Tears and snow at Kim's funeral

Tears and snow at Kim's funeral

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION)br Snow and tears mark the funeral for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.br Tens of thousands of mourners lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang, to catch a glimpse of the hearse carrying the late leader's coffin.br One of the myths surrounding Kim Jong-il was that he could control the weather, and state media has reported unusually cold and wild weather accompanying his death.br North Korea's state television KRT showed images of weeping civilians in their thick winter coats, swaying with grief and flailing their arms, as the funeral cortege of black Lincoln and Mercedes limousines streamed past.br Men, women, soldiers and children joined the crowds of mourners who braved the freezing temperatures.br Kim Jong-un, the deceased ruler's youngest son, will become the third member of the family to run the isolated and unpredictable North Asian country as it enters 2012, the year that was supposed to mark its self-proclaimed transformation into a "strong and prosperous" nation.br It would seem, however, that little is set to change for the 25 million citizens of a country that has staged what many analysts have dubbed a "Great March Backwards", over the past 20 years.


User: Reuters

Views: 4

Uploaded: 2011-12-28

Duration: 01:25

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