Follow Up of the Day: A North Korean state television presenter, clad all in black, tearfully announces the death of “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-il as a result of an “advanced acute myocardial infarction” brought on by “a great mental and physical strain.”
According to state media, Kim died Saturday morning on a train near Pyongyang while on a “field guidance tour for the building of a thriving nation.”
The official mourning period will last through December 29th. His funeral ceremony has been scheduled for December 28th. No foreign delegations will be allowed to attend.
His 27-year-old son, Kim Jong-un, was declared the new leader of North Korea. According to a bio in The Daily Telegraph, experts expect the “young general” to follow in his father’s “militaristic path,” particularly in area of nuclear arms development.
The White House released a short statement saying it was monitoring reports of Kim Jong-il’s death closely, and remains “in close touch with our allies in South Korea and Japan.”
[bbc / yonhap: 1,2 / telegraph.]
See Also: Václav Havel on Kim Jong-il; Christopher Hitchens on Kim Jong-il; Joshua Treviño: “I’d like to think God let Havel and Hitchens pick the third.”
