Tens of thousands of soldiers lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang today as North Korea began two days of funeral services for Kim Jong Il. Successor Kim Jong Un walked alongside the hearse, followed by other senior officials who included his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, the AP reports. State television, clearly strained to cover the motorcade along the 25-mile route, broadcast footage of throngs of wailing mourners.
"Seeing this white snow fall has made me think of the general's efforts and this brings tears to my eyes," a sobbing female soldier told state TV; one of the late Kim's purported powers was weather control, and state media have reported crazy and frigid conditions in the wake of his death, notes Reuters. A national memorial service will be held tomorrow, and observers will be keenly watching for clues as to where officials stand in the new post-Kim hierarchy, CNN notes. "The point they're trying to make is the leadership is pretty stable," a leading analyst tells the Wall Street Journal. (More Pyongyang stories.)
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