SEOUL, July 8 (UPI) -- North Korea marked the 10-year anniversary of the death of its founding father, Kim Il Sung, Thursday, with a pledge of loyalty to his son and successor, Kim Jong Il, and a threat of "merciless crushing blows" to the United States.
In a memorial service for Kim Il Sung, who died on July 8, 1994, North Korean officials from the ruling Communist Party, the cabinet and the military vowed to rally more tightly behind Kim Jong Il, who rules the country after inheriting power from his late father.
They also called for all citizens to develop the cause of the late Kim's ideology and "achievements" generation after generation with an absolute loyalty to the junior Kim.
In an address, Kim Yong Nam, the country's ceremonial head of state as the chairman of the Presidium of the legislative Supreme People's Assembly, praised the younger Kim for his "scientific insight into the urgent demand of the times and the acute situation."
"The last decade of leadership of Kim Jong Il bears great marks illustrating that he, guided by noble moral sense of obligation, has most creditably accomplished the cause of perpetuating the memory of the president (Kim Il Sung), making sure that the president will always live in the hearts of the people," he said.
The North's television footage showed solemn-faced Kim sitting on the podium at the rally held in a gymnasium in central Pyongyang, where the embalmed body of the deceased leader lies in state. But he did not deliver an address. Kim, 62, made a midnight visit to the mausoleum of his father at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, accompanied by military generals.
Ordinary North Korean people also plunged into a deep mood of mourning for the late leader, according to Pyongyang's media. Flags at all public places were flown at half-mast, and all people stopped at noon to observe three-minutes of silence for the late leader.
North Korean television footage showed North Koreans dressed in dark gray gathering in front of a 20-yard-high bronze statue of Kim Il Sung that overlooks Pyongyang from a hill. Under red-and-white banners, which read, "President Kim Il Sung will be with us forever," they vowed absolute loyalty toward his son, Kim Jong Il.
The day was declared an official holiday to allow as many North Koreans as possible to attend various memorial services, according to South Korean officials. Since Kim's death, more than 104 million people have visited the statue, said the North's official Korean Central News Agency.
The country "was wrapped in an atmosphere of deep condolences on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the demise of President Kim Il Sung, father of socialist Korea and the nation," the KCNA said.
"He (the late Kim) is, indeed, a peerless patriot, father of the nation and great sage of revolution who devoted his whole life to the freedom and happiness of the people," Kim Yong Nam said in the speech.
Kim Il Sung died at age 82 on July 8, 1994, after ruling for half a century with a personality cult. His son, Kim Jong Il, took power in communism's first hereditary succession. He has been depicted as a "faithful follower" of his revered father.
The calls for unconditional loyalty toward the communist leadership seems aimed at coping with growing external threats in the wake of its nuclear arms and missile development programs.
"The North built more political monuments last year as part of efforts to intensify personality cult for Kim Jong Il in the face of growing external threats over the nuclear standoff," said an official at Seoul's Unification Ministry, which monitors developments in the North.
North Korea used the anniversary of Kim's death to whip up anti-Americanism among its 23 million people. In an address at the memorial ceremony, the country's powerful military accused the United States of using the six-nation nuclear talks to prepare for a preemptive military strike on communist country.
"The U.S. imperialists, robbers, are frantically stepping up the preparations for a war of aggression behind the curtain of the six-party talks in a bid to stifle the DPRK (North Korea) by a preemptive nuclear strike," People's Armed Forces Minister Kim Il Chol said.
"If the U.S. imperialists start a war in the end, the North Korean People's Army will mobilize the military deterrent force built up for years and thus conclude the confrontation with the United States with merciless crushing blows and accomplish the historic cause of national reunification without fail," Kim said.
In Seoul, South Korean Defense Minister Cho Young-gil told parliament on Wednesday that North Korea has been building and deploying ballistic missiles with a range of 2,400 miles, capable of reaching Hawaii and Guam.
Since Kim's death, Kim Jong Il has largely depended on the 1.1-million-strong military for his totalitarian rule. Under his "army-first" policy, Kim has given top priority to military affairs, calling on its hunger-stricken people to bear economic hardships and build a strong military in the face of U.S. military threats.
