China Daily’s “Friend’s Departure” for Kim Jong Il

Descriptors for North Korea's Kim Jong Il typically include tyrannical, cruel, egomaniacal and so on.

You don't often hear "friend."

But that's how a prominent government-owned newspaper in China, the China Daily, chose to describe Jong Il in a banner headline.

China's communist party, according to the report, has honored Jong Il as "a great leader of the (North Korean) people and a close friend of the Chinese people."

Chalk this up to decorum. All signs suggest North Korea is China's perennial headache.

Finding similar adulation for the recently deceased Jong Il ain't easy. But Cuba is a good place to start: the communist island has declared a three-day mourning period for its comrade, united against imperialist America.