Seoul: The body of North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-il, who died in December, will be on permanent display in a Pyongyang mausoleum alongside his father. The 69-year-old leader is the second North Korean leader whose embalmed body will be on public display.
The regime also plans to build his statue and erect towers across the country.
Meanwhile, February 16 has been declared the "Day of the Shining Star" to commemorate the birthday of late "Great Leader".
"The great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il will be laid in state at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, the sacred temple of Juche," state media quoted a declaration by the ruling party. Juche is the North's homegrown official ideology that fuses Marxism, an extreme concept of nationalism and economic self-sufficiency.
It said Kim Jong-il had been named as the "eternal leader of the party". His father, the North's founder Kim Il-sung is referred to as the country's "eternal president".
Giant portraits and statues of Kim Il-sung already exist in cities, towns and villages across North Korea. There are believed to be more than 3,000 so-called "eternal life towers" dedicated to Kim Il-sung's godly status.
North Korea already marks April 15 as the country's greatest celebration, the anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth, with musical performances, a nationwide festival of flowers named after him and discussion of his exploits.
His son died of a heart attack on December 17, the North's state media said. A state funeral and a commemorative event capped 10 days of mourning and his son, Jong-un, believed to be 28, is hailed as the "great successor" who will carry on the revolution.
With additional information from Reuters
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