North Korea's military staged a huge funeral procession in the snowy streets of the capital, Pyongyang, on Wednesday for its deceased leader, Kim Jong-il, readying a transition to his son, Kim Jong-un.

Pictures from state television showed a funeral cortege led by a limousine carrying a huge picture of the 69-year old, who died on December 17, passing serried ranks of olive green-clad soldiers whose bare heads were bowed in homage in the main square of the capital.

A hearse carrying the coffin was led by a weeping Kim Jong-un, accompanied by Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and a key power-broker in the transition, and Ri Yong-ho, the army chief of staff.

"Seeing this white snow fall has made me think of the general's (Kim's) efforts and this brings tears to my eyes," Seo Ju-rim, a red-cheeked, weeping female soldier, told North Korean television.

One of the oddities surrounding Kim Jong-il was that he could control the weather and state media has reported unusually cold and wild weather accompanying his death.

The video of weeping civilians, who swayed with grief and shouted "father, father," appeared to be out of synch with the audio on the broadcast. It was not clear whether it was live or recorded as black Lincoln and Mercedes limousines as well as army trucks streamed past the crowds.

Kim Jong-un will become the third member of the family to run North Korea as it enters 2012, the year that was supposed to mark its self-proclaimed transformation into a "strong and prosperous" nation.

"The footage highlights the rising status of Jang Song-thaek ever since the first news of Kim Jong-il's death," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in the south.

"Kim Jong-un is clearly the head of the new leadership but, in terms of hierarchy and influence, Jang appears to have secured considerable position," he said.