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Here I came across an article today:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thursday, December 29th, 2011, page A3
Death of Kim Jong Il
N. Korea’s lavish farewell
U.S.-made limos in funeral
More than the flag-draped coffin or wailing mourners, what most caught the attention of some observers of Wednesday’s funeral for Kim Jong Il were three American-made limousines rolling through the North Korean capital.
Kim’s body rode on the roof of a black Lincoln Continental. His portrait was balanced atop another, while a Lincoln limousine rolled behind them carrying a wreath.
“The Lincoln Continental in the old Asia was considered to be a solid, robust powerful car,” said Kongdan Oh, a senior researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses who has written about daily life in North Korea. “They are a time capsule. North Koreans are living still the 1970’s life.”
She said the cars, apparently modified version of gas-guzzling behemoths from the 1970s, were likely been chosen because they were used in the 1994 funeral of Kim Il Sung, the founding president of North Korea and the father of Kim Jong Il. It was not clear how the cars were obtained by North Korea, which is subject to economic sanctions by the United States and other world powers.
New York Times
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Thursday, December 29th, 2011, page A3
Death of Kim Jong Il
N. Korea’s lavish farewell
U.S.-made limos in funeral
More than the flag-draped coffin or wailing mourners, what most caught the attention of some observers of Wednesday’s funeral for Kim Jong Il were three American-made limousines rolling through the North Korean capital.
Kim’s body rode on the roof of a black Lincoln Continental. His portrait was balanced atop another, while a Lincoln limousine rolled behind them carrying a wreath.
“The Lincoln Continental in the old Asia was considered to be a solid, robust powerful car,” said Kongdan Oh, a senior researcher at the Institute for Defense Analyses who has written about daily life in North Korea. “They are a time capsule. North Koreans are living still the 1970’s life.”
She said the cars, apparently modified version of gas-guzzling behemoths from the 1970s, were likely been chosen because they were used in the 1994 funeral of Kim Il Sung, the founding president of North Korea and the father of Kim Jong Il. It was not clear how the cars were obtained by North Korea, which is subject to economic sanctions by the United States and other world powers.
New York Times