Upon hearing the news, Ri Ui Gu, vice-president of the State Academy of Sciences, told KCNA:

"To hold leader Kim Jong Il, a distinguished elder statesman and great saint, in high esteem as eternal chairman of the NDC is the highest glory for Kim Il Sung's nation.

He turned the DPRK into a socialist country centered on the popular masses with invincible might by successfully applying the immortal Juche idea, the Songun idea in state building and activities."

Pak Thae Gu, an officer of the Korean People's Internal Security Forces, said:

"With his unique Songun politics, Kim Jong Il turned the DPRK into a military power, smashing the vicious moves of the U.S.-led imperialist forces to stifle the DPRK and defending the Korean-style socialism with credit.

In a word, he was a peerless patriot and defender of socialist Korea.

With Kim Jong Il held in high esteem as the eternal leader of the WPK and the Korean revolution, we will work harder to glorify his revolutionary exploits."