North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has visited a mausoleum for his late father and leader Kim Jong-il to mark the anniversary of his death, state media reported Thursday.Kim paid tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Jong-il's body lies in state, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The visit was to mark the ninth anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, who passed away in 2011. It is not known when the visit was made, but the KCNA usually reports the leader's activity a day later.

"At the hall where Kim Jong-il lies in state, the Supreme Leader made a deep bow in deep reverence for him who dedicated his whole life to the country and people with warm love and devotion till the last moments of his revolutionary life," the KCNA said.

Kim was accompanied by his powerful sister Kim Yo-jong and other close aides, including Choe Ryong-hae, the North's No. 2 leader and president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Ri Pyong-chol, vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party.

The officials vowed to firmly defend the ideas of the late leader and to "fulfill their heavy duty in the sacred struggle for a fresh victory of the socialist cause under the leadership of the Supreme Leader," the KCNA said.

The North has held a large-scale gathering in Pyongyang to commemorate the death of its former leader on the first, second, third and fifth anniversaries. But it is unlikely to organize any massive public events this year amid an ongoing campaign against the coronavirus. This year also doesn't fall on a fifth or 10th anniversary, when Pyongyang usually holds larger events.

Also enshrined at the mausoleum is the body of leader Kim's late grandfather and national founder Kim Il-sung. (Yonhap)