Death of a Dictator: North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, 69, Has Died
His son, Kim Jong-Un, is set to take over the reigns of the North Korean regime, one who may be even less stable than his father. To prove his readiness as leader, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll try to provoke some sort of crisis on the Korean peninsula in the coming days, especially if word reaches him that there are South Koreans who are jubilant over the news of his father’s death. Unsurprisingly, it is now being reported that South Korea’s military has been put on alert as a precaution …
Update: North Korea Declares Kim Jong Un ‘Supreme Leader’ as Memorial for Kim Jong Il Begins – “North Korea’s power brokers declared Kim Jong Un the supreme leader at a massive public memorial for his father Kim Jong Il, cementing the Kim family’s hold on power for another generation. The son, dubbed North Korea’s Great Successor, stood with his head bowed and somber in a dark overcoat on a balcony at the Grand People’s Study House overlooking Kim Il Sung Square and watched the memorial that doubled as a show of support for his burgeoning role as leader.” Read more.
“PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic longtime leader, has died of heart failure. He was 69.
In a ‘special broadcast’ Monday from the North Korean capital, state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a ‘great mental and physical strain’ on Dec. 17 during a ‘high intensity field inspection.’ It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and ‘fully confirmed’ the diagnosis.
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, but he had appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The communist country’s ‘Dear Leader’ – reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine – was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.
‘It is the biggest loss for the party … and it is our people and nation’s biggest sadness,’ an anchorwoman clad in black Korean traditional dress said in a voice choked with tears. She said the nation must ‘change our sadness to strength and overcome our difficulties.'” Read more.
South Korean military declares emergency alert after Kim Jong-il’s death – “South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Monday placed all military units on emergency alert following the news of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death. The JCS said it called an emergency meeting of officials handling crisis management and operations just after noon Monday, after the North Korean media reported Kim’s death. The JCS said it has increased its monitoring activities along the border along with the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command. No unusual activity had been observed from the North, officials said.” Source – Yonhap News Agency.
Flashback: North Korea confirms Kim Jong-il’s son will take over as leader – “A senior North Korean official confirmed today that Kim Jong-il’s youngest son will succeed him as the next leader of the reclusive communist nation. In the first public confirmation of the succession plan, Yang Hyong-sop referred to Kim Jong-un as ‘the young general’ during an interview with Associated Press Television News. Yang said the nation’s people were honoured to serve him as their leader.” Read more.




I hope his son will not follow his father’s footsteps.
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We all hope so. Time will tell …
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I can only ever wonder what becomes of the split country now
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Oftentimes you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. In this case, the lesser of two evils might have just died, leaving the greater in command.
It’s good to stay optimistic, in any case. Let’s hope certain qualities skipped a generation.
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I wonder how smooth his sons transition to power will be. I would be very nervous if I where in the south right now.
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They’re very nervous. Their military is on alert, and news of his death has already sent stocks lower.
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Hes dead???? wow….that was unexpected …i wonder what will happen to NK now.
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The reaction here in my office near Yeoido in Seoul was one of some surprise, but no lasting interest, and unlike the tsunami in Japan which drew attention to the TV for nearly an hour, the pause lasted about 5 minutes.
The military is certainly on alert, but the average person basically said, “I wonder what will happen now?” and didn’t actually offer any speculation or interest in conversation on the topic.
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Interesting Anthony. Sounds like there’s more of a reserved nervousness in South Korea than any tone suggesting relief. Understandable.
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May his successor learn from the past and bring the country to a great age.
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Looks like some interesting events are going to happen in the coming days. Lets hope for a smooth transition and pray for peace.
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This is one of the most surprising news… truly sudden. Is it too late to make the Times/Economics top 100 things that happened in 2011
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It’s translated to Vietnamese: http://nguyentandung.org/the-gioi/chu-tich-trieu-tien-kim-jong-il-qua-doi-o-tuoi-69.html
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Last I read, his son was planning on continuing in his father’s footsteps despite his Western education. I’m not too hopeful for good things to happen quite yet. We’ll see what happens as he takes the reigns.
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As horrible as it was when he was alive, I’m more afraid of what will happen now… I bet South Korea is on its tiptoes – as we all should be.
Good post here. I’m glad I found your blog –
Cheers –
http://sociosound.wordpress.com
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He took his oldest son out of the running to succeed him because he tried to go to Tokyo Disney Land, good riddance to him!
