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Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il

2011 death of North Korean leader

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His third eldest son, Kim Jong Un, was announced as North Korea's next leader during the same newscast as "great successor to the revolutionary cause of Juche and outstanding leader of our party, army and people". The elder Kim's funeral was held on 28 December in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day.

Announcement

North Korean state media did not report Kim Jong Il's death until 51 hours after it occurred, apparently due to political jockeying and discussions that surrounded the official version of his legacy, as well as agreeing upon the membership of his funeral committee. On the morning of 19 December, all work units, schools, government agencies, and military personnel were informed of a major announcement to take place at noon. At noon, Ri Chun-hee, Korean Central Television's main news anchor, clad in full black traditional Korean clothing, announced the death of Kim Jong Il to the country's general population. She was the long time announcer of many important news stories during Kim's tenure as supreme leader, and was part of the broadcast team that covered the state funeral of his father, Kim Il-Sung, in 1994. During the announcement, a portrait of a smiling, idealized image of Kim was released, continuing the tradition of issuing official posthumous portraits of supreme leaders of North Korea after their death.

Following the official notice, a male news anchor wearing a black suit and tie proceeded to announce the entire committee for Kim's funeral in order of the rankings established by the authorities. The committee had 232 names; Kim Jong Un was ranked first, while the leaders of North Korea's two minor parties, Kim Yong-dae and Ryu Mi-yong were ranked last.

Speculation by South Korea

The head of South Korea's National Intelligence Service said surveillance footage revealed that Kim's personal train, on which he is said to have died, did not move over the weekend. This implied that the train was stationary when North Korean authorities claimed he had died. According to editors of The Chosun Ilbo newspaper, it was reported circumstances surrounding Kim's death were inconsistent with what would be generally expected during official business trips: specifically inclement weather conditions were present and the time of day when Kim was supposedly travelling conflicted with his usual circadian rhythm, as Kim was known to be a night owl. Furthermore, a low number of witnesses observed the events.

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