The funeral of deceased North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-Il was performed yesterday with "totalitarian choreography," as the Times puts it, with a 25-mile procession through the snowy capitol of Pyongyang. Thousands of dramatically weeping mourners lined the route and broke into hysterics as a giant portrait of "Dear Leader" was escorted by. Kim Jong-un, who despite rumors to the contrary appears to have solidified control of the country and now bears the title "Supreme Commander," walked alongside the funeral procession for a bit, then rode the rest of the way in a limo. Here's video of the scene that greeted him along the route:
Soldiers appeared to lead the outpouring of grief. They beat their chests in tears, footage broadcast on state television showed. They flailed their hands, stomped their feet and shouted “Father, Father,” as the limousine carrying a gigantic portrait of a smiling Kim Jong-il on the roof crawled past the crowds, followed by the hearse bearing his coffin draped with a red flag. A phalanx of soldiers carrying various party and military flags followed.
In one scene, soldiers rushed to keep mourners from spilling onto the road. But even among the crowds, the intensity of grief — thus loyalty to the regime — seemed to vary; those standing farther from the road seemed less emotional.
Of course, Mother Nature wasn't about to let her grieving be upstaged by mere mortals! North Korean state television reported that the heavy snowfall ahead of the funeral was a clear indication of "heaven's grief." Here's more hysterical grieving, starting at 44 seconds in:
Also yesterday, North Korean defectors who have escaped to the South released giant balloons in the direction of the North, carrying 200,000 leaflets urging North Koreans to "rise up" against the government. Too soon? The eccentric despot who's been starving them for decades is barely cold!
