Kim Jong-il is dead. Kim Jong-un succeeds
His death said to have occurred two days ago. The son has already been proclaimed "the great successor." South Korea on alert. The funeral of the "Dear Leader" will be held December 28. Until then, national mourning declared. Nuclear power and a starving population.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Kim Jong-il, the leader of one of the most bizarre and cruel Communist dictatorships in the world, today from a heart attack at the age of 69. North Korean television, which gave tearful announcement of his death (see here), has already said that all the Korean people will follow the new leader Kim Jong-un, the third son of the deceased (pictured, second from left), famous for his unscrupulous character and desire to show the military and nuclear power of his country.
South Korea and Japan have called for meetings of the Security Council to address the situation. Seoul's army is on alert emergency.
According to the Korean government agency, the KCNA, Kim Jong-il died two days ago, during a train journey around 8.30 am from "an advanced acute myocardial infarction, complicated by serious heart shock." His father, Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack in 1994.
The health of the "dear leader" had deteriorated after he suffered a stroke in 2008.
His remains will be placed in Kumsusan Memorial, where the embalmed body of his father also lies. According to official information the funeral will be held December 28 and will not include the presence of foreign delegations. Until then, a national mourning period has been declared.
Kim Jong-un, today officially called "the great successor", was named first on the list of the State Commission in charge of the funeral.
The death of Kim Jong-il comes at a time of tension between the two Koreas. In the past, in 2000 and 2007 there were meetings with the presidents of the South, in an effort to stop the nuclear development and missile experiments of the North, in exchange for aid for the country impoverished by floods, drought and a disastrous agricultural economy.
In 2008, the current president of the South, Lee Myung-bak, blocked aid demanding a halt to the North’s nuclear programs.
In March 2010, just months after the promotion of Kim Jong-un to the military command, the South Korean navy vessel, the Cheonan, was sunk, killing 46 sailors (see Seoul 04/22/2010: "For South Korea, a torpedo from the North sank the ship "). In November 2010 the North bombed an island on the border between the two Koreas, injuring dozens of civilians and causing the death of a soldier (see 23/11/2010 Pyongyang bombs South Korean island: houses destroyed, one dead).
Once considered the pride of the Soviet constellation, North Korea is a nation sinking into poverty. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia has no longer helped its economy; China has also tried to break away from its overly volatile friends, while maintaining some contact.
While the country makes public displays of its strength with huge military parades and nuclear tests, the population suffers from lack of food and basic necessities. It is estimated that nearly two million North Koreans have died of hunger. Even today the situation is nothing short of an emergency (see 25/02/2011 Hunger reaches alarming levels as people resort to eating wild grasses and dirt).
On the side of human rights, North Korea has always stood for an all-out repression of any dissent or criticism of the leader. No religion is allowed if not the worship of the "father of the nation," Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il.
Nevertheless, in recent months, for the first time, there have been critical protests (02.23.2011 First public protests against the Kims’ regime), driven by their own misery and fear that Kim Jong-un, commonly known as ruthless and bloody, will ascend to the throne, (2/12/2009 The "third Kim" frightens the two Koreas).
South Korea and Japan have called for meetings of the Security Council to address the situation. Seoul's army is on alert emergency.
According to the Korean government agency, the KCNA, Kim Jong-il died two days ago, during a train journey around 8.30 am from "an advanced acute myocardial infarction, complicated by serious heart shock." His father, Kim Il-sung died of a heart attack in 1994.
The health of the "dear leader" had deteriorated after he suffered a stroke in 2008.
His remains will be placed in Kumsusan Memorial, where the embalmed body of his father also lies. According to official information the funeral will be held December 28 and will not include the presence of foreign delegations. Until then, a national mourning period has been declared.
Kim Jong-un, today officially called "the great successor", was named first on the list of the State Commission in charge of the funeral.
The death of Kim Jong-il comes at a time of tension between the two Koreas. In the past, in 2000 and 2007 there were meetings with the presidents of the South, in an effort to stop the nuclear development and missile experiments of the North, in exchange for aid for the country impoverished by floods, drought and a disastrous agricultural economy.
In 2008, the current president of the South, Lee Myung-bak, blocked aid demanding a halt to the North’s nuclear programs.
In March 2010, just months after the promotion of Kim Jong-un to the military command, the South Korean navy vessel, the Cheonan, was sunk, killing 46 sailors (see Seoul 04/22/2010: "For South Korea, a torpedo from the North sank the ship "). In November 2010 the North bombed an island on the border between the two Koreas, injuring dozens of civilians and causing the death of a soldier (see 23/11/2010 Pyongyang bombs South Korean island: houses destroyed, one dead).
Once considered the pride of the Soviet constellation, North Korea is a nation sinking into poverty. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Russia has no longer helped its economy; China has also tried to break away from its overly volatile friends, while maintaining some contact.
While the country makes public displays of its strength with huge military parades and nuclear tests, the population suffers from lack of food and basic necessities. It is estimated that nearly two million North Koreans have died of hunger. Even today the situation is nothing short of an emergency (see 25/02/2011 Hunger reaches alarming levels as people resort to eating wild grasses and dirt).
On the side of human rights, North Korea has always stood for an all-out repression of any dissent or criticism of the leader. No religion is allowed if not the worship of the "father of the nation," Kim Il-sung and his son Kim Jong-il.
Nevertheless, in recent months, for the first time, there have been critical protests (02.23.2011 First public protests against the Kims’ regime), driven by their own misery and fear that Kim Jong-un, commonly known as ruthless and bloody, will ascend to the throne, (2/12/2009 The "third Kim" frightens the two Koreas).
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See also
Tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang rise as Cold War fears cast a shadow over Korea
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Pyongyang: an avalanche of anti-Seoul and anti-Moon leaflets
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