Death and state funeral of Kim Il-sung


died on the afternoon of 8 July 1994 at age 82. North Korea's government did not report the death for more than 34 hours after it occurred. An official mourning period was declared from 8–17 July, during which the national flag was flown at half mast throughout the country, and all forms of amusement and dancing were prohibited.
Pyongyang radio said that Kim had succumbed to complications arising from a stroke as a result of psychological stress. In the years prior to his death, he had been receiving treatment for diabetes as well as the hardening of arteries in his heart.

Background

On the late morning of 8 July 1994, Kim Il-sung collapsed in Hyangsan from a sudden heart attack. After the heart attack, his son Kim Jong-il ordered the team of doctors who were constantly at his father's side to leave, and arranged for the country's best doctors to be flown in from Pyongyang. After several hours, the doctors from Pyongyang arrived, and despite their efforts to save him, Kim Il-sung died. His death was declared thirty hours later, respecting the traditional Confucian mourning period.
Kim Il-sung's death resulted in nationwide mourning and a ten-day mourning period was declared by Kim Jong-il. His funeral in Pyongyang was attended by hundreds of thousands of people from all over North Korea. Kim Il-sung's body was placed in a public mausoleum at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where his preserved and embalmed body lies under a glass coffin for viewing purposes. His head rests on a Korean-style pillow and he is covered by the flag of the Workers' Party of Korea. Newsreel video of the funeral at Pyongyang was broadcast on several networks, and now can be found on various websites. A further mourning period lasted until the third anniversary of his death in 1997.

Reactions

Korean Peninsula

Kim Jong-il was chairman of the funeral committee. The committee also included Defense Minister O Jin-u, and Vice President Kim Yong-ju, who was Kim Il-sung's younger brother.
The funeral committee released communique regarding the funeral:
The State funeral was held on 17 July and included the observance of three minutes of silence throughout the country. Attendance to the funeral was two million people.

Funeral committee

The funeral committee was chaired by Kim Jong-il and had 273 members, including: