N. Korea mourns military marshal

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- Ri Ul-sol, an iconic North Korean politician and military official, has died of lung cancer, the country's state media reported Sunday. The North announced that it will hold a state funeral for Ri, who died Saturday at the age of 94, and that leader Kim Jong-un will lead a preparatory committee He was an anti-Japanese guerrilla in the first half of the 20th century, working with Kim Il-sung, who later founded the communist nation. "He dedicated his all to the sacred cause of liberating the country by participating in the glorious anti-Japanese armed struggle led by President Kim Il Sung (Kim Il-sung) in the dark period of the Japanese imperialist rule," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. After Korea's liberation from Japan's 35-year colonial rule in 1945, Ri "protected" Kim Il-sung, risking his life, and devoted himself to developing the Korean People's Army, it added. Ri assumed a number of key posts in the military and even gained the title of marshal of the North's military. But his role and influence had dwindled markedly since Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011. The funeral committee said that Ri's coffin would be laid at the Central Hall of Workers, and it would receive mourners though Tuesday. His funeral will be held the following day.