Ten years since the death of Kim Jong Il 

(13 Dec 2021) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4357178
Ten years ago, North Korea's second leader Kim Jong Il died and joined his father Kim Il Sung, preserved inside a glass case, at a palace on the outskirts of the capital Pyongyang.
New leader Kim Jong Un was the first to step towards the embalmed body and bow to it, signifying his father's intention for him to carry on the Kim family's dynastic rule in North Korea.
The young Kim Jong Un followed tradition to walk around the body of his predecessor, followed by senior officials many decades older than him.
Kim Jong Il died December 17, 2011, but North Korean authorities did not announce this to the outside world until two days later.
Kim Jong Il inherited power from his father Kim Il Sung, and was the leader of North Korea from 1994, until his death at age 69.
Kim Jong Il's body was kept on display at the Kumsusan Palace for several days before an elaborate outdoor ceremony in bitter winter.
Thousands of soldiers and Pyongyang citizens were mobilized to fill the plaza outside the palace in freezing temperatures.
A massive motorcade with the coffin slowly moved out of the palace before embarking on a three-hour drive around the city.
Kim Jong Un held on to the wing mirror of the car carrying the coffin as it started its journey, together with seven other senior officials.
One of them, Jang Song Thaek, walking directly behind Kim Jong Un, was executed two years later. Jang was Kim's uncle.
Everywhere the motorcade went, crowds were on the streets to make a huge show of emotion, wailing, shouting, screaming, crying and falling to the ground. In North Korea, the worship of the country's leaders is strictly enforced.
The motorcade returned to the Kumsusan Palace, where Kim Jong Il's body has been kept since then.
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