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Kim Jong Il

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is dead, North Korean state TV said Monday.

Kim, 69, died Saturday, state TV said.

The son of Kim Il Song, the founder of the communist nation, Kim Jong Il had been in power since 1994 when his father died of a heart attack at age 82.

The enigmatic leader was a frequent thorn in the side of neighboring South Korea, as well as the United States. There have been reports in recent years about his health, as well as that power will be transitioned to his son, Kim Jong Un. Ref. CNN

Il Jong Kim

North Koreans in Japan 'confused' by Kim death
Local Japanese News In English

Pro-Pyongyang Korean communities in Japan were "confused" but tight-lipped Tuesday, a day after the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il was announced. In a seemingly highly disciplined response, reporters seeking reactions from some of the tens of thousands of Koreans loyal to the Stalinist regime were met by an almost unbroken wall of silence. Japan's 700,000-strong Korean community are mostly descendants of migrants and forced workers from Tokyo's sometimes brutal 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula, and chose sides after it was divided along the 38th parallel. The pro-Pyongyang minority have maintained their loyalties and have their own civic organisations and educational institutions funded by the North, while integration with the host culture is strongly discouraged. (AsiaOne)
Source: News On Japan