Kim Jong-il, North Korean Dictator, Dies

Via the New York Times: "Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader who realized his family’s dream of turning his starving, isolated country into a nuclear-weapons power even as it sank further into despotism, died on Saturday of a heart attack while traveling on his train, according to an announcement Monday by the country’s state-run media."

"A few hours after the announcement, the ruling Workers’ Party and other state institutions released a joint statement suggesting Mr. Kim’s chosen successor, his youngest son, Kim Jong-on, was in charge.

"Mr. Kim’s death poses a moment of peril for both Washington, the North’s nemesis, and Beijing, its last protector. 'We’re entering a period that is especially dangerous,' said Jim Walsh, a professor at M.I.T.’s security studies programs who has met in recent months with several North Korean delegations as part of the behind-the-scenes, unofficial contacts from which the United States has gleaned some understanding of the power plays in Pyongyang. 'Here is a young leader who may be distrusted by the military, and he has to prove himself,' he said of Kim Jong-un. 'And that can lead to miscalculation and inadvertent war.'"

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The Rebellion Magazine