Pyongyang, December 22 (KCNA) -- The All-People's Council for National Reconciliation and Cooperation in south Korea made public a statement on Dec. 20 to show its mourning for the demise of leader Kim Jong Il.

We express our deep condolences over the sudden demise of Kim Jong Il, chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission, the statement said.

Extending sympathy to the compatriots of the north in bitter grief, the Council hoped that the reconciliation and cooperation between the south and the north would continue.