According to it, the sad news came like a bolt from the blue at 12:00, December 19 last year, greatly shocking south Korea and the rest of the world.

It was reported by Internet, TVs and all other media of south Korea.

Art performances and meetings slated to take place on Christmas and the New Year were cancelled.

One hour after a special report of the DPRK was aired at least 120,000 condolatory articles were posted on five Internet websites. They had such titles as "Grief is so deep that even the sky seems to fall down. It is heart-rending to hear the news," "It is painful. We would like to share this sorrow with the brethren in the north," "We pray for the repose of the soul of Chairman of the National Defence Commission Kim Jong Il," "Noble soul of the NDC chairman, the sun of the nation, will always be enshrined in the hearts of the people," and "General Kim Jong Il to go down in human history for all ages."

The homeland was deluged with phone calls and messages from compatriots overseas saying they were so shocked by the sad news of the loss of the father of the nation that they could hardly believe it.

Upon hearing the news, compatriots in south Korea and overseas expressed their sad feelings, looking back with deep emotion on the noble life of General Secretary Kim Jong Il and his personality as a great man and his immortal exploits.

Media carried special write-ups introducing the leader's brief history illustrated with his smiling portrait and pictures on his revolutionary career.

The south Korean Internet paper Jaju Minbo and other progressive media said that though NDC Chairman Kim Jong Il, the hero of the era and the large star, passed away his spirit and feats will last forever with history.

Highlighting the fact that he passed away on a train while making a forced march for field guidance with super-human energy until the last day of his life, media said it was "journey for settling wide-ranging issues", "storm of field guidance" and "the spirit of dying while at work" something rare to be found in any leader of the world.

People from all walks of life in south Korea said: He provided the inter-Korean summits and made sure that the inter-Korean declarations were adopted and published in order to present reunification to the Korean nation. This was a historic deed to go down in the nation's history. How good it would have been if the NDC chairman had lived longer to bring the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration into a brilliant reality.

Those who had an opportunity to meet the peerlessly great man felt more sorrowful than any others and remembered him with deep emotion.

South Korean media quoted leaders and personages of different countries as saying: Kim Jong Il was a great strategist without an equal in the world, a man possessed of bold and unpredictable strategy and policies, man of logic, a rare energetic man, a man of varied accomplishments, a man versatile in knowledge about wide-ranging issues and charismatic leader for his dynamism, humor and marvelous skill.

Overseas Koreans posted on Internet websites or contributed to publications condolatory articles under such titles as "Chairman Kim Jong Il and destiny of the country", "Compatriots wailing though night far advanced" and "Increasing number of overseas compatriots pay condolatory visits to the homeland", with their boundless yearning and grief over the demise of the father of the nation.

Their feelings were clearly manifested during the mourning and in the expression of condolences.

No sooner had the special report been made public than south Korean opposition parties including the Democratic United Party and the United Progressive Party held press conferences and issued statements and commentaries all at once to express condolences over the demise of Kim Jong Il.

Messages of condolences were sent to the north by the South Side Committee for Implementing June 15 Joint Declaration, the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification, the Confederation of Trade Unions, the Federation of Trade Unions and other organizations grouping people of all social standings.

Thousands of messages were sent to the north officially or unofficially by political parties, reunification movement organizations, civic and public organizations, religious organizations and personages of all circles in south Korea during the mourning to express condolences over his demise. The number of the similar messages the puppet Ministry of Unification claimed received reached 77.

People from all walks of life in south Korea vied with each other to form mourners groups before heading for Pyongyang.

Ri Hui Ho, widow of former south Korean President Kim Dae Jung, and Hyon Jong Un, chairperson of the Hyundai Group, and their parties made long trips via the Military Demarcation Line and expressed condolences before the bier of Kim Jong Il. Hwang Hye Ro, co-representative of the Korea Solidarity for Independent Reunification and Democracy, too, visited Pyongyang at the risk of her life to pay tribute in humble reverence to the bier of the father of the nation.

Civic and public organizations formed mourners' groups and submitted to the puppet Ministry of Unification applications for visits to the north. Bereaved families of former President Roh Moo Hyun and Rev. Mun Ik Hwan requested the authorities to allow their condolatory visits to Pyongyang.

Opposition parties urged the authorities to allow the dispatch of mourners' groups to Pyongyang, holding that the "National Assembly" would dispatch its mourners' group if the "government" was not ready to send a similar group. They demanded that the authorities allow the dispatch of at least a nongovernmental mourners' group on behalf of the Pan-national Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation if they were not in a position to allow NA's group of mourners.

The Lee Myung Bak group of traitors, however, brutally suppressed those who wished to pay condolatory visits or express condolences, turning down their applications.

South Korean people of different circles set up incense-burning altars in different places and put up a fierce struggle to express condolences. In protest against the authorities' crackdown they posted "cyber incense-burning altars" on the internet websites.

Overseas compatriot mourners' delegations and groups and individual compatriots visited the DPRK to express deep condolences before the bier of Kim Jong Il.

Overseas compatriot organizations formed mourning committees. During the mourning period they paid condolatory visits to the DPRK embassies, made public condolatory messages and statements and held memorial services, etc.

At least 500 condolatory letters and messages came to the homeland from overseas compatriot organizations and compatriots in various countries including China, the United States and Russia.

The mourning centers at the DPRK embassies and those set up by overseas compatriot organizations were crowded with an endless stream of overseas Korean mourners.

The sad feelings expressed by south Koreans of different circles and oversea compatriots were, indeed, the sincerest and the most heartfelt and irrepressible.

The press release quoted south Korean media as saying: The north is led by Vice Chairman Kim Jong Un identical to NDC Chairman Kim Jong Il. The world has already recognized Kim Jong Un as the supreme leader of the DPRK.

Compatriots in south Korea and overseas were greatly touched to witness the single-minded unity demonstrated in the DPRK in the course of such events as expression of condolences and the ceremony of bidding last farewell to the leader during the mourning period.

Jaju Minbo of south Korea carried an article by a correspondent of Minjok Thongsin, run by compatriots in the U.S., which said:

"The scenes showing residents in the north in the ceremony of bidding last farewell to Chairman of the NDC Kim Jong Il were unprecedented in human history. Citizens put off their mufflers and padded clothes and covered roads with them so that heavy snow might not fall on them. People were sweeping roads. Others were covering roads with their mufflers and coats to keep them clean. Can there be in any other part of the world such a big family in which the leader and people trust and love each other and depend on each other? Are there in the world such people who respect and venerate their leader so much? There is nowhere in the world such country except the DPRK. There is the single-minded unity which no country can ever imagine because its leader and people respect and love each other. And because of this unity no country dares provoke the DPRK."

South Korean Internet newspaper Surprise said: The DPRK is such society in which the leader and people are single-mindedly united and it is like a wonderful big family. Its members are so simple and genuine that they think only of their leader, party and country. These unique feelings represent the real power and true picture of the DPRK. This precisely means its mightiness.

The profound mourning and the voices enthusiastically eulogizing the great man heard from among south Koreans and compatriots overseas during the mourning period spent in bitter tears helped everyone keenly realize what a great man the Korean nation held in high esteem as the sun and its father, concluded the press release.