Kim Jong Il's Body to Be Put on Display—Forever

It seems North Korea was able to dig up enough coins to pickle dear departed leader Kim Jong Il after all. The country announced today that Kim's embalmed body will go on permanent display in a Pyongyang mausoleum. His body had been shown under a glass coffin, but following his Dec. 28 state funeral, it was unclear what would happen next—though media reports claimed that the Russians entrusted with the upkeep of Vladimir Lenin's embalmed body were being flown to North Korea.

That may have in fact been the case: The New York Times reports that Russians were the ones to help facilitate the embalming of Kim's father's body in 1994. But North Koreans unable to trek to Pyongyang to see Kim's body can take comfort in the fact that statues and portraits of Kim, along with memorial towers, will be erected and hung throughout the country. (More Kim Jong Il stories.)