang, which already houses the body of his father and founder of the dynasty, Kim Il-sung. The "eternal leader" Kim Jong-il will therefore get the same honors attributed to the "eternal president." February 16, the birthday of Kim Jong Il, will become the "shining star of the day" (Gwangmyungsung Day) on the North Korean calendar. But the honors are not limited to these measures. According to the official news agency KCNA, North Korea also plans to build a large statue of Kim Jong-il, in addition to erecting towers in his honor all over the country.

Kim Jong-il died Dec. 17 of a heart attack. The decision to bestow special honors on the deceased leader was taken by the Central Committee of the Workers' Party. "The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il will be permanently exposed to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace" a special report of the Political Bureau Central Committee states. The statue will be erected "as a sign of respect." But February 16 will also be celebrated as "the most important holiday for the entire people." The memory of the "eternal leader" will be kept alive by portraits of the great leader'' Comrade Kim Jong-il with a smile on his face and towers for his immortality will be built throughout the country.'' The goal is to "glorify his holy life and to mark the revolutionary breakthrough for his deeds forever."

The decision to embalm the body of the "dear leader" and expose it to the mausoleum of Kumsusan was expected by experts on Korean issues, as well as the construction of a large statue. Instead it came as a partial surprise that one of the most repressive and closed regimes in history would also name a new national holiday. Although in reality in 1997, after three days of mourning, Kim Il-sung’s birthday was renamed as "Day of the Sun". In 1998 and in 2009 North Korea launched two satellites, named "Gwangmyungsung No.1" and "Gwangmyungsung No.2" " with the word ‘gwangmyung’ itself meaning “bright future" or "ray of hope", hence the revised name.