N. Korea to unveil embalmed body of late leader early next year
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is expected to unveil the embalmed body of late leader Kim Jong Il for public viewing more than a year after the leader died of a sudden heart attack, according to a tourist agency in China on Wednesday.
The Web site of Young Pioneer Tours, a tourist agency based in China and catering to foreign travelers to the North, said the body laid in the family mausoleum in Pyongyang will be open for public viewing starting in January.
"The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, formerly known as the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, will be open from January to tourists, and will include the embalmed bodies of both President Kim Il Sung, and now for the first time for the public General Kim Jong Il," according to the Web site.
Following the Dec. 17 death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea watchers have speculated on when the public would be able to view his preserved body. One year after Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, a limited range of North Koreans were able to view his embalmed body, with complete public viewing allowed the following year.
Observing the ceremony marking the first anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death earlier this month, the North broadcast images of the family mausoleum, but did not air images of Kim's embalmed body.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)
The Web site of Young Pioneer Tours, a tourist agency based in China and catering to foreign travelers to the North, said the body laid in the family mausoleum in Pyongyang will be open for public viewing starting in January.
"The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, formerly known as the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, will be open from January to tourists, and will include the embalmed bodies of both President Kim Il Sung, and now for the first time for the public General Kim Jong Il," according to the Web site.
Following the Dec. 17 death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea watchers have speculated on when the public would be able to view his preserved body. One year after Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, a limited range of North Koreans were able to view his embalmed body, with complete public viewing allowed the following year.
Observing the ceremony marking the first anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death earlier this month, the North broadcast images of the family mausoleum, but did not air images of Kim's embalmed body.
pbr@yna.co.kr
(END)