Originally Posted by Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Jong Il, North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died. He was 69.

Kim's death was announced Monday by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but 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 leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.

The news came as North Korea prepared for a hereditary succession. Kim Jong Il inherited power after his father, revered North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994.

In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.


Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

Originally Posted by Machias Banshee (Post 894583)

This showed up on our local paper before I saw it anywhere else. Definitely did not expect this at all... My only question is, what is the son going to be like as a ruler?

Originally Posted by Roseangelo (Post 894595)

Kim Jong Il's death is good news for the world, but it's hard to say if any good will come to the North Korean people. Kim Jong Il was also a hypocrite, as he was known for enjoying movies and other things from Western culture. North Koreans are all basically brainwashed, and it is not Kim Jong Il they worship, but Kim Il Sung. Kim Jong Un is actually given little respect from the North Koreans. So what happens when a brainwashed society is presented with a leader even they don't respect? This could get interesting...

Originally Posted by Old Hob (Post 894776)

See we only see this from the Western point of view. To the people he ruled he is very different. I really think this is something that leaders of the world need to thing about as we move forward.

Originally Posted by kool75uk1 (Post 894649)

Originally Posted by Type 97 Chi-ha (Post 894801)

I imagine our leaders would know. In any case there are people who aren't entirely happy that Gadaffi got killed, even though they hated him. It's a matter of what comes afterward...

Originally Posted by Sage Ninja (Post 902351)

North Korea To Punish Mourners Who Were Insincere

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1204377.html

just look at some of the pictures of the mourners. When I first read the news of the Kin Jong passing away and saw the people balling there eyes out fainting, I though "huh...really?" :ohwell: Now I know why for the display of theatrics. The thought of getting sent to a labor camp with a 40% death rate would make me cry too.