Kim Jong-il has died, in case you hadn’t heard the news by now. I heard it on Twitter seconds after it was announced on North Korean state media.
This video released by North Korean state television shows hundreds of North Korean citizens weeping hysterically in the streets. And some of them really aren’t good at acting mournful.
There are two things going on here: some of these people will be genuinely sad Kim Jong-il has gone. He was only the second leader North Korea has ever had. But most are playing that up for the cameras after having been ordered to.
This really doesn’t come across as genuine, but the North Korean authorities seem oblivious to this fact. That’s what happens when a country turns its back on the rest of the world, I suppose.
