China Central Television (CCTV) blundered yesterday when its news channel ran footage of the burning of a North Korean flag and a portrait of Kim Jong-il during a report about the North Korean leader's death.
The footage was widely circulated online despite its swift removal from the channel's website.
At 11.28am yesterday, CCTV aired 13 seconds of footage, which it said was from Korean Central Television, while a CCTV anchorwoman began reporting Kim's biography.
The footage showed a man holding a large North Korean flag, with two other men taking photographs.
The flag then caught fire before the footage switched to another scene which showed the burning of Kim's portrait on a piece of fabric.
CCTV then switched back quickly to its anchorwoman.
Southern Metropolis News attached a link to the footage on its Sina microblog page, which was widely disseminated.
