Photo: Reuters

The passing of Kim Jong-il has brought wicked cold temperatures even by North Korean standards, mourning bears, and now, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA, flocks of magpies are doing their bit for Jong-il and country.  I can understand the weather part, since Kim was renowned for being able to control the weather for his 17 years in office.

“At around 17:30 on December 19, 2011, hundreds of magpies appeared from nowhere and hovered over a statue of President Kim II Sung on Changdok School campus in Mangyongdae District, clattering as if they were telling him the sad news,” KCNA reported on Monday.

KCNA also reported last week that a family of bears that usually hibernate through winter had been seen bemoaning Kim Jong-il’s death. 

“The bears, believed to be a mother and cubs, were staying on the road, crying woefully,” it said.

I don’t know about you, but I have seen bears up close and personal in Alaska, and have never witnessed one “crying,” least of all, “woefully.”  Just like big girls, bears, even little ones, don’t cry.