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It may sound harsh, but the world is definitely better without this punk. Yet one dictator dead another one will soon follow. North Korea has a chance here. Either rise up against the few thugs or live in fear. It would be nice to see in the news the people re rejoicing like how they did in Iraq. If we see that then it could be a sign of good things to come. But at the end of the day North Korea is still the enemy, for now.
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Those poor people they might rise up but many will suffer the consequences.
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What chances a North Korean spring?
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Very little.
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O Leader, Dear Leader… I thought it appropriote to use Whitlam’s poem to share my feelings on the matter.
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I think it must be horrible to have to live under a regime that lies to you, spreads lies about other countries and invades them under false pretexts, pretending all the while that they’re the righteous.
I can think of one country that’s done exactly that and more over the past decade, while North Korea plods along doing none of them.
And yet they’re the enemy?
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Yeah, North Korea, honest as a puppy’s love, even while they are killing their citizens.
Why not have the guts to come right out and say what country you are talking about?
Such ignorance is not possible, your statement is dishonest.
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Unless this is a bizarre attempt at humour, it is rank idiocy. The DPRK has indeed invaded other countries on numerous occasions and has systematically lied to its own captive population and the wider world, to say nothing of its frequent indulgence in far worse crimes against humanity over the decades.
Even in the vein of far-left crackpot, adolescent politics,what you have posted is especially ignorant.
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moga anaknya ga sama kaya bapaknya dah…
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God has ended his reprobate life, He wanted to control his country at the expense of others lives. But only God almighty has the right to end life. Book of Romans: For the wages of sins DEATH, death, death. this will be the WAKE -UP call for those who want to be a great leader. condolences to all of them.
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Come on. If you all ask me to choose between democracy in the US style & dictatorship I should say I prefer the latter…..:)
http://freedomtosurvive.wordpress.com/
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อิอิอิ
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i hope the father of laww and i love this
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YEAHHHH
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All we can do is hope that best comes out of this situation !!!
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hell is open
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today is no happy day for North Korean’s.
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Everyone can only lives so many years. Let hope his Son will bring more peace, food, happiness to all pples in North Korea & the whole world.
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Then it is very easy to turns the bloody country to a democratic one now. thanks god. I hope his son will be a good person as dictator. He can call for democratic election now if he wish to. I hope he will.
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This was … unexpected. I don’t know if this bodes ill for the future though.
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I think he has been ill for some time. Not much change is expected from his son though.
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Why does everyone seem to think this was unexpected? I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that he was actually propped up dead in his last few dozen photo shoots, the man was very ill for quite some time…
And the idea that there’ll be a “North Korean Spring”..? Not without the new leader and his sponsor-generals putting up a hell of a fight, there won’t be…
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ok
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“His son, Kim Jong-Un, is set to take over the reigns”
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/take+over+the+reins
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Hope that north Korea keep on regime
I believe that western democracy take world to disaster
Don’t believe that America make Iraq is better
Don’t believe that Israel is giving flower and happiness to Palestinian
Think that media is responsible of the ugly we had about many place in the world and that is why the world think that north Korea is bad regime
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@Mudar – You’re kidding us all, right? North Korea is BAD. B-A-D. Forget about what you’re doing to others. If you make your own people suffer, you’ve obviously got a warped sense of right and wrong. But hey, I forgot – that’s what communists specialize in, right?
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now there is ppl in Greece and the United Kingdom
Suffer from hunger
there is no Dictator there (i think)!
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Mudar Salimeh – What little can be coherently deciphered from your gibbering prattle is utterly disgraceful. You hope that the North Korean regime is maintained? A regime that has caused the deaths of millions of North Koreans and that, as we speak, holds hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in its gulags. A regime which captures, tortures and kills its citizens for thought crimes.
You either have no idea what you are saying, by virtue of knowing absolutely nothing about North Korea, or you are a bloodthirsty psychopath and deranged sadist who revels at the prospect of prolonged human suffering on a grand scale. So which is it?
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sorry about what u think David.V
I think that you and many people are mislead by the world media
i live in a country where there is nothing on land in real, but all media talk about my country like there is a war, and when there is some violence lie about who is responsible
i’m not Bloodthirsty but (It seems to me) if somone dont whant to bilive the other, he can say more then this
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