North Korea Restores Order to Kim Funeral With Photoshop

The funeral procession for Kim Jong-Il was carried out with military precision and when a handful of dawdlers messed up those regimented lines, they were eliminated. From the photo, that is.

A photo released by the North Korea's state news agency and transmitted by the Germany-based European Pressphoto Agency is slightly different from a photo taken at nearly the identical moment and released by Japanese agency Kyodo News.

The Japanese picture captured a half-dozen men near a camera on a tripod lingering behind the line of mourners on the left side of the boulevard as the motorcade passed by.

In the photo by the North Korean Central News Agency, those men, their camera and their footprints have been digitally removed, restoring absolute order to the crowds lining the boulevard as the cortege passed by.

The alterations were discovered by the New York Times with the help of digital forensics expert Hany Farid of Dartmouth College.

The European Pressphoto Agency, which distributed the doctored North Korea photo, issued a "mandatory kill" for its clients, meaning they were not to use the picture.

The agency granted an exception to ABC News "for the sole purpose of being able to show and explain what had been altered before the picture was provided to international news agencies by KCNA [North Korean Central News Agency]. We consider this as part of a transparent and responsible clarification process."

A European Pressphoto Agency spokeswoman told ABC News, "Any kind of digital manipulation violates EPA's code of ethics."

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N Korea hails Kim's son as leader

29 December 2011 Last updated at 02:49 ET

Many thousands of North Koreans took part in Thursday's choreographed memorial

North Korea has hailed late leader Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, as "supreme leader of the party, state and army".

Mr Kim took centre stage at a memorial service in Pyongyang's main square a day after his father's funeral.

Kim Yong-nam, formally the number two leader, told a million-strong crowd their sorrow would be turned into strength "1,000 times greater under the leadership of comrade Kim Jong-un".

State TV showed Kim Jong-un surrounded by top government and army officials.

The memorial event appeared to be the Kim dynasty's unofficial handover of power, says the BBC's Lucy Williamson in neighbouring South Korea.

A three-minute silence was also held, after which trains and ships throughout the country sounded their horns.

Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack on 17 December, aged 69, state media said. He had ruled North Korea since the death of his father Kim Il-sung in 1994.

'Military first'

"Respected Comrade Kim Jong-un is our party, military and country's supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong-il's ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage," Kim Yong-nam told the massive crowd gathered in Kim Il-sung square.

"The fact that he completely resolved the succession matter is Great Comrade Kim Jong-il's most noble achievement."

Kim Jong-un (in buttoned black overcoat) bows at the memorial in Pyongyang

A top military official, Kim Jong-gak, also addressed the crowd.

"Our people's military will serve comrade Kim Jong-un at the head of our revolutionary troops and will continue to maintain and complete the Songun accomplishments of great leader Kim Jong-il," he said.

Songun refers to the "military-first" policy - channelling funds into the military.

Half-mast

On Wednesday, thousands stood weeping and wailing in the snow as Kim Jong-il's funeral cortege passed, images from state television showed.

Correspondents say the ceremonies echoed the displays of pomp and military might that marked the death of Kim Il-sung, in 1994.

Kim Jong-un - Mr Kim's third son - cried as he walked alongside the hearse. Tens of thousands of soldiers lined up to bow their heads in homage in the city's main square.

Kim Jong-un - who is thought to be in his late 20s and who has little political experience - was accompanied by his uncle, Chang Song-taek.

Mr Chang is expected to be a key player as the younger Kim consolidates power.

Kim Jong-il - known in North Korea as the "Dear Leader" - was in the process of formalising Kim Jong-un as his successor when he died.

However, the transition was not complete, leaving regional neighbours fearful of a power struggle in the nuclear-armed pariah state.

Mr Kim's two older sons, Kim Jong-nam and Kim Jong-chol, were not seen at the funeral.

No foreign delegations have attended any of the events. However, UN offices around the world lowered their flags to half-mast.

A spokesman at the UN headquarters in New York said that the move had been requested by Pyongyang's UN mission but was part of normal protocol for the funeral of any head of state.

Are you marking the memorial service of Kim Jong-il? You can share your thoughts on his passing and your expectations for Kim Jong-un by filling in the form below.

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