North Korea and the death of Kim Jong-Il

North Korea's Kim Jong-il dead at 69

al-Jazeera

Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, has died at the age of 69 after suffering a heart attack, North Korean state media has announced.

Kim, known in the communist country as the "Dear Leader", died on Saturday aboard a train during a trip out of Pyongyang, a tearful presenter for the official KCNA news agency said on Monday.

Laura Kyle looks back at Kim Jong-il's legacy.

South Korea Ready to Intervene as Kim’s Death Clouds Outlook

Business Week,

19 December, 2011

South Korea said it’s prepared to intervene in markets as the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il clouded the outlook for an economy already faltering on weak export demand.

The central bank will “closely monitor” developments and stabilize markets if needed, Governor Kim Choong Soo said today as the won and stocks tumbled. Finance Minister Bahk Jae Wan echoed those comments. Officials are holding an emergency meeting at 4 p.m. local time in Seoul.

The threat to South Korean confidence from the risk of instability in the North comes as Europe’s debt crisis pares export demand and the government forecasts slower growth next year. Kim’s death has increased the chance of the North Korean regime collapsing, through a coup or a failed attempt to reform the political and economic system, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said today.

The leadership change comes “at a challenging time for the South, where the economy is already facing stiff external headwinds,” said Frederic Neumann, an analyst at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong.

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S. Korean military declares emergency alert after Kim Jong-il's death

VonHap New Agency,

20 December, 

SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Monday placed all military units on emergency alert following the news of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's death.

The JCS said it called an emergency meeting of officials handling crisis management and operations just after noon Monday, after the North Korean media reported Kim's death.

Life after North Korea's 

Kim Jong-il

al-Jazeera

The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-il, has died and South Korea's military is now on alert.

Many in the region are nervous about the transition of power to his likely successor and young son.

Back in North Korea, a very public outpouring of grief is under way for a leader who kept a very tight grip on power and the people he ruled.