Pyongyang, December 24 (KCNA) -- The south Korean Council for the Solution of the Issue of the Volunteers' Corps made public a condolatory statement on Friday on the demise of leader Kim Jong Il.

The Council in the statement expressed profound condolences on the untimely demise of Kim Jong Il, chairman of the National Defence Commission, from a sudden illness.

It also extended deep sympathy to the compatriots of the north in sorrow over the demise of Kim Jong Il.

It expressed hope that the compatriots in the north would overcome sorrow and join hands to achieve national reunification and force Japan to settle its past.