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PYONGYANG: North Korea has restricted its citizens from laughing or showing any signs of happiness for 11 days to commemorate the 10th death anniversary of their leader, Kim Jong-il, Indian media reported.
Kim Jong-il was 69 when he died due to a heart attack on December 17, 2011. He ruled North Korea from 1994 to 2011 and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un. Three generations of the Kim family have ruled the country since 1948.
The Hindustan Times cited a news story by Radio Free Asia (RFA) to confirm the ban. The reported quoted a citizen as saying that all leisure activities, including laughing, drinking, and grocery shopping, have been banned during the mourning period.
“During the mourning period, we must not drink alcohol, laugh or engage in leisure activities,” a North Korean from the northeastern border city of Sinuiju told Radio Free Asia (RFA), according to the report.
Per the report, an anonymous North Korean citizen said that “in the past, many people who were caught drinking or drunk during the restriction were arrested and treated as ideological criminals, and were never seen again.”
If someone dies during the mourning period, their funerals take place after the mourning period is over. Generally, this mourning period continues for 10 days every year on the anniversary, but this year, it will go on for 11 days.
In footage aired by KCTV, Kim Jong Un was seen bowing before a large portrait of his father, standing on a platform overlooking what appeared to be thousands of people on the grounds of the palace.