PYONGYANG, North Korea (Reuters) — Thousands of North Koreans gathered at Kim Il Sung square on Sunday (October 8) to mark the 20th anniversary of late leader Kim Jong Il’s election as General-Secretary of the Workers’ Party.
Video provided to Reuters by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, which could not be independently verified, showed people attending an outdoor rally and dance celebrating the anniversary.
Kim Jong Il, who died of a heart attack on December 17, 2011, led the reclusive state for 17 years.
Tensions are high on the Korean peninsula since Pyongyang’s sixth and largest nuclear test last month, followed by the country’s latest missile launch that flew over Japan and into the Pacific.