According to ABC news, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il has died.
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.
When Stalin died (1952), the vast majority of his supporters ceased immediately supporting the policies of his regime. The same thing also happened when TITO died in Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the same thing will happen in North Korea.
Kim Jong Il inherited his power after his father, Kim Il Sung died in 1994. I think his son Kim Jong Un will probably become the next leader. There have been some unconfined reports that Kim Jong Un has been already announced as leader.
Sadly, it’s the people of North Korea that are going to continue to suffer the most from the continuation of this regime. Only the people of North Korea can initiate the necessary change the country needs to become a democratic, free and stable nation.
Maybe the two Korean peninsulas will become reunited?
Andrew, welcome and thanks for commenting. Yes only the people of North Korea can initiate the necessary changes, and no one knows what his son will do but lets hope at least incrementally things improve for the people over there.