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North Korea announced the death of supreme leader Kim Jong Il and urged its people to rally behind his young son and heir-apparent Monday, while the world watched for signs of instability in a nation pursuing nuclear weapons, AP reports.
South Korea put its military on high alert as it faces North’s 1.2 million-strong armed forces, and US President Barack Obama agreed by phone with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to closely monitor developments and cooperate.
People on the streets of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, broke into tears and wailing as they learned the news that their “dear general” had died Saturday at the age 69 of heart failure while carrying out official duties on a train trip.
“How could the heavens be so cruel? Please come back, general. We cannot believe you’re gone,” shouted an unnamed woman shown on North Korea’s official television, her body shaking wildly.
“He passed away too suddenly to our profound regret,” said a statement carried by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. “The heart of Kim Jong Il stopped beating, but his noble and august name and benevolent image will always be remembered by our army and people.”
While there was no immediate statement on official succession, there were clear indications that Kim’s 20-something son, Kim Jong Un, would be in charge.
The North said in a dispatch that the people and the military “have pledged to uphold the leadership of comrade Kim Jong Un” and called him a “great successor” of the country’s revolutionary philosophy of juche, or self reliance.
The death could set back efforts by the United States and others to get Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions, because the untested successor may seek to avoid any perceived weakness as he moves to consolidate control.
It also comes at a sensitive time for North Korea as it prepares for next year’s 100th anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il Sung — Kim Jong Il’s father. The preparations include massive construction projects throughout the city as part of Kim Jong Il’s unfulfilled promise to bring prosperity to his people.
Seoul and Washington will worry that Kim Jong Un “may feel it necessary in the future to precipitate a crisis to prove his mettle to other senior leaders,” according to Bruce Klingner, an Asia analyst at The Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.
South Koreans expressed concern over the news — parliamentary official Lee Kyu-yun said he was thinking of stocking up food in case of soaring military tensions — while some analysts said Kim’s death was unlikely to plunge the country into chaos because it already was preparing for a transition.
Kim Jong Il indicated a year ago that his little-known third son, Kim Jong Un, would be his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.
“There won’t be any emergencies in the North at least in the next few months,” said Baek Seung-joo of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in South Korea.
The North said it would place Kim’s body in the Kumsusan memorial palace in Pyongyang and that his funeral would be Dec. 28. No entertainment will be allowed during a 10-day mourning period, and the country will accept no “foreign delegations hoping to express condolences,” it said.
South Korea’s President Lee urged his people to remain calm while his Cabinet and the parliament convened emergency meetings. The Defense Ministry said the South Korean military and the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea bolstered reconnaissance and were sharing intelligence on North Korea.
In a “special broadcast” Monday from the North Korean capital, state media said Kim died on a train due to a “great mental and physical strain” during a “high intensity field inspection.” It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and “fully confirmed” the diagnosis.
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, but he had 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.
“It is the biggest loss for the party … and it is our people and nation’s biggest sadness,” an anchorwoman clad in black Korean traditional dress said in a voice choked with tears.
Chae Jae-eun, a South Korean company worker, said from Seoul that she worried mostly about the economic implications of Kim Jong Il’s death. Asian stock markets moved lower following the news.