PYONGYANG – Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader who ruthlessly controlled his Stalinist nation and kept South Koreans on constant edge with his “military-first” politics, died of a heart attack Saturday. He was 69.
State TV announced in a “special broadcast” Monday that the mercurial leader passed away from “a severe myocardial infarction along with a heart attack,” and “great mental and physical strain,” while taking a train to an onsite visit.
(This story appeared in The Korean Times on Dec. 19, 2011. The story at bottom speculates that Kim Jong-il may have been murdered.)
Pyongyang’s media urged people to support Kim’s youngest son Jong-un, who remains virtually unknown to the outside world.
“At the vanguard of the Korean revolution stands Kim Jong-un, great successor to the revolutionary cause of juche [self reliance] and the outstanding leader of our party, military and people,” the official news agency said. “Kim Jong-un’s leadership will guarantee the completion of the revolutionary cause of juche through the generations after it was started by Kim Il-sung and led to victory by Kim Jong-il.”
An autopsy was conducted Sunday, said a weeping female newscaster clad in black.
The entire nation “should faithfully follow comrade Kim Jong-un’s leadership and protect and bolster the unified front of the party, military and the public,” the announcer said.
The news sent ripples through the South Korean public, who believed the North Korean leader to be in fair condition following a stroke in 2008, appearing vigorous in footage taken during recent trips to China and Russia. He was believed to have diabetes and heart disease.
President Lee Myung-bak swiftly ordered all government officials to be placed on emergency response status and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) placed all military units on emergency alert, underscoring the grave tensions the North Korean leader leaves behind. Lee also held emergency telephone talks with U.S. President Barack Obama to coordinate a joint response to the situation.
Kim Jong-il’s funeral will be held on Dec. 28 in Pyongyang.
Kim took power in 1994 after his own father, country founder Kim Il-sung, died.
He leaves behind a legacy of iron-fisted rule which relied heavily on militarism, brutal repression and an enormous personality cult built around him and his father.
Huge questions now remain about the future of 23 million North Koreans, a quarter of who the United Nations recently said were in dire need of food aid. Also of major concern is the country’s nuclear program that is believed to have stockpiled enough plutonium for around six nuclear bombs.
Kim, while drawing harsh criticism for a deplorable human rights record, will also be remembered as an enigmatic character the world knew precious little about.
Wearing his hair in a breezy pompadour and standing five foot two inches tall, Kim was not the intimidating physical presence his father was. He was said to be engaging in conversation, a film buff and to have a penchant for cognac and cigars.
According to official accounts that famously mythologize him, Kim was born on Mt. Baekdu, the highest peak on the peninsula in 1942. But Russian accounts say he was actually born in an army camp near Khabarovsk in the former Soviet Union, where his father, and mother, Kim Jong-suk, were fighting Japanese imperialism.
He was officially designated his father’s successor in 1980. Since taking power Kim presided over an increasingly troubled country. The regime managed to survive a severe famine in the mid-1990s estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands.
In diplomacy, Kim wielded his nuclear program to win aid from nervous neighbors.
The leader’s death comes amid high tensions between the Koreas after the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing four, and torpedoed the Cheonan warship claiming 46 lives last year. The North has yet to apologize for the attacks.
He leaves his nation on the cusp of change. His regime had declared next year as when it would emerge as a strong and prosperous state and many expected he would accelerate transferring power to his son then.
Kim Jong-un, who emerged as heir-apparent when he was given four-star general status and a high party post last year, is believed to be around 28 and to have studied for a time in Switzerland.
The senior Kim is believed to have fathered two other sons and a daughter with multiple wives.
The news broke in dramatic fashion after state media announced it would make a special broadcast at noon.
Suspicions over cause of Kim Jong-il’s death circulate inside, outside North Korea
In the wake of the announcement of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, speculation has mushroomed over the cause, mainly because of the extreme secrecy in the Stalinist state.
North Korea’s Central News Agency reported Monday that Kim died of a heart attack last Saturday on a train while heading to an unidentified destination.
Previously, the late North Korean leader had suffered two strokes; and his declining health had spurred speculation among those outside the North that his death was near.
Given this, the announcement wasn’t unexpected.
(This story appeared in The Korean Times on Dec. 19, 2011.)
However, there are some North Korean defectors here who remain suspicious of the state-controlled media’s report on the cause of his death, raising very cautiously the possibility of Kim having been murdered.
An Chan-il, a political scientist, didn’t rule out the possibility that the North Korean leader might have been killed by those harboring discontent with the way he ruled the country.
“After his third son Jung-un was named for a dynastic leadership succession, many military officers, especially those in their 50s, were dismissed. I think these people could have held deep resentment about Kim and North Korea’s next leader,” he said.
“A rumor is circulating that earlier a high-ranking North Korean official was shot dead. This has yet to be confirmed, but such talk is evidence that discontent was brewing among some people in the North.”
An, 57, speculated the North Korean military’s dwindling power could have spurred brewing displeasure among some military officers, especially those eliminated from power.
Under the Kim Jong-il regime, the political scientist said, they had complained about their status as the military-first policy showed signs of retreating.
“As their vested interests were hurt due to Kim Jong-il, I would not rule out the possibility that some military officers, who believed their clout and influence had been damaged, could have played a role in his death,” An said.
Rep Chun Yo-ok of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) also raised the possibility that Kim might have been killed as a result of a power struggle inside the North.
Another North Korean defector, however, remained cautious about this.
Kim Seong-min, the representative of Free North Korea Radio based in Seoul, said he believed the North’s announcement on Kim’s death as there was no evidence backing foul play.
North Korea said that the cause of Kim’s death was confirmed after the authorities there carried out an autopsy Sunday, the day after he died.
Died and Yet ... 