Death of Kim Jong il Live Blog

Kim Jong-il, who ruled over North Korea for more than 15 years, passed away on December 17, 2011 from a heart attack onboard a train during a trip out of Pyongyang.

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in a press briefing in Washington said the US and Japan share interest in peaceful, stable transition in North Korea and says Washington has been in touch with six-party partners.

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

The lack of information about the late Kim Jong Il and his likely successor, his son Kim Jong Un, speaks volumes about just how closed a society North Korea is.

Even among foreign intelligence circles, little has been gathered about this future leader. Much of what the world does know comes from a man who for more than a decade was the Kim family's personal chef.

Al Jazeera's Steve Chao caught up with him in Japan, where he is today in hiding.

You can follow our correspondent on twiter @SteveChaoSC

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

Will Pyongyang stick with six-party talks?

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il could complicate nuclear disarmament talks with the United States and its key Asian allies, as an untested and largely unknown heir takes charge of one of the world's most-feared atomic renegade states.

The immediate question for Washington, and close ally Seoul, is whether Kim's isolated state can withstand a power transition to his youngest son Kim Jong-un, named by state news agency KCNA as the "Great Successor" to his father. click here for more

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22 weeks 3 days ago - Korea North

North Koreans take part in a parade to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang in this October 10, 2010 file photo.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died on a train trip, state television reported on December 19, 2011 sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme. A tearful announcer dressed in black said the 69-year old had died on December 17, 2011 of physical and mental over-work on his way to give "field guidance". 

Tags Death of Kim Jong il, Kim Jong il, North Korea in images
22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

North Korea has test-fired a short-range missile off east coast, Reuters news agency, quoting YTN TV, said.

A South Korean government official has confirmed the missile attack from the North.

"This is something that the military has continued to follow, and we believe it is not related to the death of
Chairman Kim Jong-il," South Korean media quoted the official as saying.

The launch probably came on Monday morning, before the North's state media announced at noon the death of Kim from a heart attack on Saturday.

South Korea's defence ministry and the office of the joint chiefs of staff declined to confirm the report.

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday sent condolences on the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, a Kremlin
spokesman said.

"The telegram will officially be posted on the Kremlin's website," a Kremlin spokesman told AFP.

Read International Reaction: Kim Jong-il's death

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

Korea Policy Institute's Christine Ahn told Al Jazeera that North Korea's new leadership is eager to forge relations with the US:


We know that there is likely to be a committee formed that would include Jong-un's sister, and the head of the light industries of North Korea, and her husband who is the vice chair of the National Defence Commission.

So we can probably anticipate a smooth transition in terms of the political leadership.

Now in the case of the US, there was a significant breakthrough that took place over the weekend that included exchange and agreement, the first time in four years between the two countries.

The US agreed to send about 240,000 tons of food aid in exchange for North Korea suspending its uranium enrichment programme.

So hopefully that is a sign that that there might be steps towards de-nuclearisation and engagement. And hopefully this major significant domestic transition in North Korea won't have any negative impact on that.

They [North Koreans] have set a three day period of mourning which is very dissimilar to the three-year-long mourning period for Kim Il-sung when he passed away.

So I know they are very eager to move forward with dealing with the food crisis and making sure that the economic reforms that they set for 2012 be put into place.

So I know that from the North Korean side, they're very keen to ensure that this bilateral breakthrough between the US and North Korea is cemented and they can begin the process of de-nuclearisation and economic stabilisation.

Tags Death of Kim Jong il, United States
22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

The Philippines, a longtime ally of South Korea, sent its condolences to North Korea on Monday following the death of its
leader Kim Jong-il.

"The government and people of the Philippines convey our condolences to the government and people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the death of President Kim Jong-il," a government statement said.

It expressed hope for a "smooth transition to a new leadership" and called for the "maintenance of peace and stability" on the Korean peninsula.

The Philippines, which hosted US troops until 1992, was one of the countries that sent troops to fight under the United Nations flag to defend the South from a North Korean invasion during the 1950-1953 war.

The Philippines established diplomatic relations with North Korea in 2000, one of the last Asian countries to do so. [AFP]

Read International Reaction: Kim Jong-il's death

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

Kim Jong-un, the third son of Kim Jong-il, is expected to take power in reclusive North Korea. However, little is known about him.

As Al Jazeera's Will Jordan reports, there are questions over whether he is ready to lead.

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22 weeks 3 days ago - North Korea

Al Jazeera's Neave Barker, reporting from Moscow, spoke of Russia's relationship with North Korea and the death of Kim Jong-il:


There has been no official response from the Russian government yet. But we presume in the next hours some official statement will come.

It is likely to be a show of solidarity with the North Korean people.

Russia and North Korea's close relationship dates back to the 1940s, 1950s. That is when the relationship really kicked off between the two countries. [...]

Later on after the collapse of the soviet Union, the relationship somewhat cooled as Boris Yeltsin took over the country.

But in 2000, when Vladimir Putin, became prime minister of Russia he really tried to reverse the situation, tried to make inroads economically and politically into the country.

In the last 10 years or so, Moscow has sunk billions [of dollars] into long-term infrastructure projects all across the region.

To some extent though, Moscow has had to keep Pyongyang at arm's length. Happy to deal with them in terms of business, economic issues, but not when it comes to military or issues to do with the nation's controversial nuclear weapons programme. 

Read the full article: North Korea's Kim Jong-il dead at 69

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