North Korea’s state TV network broadcasts images of deceased ruler Kim Jong Il on a ceremonial platform.
North Korea's state-run TV network has offered the world its first glimpse of a lifeless Kim Jong Il.
Mourners are pouring into a mausoleum in Pyongyang, the capital, to see their dead ruler on display.
Jong Il is presented to his grieving admirers, the AP reports, with a red blanket over his corpse and his head resting against a white pillow.
Included in the throng of mourners is Jong Il's son and heir to his dynasty, the plump-faced twentysomething Kim Jong Un.
North Korea's propaganda service, the Korean Central News Agency, has written that:
"Amid the solemn playing of funeral music, Kim Jong Un entered the hall where Kim Jong Il lies in state. Kim Jong Un observed a moment's silence in the bitterest grief together with leading officials of the party, state and armed forces organs before going round the bier."
(A bier, by the way, is a moveable platform used to display corpses before burial or cremation.)
If Jong Il is put to rest in the same fashion as his father, ex-guerilla-turned-dictator Kim Il Sung, his corpse will be permanently displayed under glass in a Pyongyang mausoleum.
And here's the Kim dynasty's heir, Kim Jong Un, at the service.
And for good measure, here's a state-released image of Jong Il within the last month, looking relatively healthy as he's pawed by female members of North Korea's air force.
We want to hear your feedback so we can keep improving our website, theworld.org. Please fill out this quick survey and let us know your thoughts (your answers will be anonymous). Thanks for your time!