DPRK leader dies

state media announced early yesterday.
He was 69.

Kim Jong Il who was general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), chairman of the DPRK National Defence Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army (KPA), passed away from a great mental and physical strain on December 17 in a train during a field guidance tour, the DPRK’s official news agency KCNA reported yesterday.
KCNA issued a statement yesterday mourning the death of the top leader: “The DPRK is overcome with bitter sorrow at the demise of Kim Jong Il who had energetically worked day and night for prosperity of the country and the happiness of people all his life”, the KCNA said in an article entitled ‘Kim Jong Il will always live’.

“Its army and people’s loyalty and sense of obligation to him are now growing higher than ever before,” the article said.
“They are resolutely rising up to change their sorrow into great strength and courage with the noble sense of moral obligation and immovable faith and will to hold Kim Jong Il in high esteem forever and glorify his feats for all ages,” the article said.
“Though the DPRK has suffered the great loss, the people are decisively rising up as they have Kim Jong Un, great successor to the revolutionary cause and prominent leader of the party and the army and people of the DPRK, the article stressed. “No force on earth can block the revolutionary advance of the DPRK party, army and people led by Kim Jong Un”, the article added.

KCNA said yesterday the DPRK people would deeply support and trust the leadership of Kim Jong Un.
“The ‘grief-stricken’ DPRK people are ‘renewing their pledge to remain loyal to the leadership of Kim Jong Un by overcoming their sorrow and displaying fresh strength and courage,'” the KCNA said.
The Korean People’s Army (KPA) officer Kim Kyong Chol was quoted as saying that the armed forces would always emerge victorious as the powerful revolutionary army, thanks to Kim Jong Un. The international community is reacting to the death of the DPRK leader.

China yesterday sent condolences to the DPRK: “We are shocked to learn that . . . comrade Kim Jong Il passed away and we hereby express our deep condolences on his demise and send sincere regards to the DPRK people,” said the condolence message.
The condolence message, sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission to the

DPRK’s WPK Central Committee and its Central Military Commission, DPRK National Defense Commission, Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the DPRK cabinet, called Kim Jong Il a great leader of the DPRK people and a close friend of the Chinese people.
The message said comrade Kim Jong Il had dedicated the whole of his life and rendered immortal service to the DPRK’s socialist revolution and construction.

It noted that the late DPRK leader, a close friend of the Chinese people, had carried on and further developed the traditional friendship between China and DPRK.
China believed that the DPRK will remain united as one with the leadership of the WPK and comrade Kim Jong Un, and turn their sorrow into strength, continuously advance towards the goal of building a strong and prosperous socialist nation and achieving sustained peace on the Korean Peninsula. China and the DPRK are close neighbours and stand together in good or bad times.

The message added that the traditional party-to-party, state-to-state and people-to-people friendship between the two countries will be carried on and further developed.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev also expressed condolence on the death of Kim Jong Il, the Kremlin press service reported yesterday. President Medvedev held a phone conversation with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak concerning Kim’s death, according to the report.

The two leaders discussed several issues of common concern, including regional integration and stability, the report said.
Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez offered his “most sincere sympathies” over the death of Kim Jong-Il, whom he called a “comrade.”

President Chavez expressed “confidence in the ability of Koreans to conduct their own future to prosperity and peace,” noting his desire for Pyongyang to pursue its “struggle for self determination and world peace.”
Western governments hailed the DPRK leader’s death as the end of a “tyrant” and hoped that his passing will enable the secretive nuclear-armed North Korea a chance to become more open and democratic.

A White House statement said President Barack Obama spoke by telephone early yesterday with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, and reaffirmed Washington’s strong commitment to “the security of our close ally, the Republic of Korea.”
The statement said both leaders agreed to continue close co-ordination between their respective national security teams. In Seoul, President Lee is reported to have canceled all of his scheduled events, convened a National Security Council meeting and placed the South Korean military on emergency alert.

South Korean media said aerial surveillance near the North Korean border had been stepped up.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles off its east coast yesterday, the same day it announced the death of leader Kim Jong Il. Seoul’s defence ministry declined to confirm the reported launches. – Xinhua/AFP/Sapa/VOA.