North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is dead at the age of 69, according to North Korean state television.
He apparently died from fatigue during a train ride on Saturday, a weeping television announcer revealed late tonight from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.
State TV also announced that Kim Jong Eun will take over as leader.
Kim is thought to have suffered a stroke back in 2008, but appeared relatively vigorous in pictures and video footage from recent treks to China and Russia and in several numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media. The leader was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.
Kim Jong Il took over the reigns in North Korea between 1992 and 1994 after the death of his father, Kim Il-sung, who had ruled the country for some 46 years.
Kim’s funeral has been scheduled for December 28 in Pyongyang, with a mourning period set to last until December 29.
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