Kim Jong Il mourned again

North Koreans gathered in the capital, Pyongyang, to mark the 70th birthday of the country's late leader, Kim Jong Il on Thursday.

Two months after his death, North Korean mourners laid red begonia flowers at a portrait of the former leader in the Grand People's Study House at Pyongyang's main square.

State television broadcast archive footage of Kim Jong Il visiting villages, farms and factories, along with tributes to the former leader.

"The General (Kim) took time out of his busy schedule and visited my daughter's home, listening to this old farmer's concerns," an elderly woman said. "There are no other leaders in the world like the General."

Observers say the personality cult surrounding the former leader has grown in the weeks following his death, in an effort to lend legitimacy to the country's dynastic succession, which has been in place since the Stalinist nation was founded under the leadership of Kim's father, Kim Il Sung in 1948.

On Tuesday, a bronze statue was unveiled in the capital, which portrays Kim Jong Il on horseback alongside his father. Commemorative stamps and coins have been produced to mark his 70th birthday. The former leader was also promoted posthumously to the country's highest military rank of "Generalissimo."

Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea for 17 years, after taking over from his father following the senior Kim's death in 1995. His time in office included a 1990's famine that killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans, and he oversaw the country as it developed nuclear weapons.

Following Kim Jong Il's death from an apparent heart attack on December 17, 2011, his son, Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s, took over as leader. The inexperience of the new leader has raised fresh concerns in the international community about North Korea's nuclear weapons capability. US and North Korean officials are scheduled to hold talks in Beijing next week to discuss a possible resumption of six-party nuclear disarmament negotiations.

pfd/st (AP, AFP)