PYONGYANG, North Korea — Tens of thousands of North Koreans lined the snowy streets of Pyongyang on Wednesday, wailing and clutching their chests as a black hearse carrying late leader Kim Jong Il's body wound its way through the capital for a final farewell.
The funeral procession from Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where Kim's body had lain in state, was accompanied by top military and party officials, but there was little doubt who the leader was. Son and successor Kim Jong Un was the head mourner, walking with one hand on the hearse, the other raised in salute, his head bowed against the wind.
State media — which over the past week have called Kim Jong Un "great successor," ''supreme leader" and "sagacious leader" — made it clear that the family's hold on power would extend to a third generation, declaring the country in the younger Kim's "warm care."
The funeral procession passed by huge crowds of mourners, most of them standing in the snow with their heads bare, many screaming and flailing their arms as soldiers struggled to keep them from spilling onto the road.
The procession was expected to head to the city's main plaza, Kim Il Sung Square, where hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have been paying their respects over the past 10 days. Sobs and wails filled the air as mourners in the front rows stamped their feet and cried as the hearse passed by.
"How can the sky not cry?" a weeping soldier standing in the snow said to state TV. "The people … are all crying tears of blood."
Kim Jong Il, who led the nation with an iron fist following his father Kim Il Sung's death in 1994, died of a heart attack on 17 December at age 69, according to state media.
Even as North Koreans mourned the loss of the second leader the nation has known, the transition of power to Kim Jong Un was under way. The young man, who is in his late twenties, is already being hailed by state media as the "supreme leader" of the party, state and army.
Like his father's in 1994, Kim Jong Il's coffin was wrapped in a red flag. A limousine carrying a huge portrait of a smiling Kim led the procession, and soldiers followed the hearse and lined the streets. A national memorial service will take place at noon Thursday, state media said.
Wednesday's footage was accompanied by rousing military music. North Korean state media said the memorial route was about 25 miles (40 kilometers) long, though top officials did not walk the entire route.
Outside observers will be watching Wednesday's footage closely for clues on the make-up of Kim Jong Un's inner circle.
Walking behind him was Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission who is expected to play a crucial role in helping Kim Jong Un take power.
Also escorting the limousine were military chief Ri Yong Ho and People's Armed Forces Minster Kim Yong Chun. Their presence indicates they will be important players as the younger Kim consolidates his leadership. Top Workers' Party officials Choe Thae Bok and Kim Ki Nam and senior military officer Kim Jong Gak also were prominent positions, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.
"It shows they will be core powers in North Korea," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor at Korea University in South Korea. "Particularly, Jang Song Thaek and Ri Yong Ho will be key to Kim Jong Un's leadership."
The military presence at the funeral Wednesday also suggests Kim will uphold his father's trademark military-first policy, Yoo said.
After the funeral, the young Kim is expected to cement his power by formally assuming command of the 1.2 million-strong military, and becoming general secretary of the Workers' Party and chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, Yoo said.
Kim Jong Il's two other sons, Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Chol, have not been spotted.
Kim Jong Un made his public debut just last year with a promotion to four-star general and an appointment as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party.
Heavy snow was falling in Pyongyang, which state media characterized in the early days of mourning as proof that the skies were "grieving" for Kim Jong Il as well. Footage on state TV showed images of swirling snow, the log cabin in far northern Mount Paektu where Kim is said to have been born and the mountain named after him, where his name is carved into the rocky face in red.
Earlier, state television also replayed images of missiles being fired and the April 2009 long-range rocket launch that earned North Korea strengthened UN sanctions. The US, South Korea and other nations called it a test for a missile designed to strike the United States; North Korea said the rocket sent a communications satellite into space.
Even as they mourned his father with dramatic displays of grief at memorials and at Kumsusan, North Korea's officials have pledged their loyalty to his son.
In an essay paying homage to Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, Workers' Party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun said North Korea under his leadership had been "dignified as a country that manufactured and launched artificial satellites and accessed nukes," referring to the country's nuclear program.
"Thanks to these legacies, we do not worry about the destiny of ourselves and posterity at this time of national mourning," the essay said, carried in English by the Korean Central News Agency.
"Supreme leader of our party and people Kim Jong Un takes warm care of the people left by Kim Jong Il. Every moment of Kim Jong Un's life is replete with loving care and solicitude for the people," the essay said.
Wednesday's procession had a stronger military presence than in 1994.
Kim Jong Il, who ushered in a "military first" era when he took power, celebrated major occasions with lavish, meticulously choreographed parades designed to show off the nation's military might, such as the October 2010 display when he introduced his son to the world.
