Reports:
Bloomberg News, quoting Yonhap News.
The news came in a radio broadcast at noon local time, Yonhap reported, citing North Korea’s official media. Kim probably had a stroke in August 2008 and may have also contracted pancreatic cancer, according to South Korean news reports.
Mr. Kim died from fatigue during a train ride on Saturday, a weeping television announcer said.
(URGENT) N. Korean leader died of fatigue at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 17 during train ride: KCNA
Yonhap News: (LEAD) N. Korean leader dies at 69 after decades of iron-fist rule
North Korean legend has it that Kim was born on Mount Paekdu, one of Korea's most cherished sites, in 1942, a birth heralded in the heavens by a pair of rainbows and a brilliant new star.
Soviet records, however, indicate he was born in Siberia, in 1941.
KCNA (Korean Central News Agency): no web updates as of 10:26 pm Dec 17 EST.
Voice of Korea (offical news, via shortwave radio): no web updates as of 11:12 pm Dec 17 EST.
From time to time, North Korean state television is available streamed on the Internet, according to the weblog North Korea Tech. The address given is http://112.170.78.145:50000/chosun ; it was not up and running as of this writing, as the popularity of the site outstripped the maintainer's ability to keep it running after it reached the attention of the South Korean media.
If you are trying to monitor North Korean state media, here's a good guide from North Korea Tech.
Vaclav Havel on Kim Jong-Il, from the Globe and Mail, 2004.
The Northern part of the Korean peninsula is governed by the world's worst totalitarian dictator, who is responsible for taking millions of human lives. Kim Jong-il inherited the extensive Communist regime following the death of his father Kim Il-sung, and has shamelessly continued to strengthen the cult of personality.
To follow on Twitter: @northkoreatech , @nknewsorg , @yonhapnews. The New York Times has a Kim Jong-Il twitter list of reporters and news agencies covering the story.
The Onion: Kim Jong-Un Privately Doubting He's Crazy Enough To Run North Korea. (This is satire.)
PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA—In surprisingly candid remarks Thursday, Kim Jong-un, heir apparent to North Korea's highest government post, expressed doubt that he was sufficiently out of his mind to succeed his father, longtime dictator Kim Jong-il.
Weblog: Kim Jong-Il Looking At Things. A Tumblr blog of photos of Kim Jong-Il.
