Ever since the North Korean authorities broke the news of Kim Jong Il’s death, they have been working through Party and administrative organs to establish an atmosphere of mourning.
Workplaces and local government offices have, without exception, organized meetings to set in place the appropriate atmosphere. People’s Units have been emphasizing the ‘Last Instructions of Kim Jong Il’, and groups from schools and workplaces have been visiting statues of Kim Il Sung other major memorials to pay their respects.
One Yangkang Province source commented to Daily NK late this afternoon that the streets of Hyesan were packed with people heading to a local monument to pay their respects, while not a single person was anywhere to be found near the market.
There was an emergency summons issued at 2PM which required workers to return to their assigned workplaces, while People’s Unit meetings were held at local government offices, he said.
According to the source, “In the People’s Unit meeting, they talked about the diary for the period of mourning and so on, stating, ‘Follow comrade General Kim Jong Eun to turn sadness to strength and bravery and complete the work of comrade Kim Jong Il’.”
“People in the People’s Unit meeting cried and wailed, and then from 5PM elementary school students, upper middle schoolers and the people downtown are all attending a mourning event.”
