North Korea marks end of Kim Jong Il mourning period

North Koreans gather at the Mansu Hill where the statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung, and Kim Jong Il tower over them Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014, in Pyongyang, North Korea, a day before the 3rd anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

PYONGYANG, North Korea— North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run.

The anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death three years ago was observed by sirens ringing out across the country at noon.

Trains, ships and cars sounded their horns and masses of North Koreans fell silent for three minutes as they bowed toward the mausoleum in Pyongyang where Kim Jong Il and his father, “eternal president” Kim Il Sung, lie in state.

It is a Korean custom to observe three years of mourning after the death of a parent. With that period now behind him, the younger Kim may be more likely to initiate new policies that underscore his own priorities and goals, though it is believed that major departures from his father’s path are unlikely.

Since the death of his father, Kim Jong Un has indicated he wants to build the economy and improve the nation’s standard of living, but he has also held firm to the North’s longstanding — and extremely costly — focus on strengthening its military and developing its nuclear weapons capabilities.

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