North Korea marked the third anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, father of the current leader, in the "solemnest" mood on Wednesday, Pyongyang's state media said.
   
Sirens sounded across the communist country at noon, with vehicles and ships honking all at once, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
  
Everyone "observed three minutes of silence" toward the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a mausoleum in the North's capital, where Kim's body lies in state, it added.
   
Pyongyang's media also churned out reports lauding the former leader, referred to as "Dear Leader," and the current leader's accomplishments over the past three years.
   
The main newspaper Rodong Sinmun carried a large picture of Kim Jong-il on its front page, coupled with an editorial extolling him. Other pages were filled with pictures of him and related stories. 
   
A headline read Kim "will be alive forever" as the sun of the country.
   
The newspaper also said North Koreans pledged their loyalty to Kim Jong-un, reportedly in his early 30s.
 
It highlighted Kim's "victory" in the fight against western powers and said the era of the "great" leader had fully begun.
   
Korean Central Television has also been airing related programs without interruption, according to the South's unification ministry.
   
"We have confirmed that Korean Central Television has been broadcasting overnight without a daily final program yesterday," the ministry's deputy spokeswoman Park Soo-jin said at a press briefing. "It's rather unusual."
  
The North's sitting leader is expected to host a national ceremony to commemorate his father and pay tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun later Wednesday.
  
Participants in the event will be closely monitored by North Korea watchers seeking to analyze the standing of key figures inside the secretive regime.
  
In particular, the North's leader is entering the fourth year since his father's death, which may herald the start of a leadership style less influenced by the legacy of his father.
  
In accordance with Confucian tradition, Koreans observe 3 years of filial duties after the death of a parent. (Yonhap)