Images from Kim Jong-il's State Funeral
Thousands of North Korean lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday morning to watch the funeral procession of Kim Jong-il. Images from North Korea state TV showed wailing mourners throwing themselves on the ground in anguish before the motorcade bearing their "Dear Leader" who died last week.
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The "funeral" itself was mostly a procession of vehichles that rolled through most of the capital, led by a hearse with the coffin of Kim on the top. Jong-il's successor, Kim Jong-un, was seen walking beside the limo at times, along with his uncle and North Korea's top generals, who were also key members of Kim's ruling circle.
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This raw video, taken from the roughly three-hour broadcast, includes the audio of emotional announcers describing the action. There were many comments about the snow, which was prominent in Kim's origin story ("The feathery snowfall reminds the Korean people of the snowy day when the leader was born") and also portrayed by state officials as a sign of the "sadness" of the sky itself.
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The stiff reactions and carefully managed shots led some viewers to believe that it was pre-recorded, but the images — while heavily staged and occasionally repeated — were broadcast live.
Most of those mourners wore military uniforms. The ceremony included 21-gun salutes and sad, but patriotic marching music.
AFP says no children were shown anywhere in the crowd.
More video can be found below. All images via Reuters, taken from KRT television.
