Mr. Kim Jong-un participated in carrying the military marshal’s coffin

Central news agency North Korea KCNA news to the President Kim Jong-un and a series of country officials on May 22 attended the funeral of the late marshal Hyon Chol-hae, who is said to have played an important role in preparing Kim Jong-un to become the leader after his father Kim Jong-il passed away in late 2011.

Mr. Hyon Chol-hae was made a marshal in 2016, the highest rank in the military rank system of the North Korean military.

Photos released by KCNA show Kim Jong-un attending a memorial service and with officials carrying the coffin of the late Field Marshal Hyon Chol-hae. The North Korean leader does not wear a mask like the officials around him, amid the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.

“The name of Marshal Hyon Chol-hae will always be remembered with leader Kim Jong-il,” KCNA quoted Kim Jong-un as saying at the funeral in the capital Pyongyang.

North Korean state television also showed footage of thousands of masked soldiers gathering in a square in Pyongyang to pay their respects as the limousine carrying Hyon Chol-hae’s coffin was taken to the cemetery. KCNA said many North Korean soldiers and people also took to the streets to express their grief over Hyon’s passing.

Mr. Hyon Chol-hae died on May 19 at the age of 87 due to multiple organ failure. His funeral was held as North Korea was going through an outbreak Covid-19 big. North Korean media on May 22 said the country had recorded 2.8 million fever cases and 68 deaths since the end of April, but it was not clear how many people were positive for Covid-19.

Ngoc Anh (According to AP)