North Korean State TV Says Kim Jong Il Died

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Pearl

Pearl

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died Saturday on a train trip, a tearful state television announcer, dressed in black, reported Monday.
The announcer said that the 69-year old had died of physical and mental over-work on his way to give "field guidance."
He had suffered a stroke in 2008, but appeared to have recovered.
The reclusive state had begun the process of transferring power to his son Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s.
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North Korea state TV says Kim Jong il has died | Reuters
 
I'm very, very curious as to how Kim Jong-un is going to run the country, he's not even 30 years old.
 
Vlad n U 2 said:
I'm very, very curious as to how Kim Jong-un is going to run the country, he's not even 30 years old.
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I have this fantasy........I fantasize that he has seen the isolation of his country and the fear in which his people lived under his father's tyrrany. He then opens a dialogue with the west to scale down his country's nuclear program, he accepts foreign assistance in making life better and more livable for his citizens, he makes friends with South Korea, establishes free elections and a new rule of democratic law and, basically, strives to undo the damage of the past 14 years.......

......but again, I suppose it's only a fantasy.....
 
AchtungBono said:
I have this fantasy........I fantasize that he has seen the isolation of his country and the fear in which his people lived under his father's tyrrany. He then opens a dialogue with the west to scale down his country's nuclear program, he accepts foreign assistance in making life better and more livable for his citizens, he makes friends with South Korea, establishes free elections and a new rule of democratic law and, basically, strives to undo the damage of the past 14 years.......

......but again, I suppose it's only a fantasy.....
Click to expand...

Yay, that'll be so great! Now the citizens will be able to suffer through the voting process just like the rest of us. :wink:
 
For a moment I thought: this couldn't have come at a worse time for the Kim dynasty, right in the middle of the Arab Spring, Russian Spring, Tibetan self-immolations etc. But on second thought, not only will the North Koreans have had little exposure to those events as a result of strict media censorship, also Kim Jong-il was genuinely loved by many North Koreans. Without a doubt, this has a lot to do with the huge cult of personality he'd built around himself. But make no mistake: "many citizens in North Korea would be genuinely distraught at the news", as North Korea expert Dr Leonid Petrov puts it.

This leads me to believe that we won't see a popular uprising demanding democracy in North Korea any time soon. We'd better hope, therefore, that the military and the upper ranks of the communist party accept Kim Jong-un's leadership, because the only alternative - deposition of Kim Jong-un and replacement of the current single-party dictatorship with a military dictatorship - would be worse.
 
Perhaps as they see Kim Jong-un as being the son of the Dear Leader they wouldn't dare to cross his path? :wink:
 
Just for the record we don't know how much up on the 'Dictatorship scale' he was up. Lets remember there is a difference between cult of personality and a violent dictatorship.

If I was a space alien coming to earth with no objectivity, I would have a hard time differentiating between this

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/23/25647484_4d347fec05.jpg

and this

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/May_Day_Stadium3.jpg

People will say, such as David Frum, that he was part of the 'Axis of Evil' but lets really look hard at that statement. I would say that he is a symbolic leader of a very bad situation. Most commentators just aren't that informed to make adequate assessment of what happens in that country, neither am I.
 
They showed a clip of officials (?) reacting to his death, and wow, I have to say it was the most fake crying I've ever seen en masse.

"Better look convincing, or it's no heat for me this winter!"
 
While their crying seemed exaggerated to me, I'll tread carefully in saying that it actually was. Not knowing (North) Korean culture, I don't rule out the possibility that this is actually a normal way for (North) Koreans to cry. Cultural differences apply to the expression of emotions as well.
 
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