Flags at half-mast were seen in every nook and corner of the country on Sunday where he left traces of his forced march of highest intensity till the last moments of his life.

At 12 o'clock sirens and whistles sounded all at once across the country.

Sounds of whistles were heard from engines on railroads, ships on voyage and vehicles on the roads.

All the members of the Workers' Party of Korea, servicepersons of the Korean People's Army and people observed three minutes' silence in the humblest reverence towards the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun where Kim Jong Il lies in state and Pyongyang.

All institutions, industrial establishments, construction sites, rural and fishery farms, schools, streets, villages and families across the country were overcome with grief.