North Korean leader visits mausoleum of grandfather, father to mark new year

In this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, Jan. 2, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, front row, visits the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of state founder and his grandfather Kim Il-sung and his father, Kim Jong-il, are enshrined, on New Year's Day. Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited the mausoleum of his late grandfather and father in his first reported public activity this year, Pyongyang's state media said Sunday.

Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the bodies of state founder and his grandfather Kim Il-sung and his father, Kim Jong-il, are enshrined, on the occasion of the start of the new year, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a plenary session of the central committee of the ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang, which ran from Dec. 27-31, 2021, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

The visit to the mausoleum came after he unveiled this year's policy priorities on developing the national economy and bolstering antivirus efforts during a rare five-day meeting of the ruling Workers' Party held until the last day of 2021.

The leader's influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, was spotted paying tribute to the statues of the late leaders.

Senior party and military officials accompanied Kim on his visit to the mausoleum, including Choe Ryong-hae, the country's de facto No. 2 leader, and Jo Yong-won, the leader's close aide, according to the KCNA.

Kim has paid tribute to the palace on New Year's Day since taking office in late 2011, except in 2018. (Yonhap)